Charlotte [North Carolina] Spouse Assault Replication Project, 1987-1989

This study is a replication and extension of an experiment
 conducted in Minneapolis (MINNEAPOLIS INTERVENTION PROJECT, 1986-1987
 [ICPSR 9808]) to test the efficacy of three types of police response
 to spouse abuse. Three experimental treatments were employed: (1)
 advising and possibly separating the couple, (2) issuing a citation
 (an order to appear in court to answer specific charges) to the
 offender, and (3) arresting the offender. The main focus of the
 project concerned whether arrest is the most effective law enforcement
 response for deterring recidivism of spouse abusers. Cases were
 randomly assigned to one of the three treatments and were followed for
 at least six months to determine whether recidivism occurred. Measures
 of recidivism were obtained through official police records and victim
 interviews. Cases that met the following eligibility guidelines were
 included in the project: (1) a call involving a misdemeanor offense
 committed by a male offender aged 18 or over against a female victim
 aged 18 or over who were spouses, (2) ex-spouses, (3) cohabitants, or
 (4) ex-cohabitants. Also, both suspect and victim had to be present
 when officers arrived at the scene. Victims were interviewed
 twice. The first interview occurred shortly after the "presenting
 incident," the incident that initiated a call for police assistance.
 This initial interview focused on episodes of abuse that occurred
 between the time of the presenting incident and the day of the initial
 interview. In particular, detailed data were gathered on the nature of
 physical violence directed against the victim, the history of the
 victim's marital and cohabitating relationships, the nature of the
 presenting incident prior to the arrival of the police, the actual
 actions taken by the police at the scene, post-incident separations
 and reunions of the victim and the offender, recidivism since the
 presenting incident, the victim's previous abuse history, alcohol and
 drug use of both the victim and the offender, and the victim's
 help-seeking actions. Questions were asked regarding whether the
 offender had threatened to hurt the victim, actually hurt or tried to
 hurt the victim, threatened to hurt any member of the family, actually
 hurt or tried to hurt any member of the family, threatened to damage
 property, or actually damaged any property. In addition, criminal
 histories and arrest data for the six-month period subsequent to the
 presenting incident were collected for offenders. A follow-up
 interview was conducted approximately six months after the presenting
 incident and focused primarily on recidivism since the initial
 interview. Arrest recidivism was defined as any arrest for any
 subsequent offense by the same offender against the same victim
 committed within six months of the presenting incident. Victims were
 asked to estimate how often each type of victimization had occurred
 and to answer more detailed questions on the first and most recent
incidents of victimization.

Tags: arrests, battered-women, criminal-histories, deterrence, domestic-violence, intervention-strategies, misdemeanor-offenses, police-records, police-response, recidivism, spouse-abuse, victims
Organization: Department of Justice