NCJ Number
133870
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 8,10-12
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Domestic violence is now being recognized by police, prosecutors, and judges as a criminal action perpetrated by one citizen against another.
Abstract
Even so, domestic violence is a significantly under-reported crime, and domestic violence case attrition rates are generally much greater than for other offenses. High attrition rates in domestic violence cases can generally be classified under the rubric of victim reluctance. The relation between husband and wife, for example, involves intimate details which are not usually shared with other family members, much less with strangers. In less serious instances of domestic violence, the inconvenience that a citizen encounters when dealing with the criminal justice system also appears to play a role in victim reluctance. Even if a victim indicates a specific rationale for not prosecuting the perpetrator of violence, the prosecutor can never be sure of the real motive. It is recommended that prosecutors take a broad-based approach to address the needs and concerns of reluctant victims. This approach encompasses early intervention, removal of the victim as the plaintiff, and ongoing criminal justice system support. The prosecutor should realize it is not realistic to expect domestic violence victims to cooperate readily in the prosecution of such offenses when their only two contacts with the criminal justice system are at the time of initial police intervention and when they receive a criminal subpoena. Data on domestic violence advocate programs in five U.S. Jurisdictions are provided. 16 footnotes and 1 table