Effects of Short-Term Batterer Treatment for Detained Arrestees in Sacramento County, California, 1999-2000

This study evaluated the effects of a program for detained
arrestees developed by the Sacramento Sheriff's Department. The
program was set up as an early intervention program to provide
domestic violence (DV) education for arrestees during their time of
detention before going to court. This evaluation used an experimental
design. The researchers randomly assigned 629 batterers to either the
batterer treatment wing of the jail or to a no-treatment control group
in another wing of the jail. Interviews were conducted with the
batterers and victims shortly after the arrest that placed the
batterer in the Sacramento jail (Parts 1 and 2) and again six months
after the intervention or control condition was concluded (Parts 3 and
4). Official police arrest data on recidivism were also collected
post-arrest (Part 5). Interviews were conducted over the phone, except
for the baseline batterer interviews that were done in the jail, and
for those who were not available for interviewing, over the phone.
Activities of the batterer treatment program included: mandatory
detention in a special DV jail wing supervised by correction officers
who had received special DV training, batterer educational workshops,
daily Twelve-Step Drug/Alcohol addiction support groups, and strict
regulations on television watching (special nonviolent educational
programs were the only available programs). Batterer education classes
were held daily, and the research team checked attendance logs. The
arrestees were required at least to attend the program classes and
Narcotics Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous groups and sit quietly. For
the control group, participants were assigned to the regular part of
the jail and received the usual incarceration experience of persons
detained in the Sacramento County Jail (including no treatment
services). Official police arrest data on recidivism were analyzed for
up to one year post-arrest (Part 5). Treatment implementation data
(Part 6), which records the frequency of the batterer's attendance in
the various treatment programs offered in the special DV jail wing,
and variables used in the analysis for the project's final report
(Part 7) are also available with this collection. In addition to
general demographic variables such as age, race, religion, source of
income, and employment situation, specific variables are gathered for
specific datasets. Variables collected in Parts 1 and 2 (Batterer and
Victim Baseline Data) include information regarding whether or not the
batterer was in the treatment or control group, the relationship
between the batterer and victim, and types of injuries the victim
received. Parts 3 and 4 (Batterer and Victim Six-Month Data) contain
variables related to employment and living situation, as well as any
additional assistance either party received since the arrest
event. Variables in Part 5 (Tracking Database) include the date,
location, and length of interviews. Part 6 (Treatment and
Implementation Data) contains variables related to the different
programs the batterer in the experimental group may have participated
in. The variables for Part 7 (Supplemental Final Report Variables)
include information about the study participants such as whether all
four interviews were completed and the presence of any new domestic
violence charges.