NCJ Number
220885
Journal
Journal of Psychological Trauma Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: 2007 Pages: 39-49
Date Published
2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article presents the results of an evaluative study on the Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) which combines intensified police response with women’s advocacy for families who have experienced domestic violence.
Abstract
Results of the pilot study are encouraging as they offer the possibility that the DVHVI can disrupt the cycle of violence thereby decreasing emergency calls for police intervention and increasing victim and officer safety. The DVHVI is a neighborhood-based home visit followup project currently implemented in 4 of New Haven’s 10 policing districts. The DVHVI focuses on providing specific concrete information and safety assistance in the aftermath of an abusive incident. It is based on the hypothesis that when personal contact between police officers and domestic violence victims is available, battered women experience an increase in immediate safety for themselves and their children, greater connection to other supportive and therapeutic services is facilitated, and thus an improvement in the health and well-being of women and children over the course of their development is possible. The DVHVI was conducted with 204 women who were victims of domestic violence requiring police intervention. These women and their children received law enforcement-advocacy services through a home-visit conducted by neighborhood patrol officers and battered women’s advocates. References