Pre-Trial Domestic Violence Intensive Supervision Unit: Exploring Case Seriousness and Successful Disposition

• NCJ Number: 227860
• Journal: American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 33 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2008 Pages: 32-43
• Author(s): Kimberly M. Tatum; Abby Lee; Julie C. Kunselman
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study measured the seriousness of 96 domestic-violence cases referred to a pretrial domestic violence intensive supervision unit (DVISU) in a Florida county probation office from April 1, 2006, to April 30, 2007.

Abstract

The pretrial DVISU was created to provide strict monitoring of pretrial release defendants in domestic violence cases, as well as to ensure that special conditions of pretrial release are met. The DVISU also seeks to increase the contact between the probation officer and the victim. Although it is understood that the most serious domestic violence cases will be no-bond cases, with the defendant being remanded to jail while the case is pending, it is important to assess the level of seriousness of the remaining cases, so as to coordinate resources and supervise defendants effectively. The study findings suggest that the cases ordered to DVISU might not be "serious," based on the seriousness index. Twenty-one cases had a seriousness index value of zero, which means the incident had no special characteristics, physical altercation, or threat. Sixty-two percent of the cases had index values of nine points or less. The inclusions of these cases for more intensive supervision under the DVISU suggests that resources are not being efficiently used. It also indicates that prosecutors and judges who assign these cases to DVISU have not been trained to make these referrals in accordance with the intended goals of DVISU's pretrial responsibility to provide intensive supervision for defendants charged with more severe domestic violence. Content analysis methods were used to identify specific offense characteristics from the written portion of individual offense reports. Use of content analysis provided for a more thorough description of each incident and identified specific elements (e.g., type of weapon used) of the alleged offense. 5 tables and 19 references