U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFF ICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NI J OJJDP BJS OVC

Legal Interventions in Family

Violence: Research Findings

and Policy Implications

American Bar Association

National Institute of Justice

Research Report
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street N.W.

Washington, DC 20531

Janet Reno

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

Raymond C. Fisher

Associate Attorney General

Laurie Robinson

Assistant Attorney General

Noël Brennan

Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Jeremy Travis

Director, National Institute of Justice

Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice

World Wide Web Site World Wide Web Site

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij
Legal Interventions

in Family Violence:

Research Findings and

Policy Implications

A Project of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section, Commission on Domestic

Violence, Center on Children and the Law, and Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly

presented to the National Institute of Justice.

July 1998

NCJ 171666
Jeremy Travis

Director

Bernard Auchter

Program Manager, Violence Against Women and

Family Violence Research and Evaluation Program

John Thomas

Program Manager, Research in Action Partnerships

The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the

Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Criminal Justice Section

Thomas C. Smith, Director

Project Staff

Susan W. Hillenbrand, Project Director

Barbara E. Smith, Research Investigator

Laura Nickles, Research Associate

Center on Children and the Law

Howard A. Davidson, Director

Project Advisor

Howard A. Davidson

Commission on Domestic Violence

Roberta Valente, Director

Project Advisors

Roberta Valente

Deborah Goelman

Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly

Nancy Coleman, Director

Project Advisor

Lori Stiegel

The views expressed herein have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and, accordingly, they should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar

Association. Further, this publication has not been endorsed by the American Bar Association entities involved in its

production, including the Section of Criminal Justice, Commission on Domestic Violence, Center on Children and the

Law, and Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly.

This program was supported under award number 96–IJ–CX–K002 to the American Bar Association by the National

Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Findings and conclusions of the research

reported here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S.

Department of Justice.
iii

Table of Contents

Message From The Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

About This Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Chapter One: Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases . . . . 1

Children’s Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Emotional Effects of Testifying on Sexually Abused Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Debra Whitcomb, Gail S. Goodman, Desmond K. Runyan, and Shirley Hoak

Techniques for Improving Children’s Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Debra Whitcomb

Effects of Cognitive Interviewing and Practice on Children’s Recall Performance .7

Karen J. Saywitz, R. Edward Geiselman, and Gail K. Bornstein

The Use of Closed-Circuit Television and Videotaped Testimony in

Child Sexual Abuse Trials: An Evaluation of BJA’s Funding Program . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sharon G. Elstein, Barbara E. Smith, Howard Davidson, Donald Rebovich,

Kathy Free, Mark Ells, and Caren Sempel

Children’s Testimony and Their Perceptions

of Stress in and out of the Courtroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Karen J. Saywitz and Rebecca Nathanson

Prosecution of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

The Prosecution of Child Sexual and Physical Abuse Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Barbara E. Smith and Sharon Goretsky Elstein

Prosecuting Child Physical Abuse Cases: A Case Study in San Diego . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Barbara E. Smith

Justice System Processing of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Noy S. Davis and Susan J. Wells

Coordinating Criminal and Juvenile Court Proceedings in

Child Maltreatment Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Debra Whitcomb and Mark Hardin

Sentencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

The Probation Response to Child Sexual Abuse Offenders:

How Is it Working? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Barbara E. Smith, Susan W. Hillenbrand, and Sharon R. Goretsky

Managing Adult Sex Offenders in the Community—A Containment

Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Kim English, Suzanne Pullen, and Linda Jones
iv

Impact of Domestic Violence on Children’s Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Children of Battered Women: The Relation of Child Behavior to

Family Violence and Maternal Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

David A. Wolfe, Peter Jaffe, Susan Kaye Wilson, and Lydia Zak

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Parental Drug Testing in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases:

The Washington, D.C., Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Lisa C. Newmark

Chapter Two: Research on Legal Interventions in Elder Abuse Cases . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Coordination and Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Working Relationships Between Adult Protective Services, Aging Agencies, and

Law Enforcement Agencies—A Short-Term Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Toshio Tatara and Margaret Rittman

Collaboration Between Protective Services and Law Enforcement:

The Massachusetts Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Donna M. Reulbach and Jane Tewksbury

Recommendations to State Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Recommended Guidelines for State Courts

Handling Cases Involving Elder Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Lori A. Stiegel

Chapter Three: Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases . . . 37

Batterer and Victim Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Findings About Partner Violence From the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health

and Development Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi, and Phil A. Silva

Florida Mortality Review Project: Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Byron Johnson, De Li, and Neil Websdale

Civil Protection Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Civil Protection Orders: Legislation, Current Court Practice,

and Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Peter Finn and Sarah Colson

The Effectiveness of Civil Protection Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Susan Keilitz, Paula Hannaford, and Hillery S. Efkeman

Effects of Restraining Orders on Domestic Violence Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Adele Harrell and Barbara Smith

Re-abuse in a Population of Court-Restrained Male Batterers:

Why Restraining Orders Don’t Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Andrew R. Klein
v

Arrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Does Arrest Deter Domestic Violence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Janell D. Schmidt and Lawrence W. Sherman

Must We Stop Arresting Batterers?: Analysis and Policy Implications of

New Police Domestic Violence Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Joan Zorza

Mandatory Arrest of Batterers: A Reply to Its Critics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Evan Stark

Determining Police Response to Domestic Violence Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Eve S. Buzawa and Thomas Austin

Prosecution and Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Prosecution Response to Domestic Violence: Results of a Survey of

Large Jurisdictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Donald J. Rebovich

The Indianapolis Domestic Violence Prosecution Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

David A. Ford and Mary Jean Regoli

Validity of “Battered Woman Syndrome” in Criminal Cases

Involving Battered Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Malcolm Gordon

Impact of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in

Criminal Trials Involving Battered Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Mary Ann Dutton

Trend Analysis: Expert Testimony on Battering

and its Effects in Criminal Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Janet Parrish

Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases With Reluctant Victims:

Assessing Two Novel Approaches in Milwaukee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Robert C. Davis, Barbara E. Smith, and Laura Nickles

Court-Ordered Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

The Impact of Court-Ordered Treatment for Domestic Violence Offenders . . . . . 73

Adele Harrell

The Role of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Domestic Violence and Its Treatment:

Dade County’s Domestic Violence Court Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

John S. Goldkamp, with Doris Weiland, Mark Collins and Michael White

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Corporate Sector Response to Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Nancy E. Isaac

Statistical Reports on Family Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
vi

Message From the Director

Recent research has shed considerable light on family violence and various efforts to combat it

within the justice system. Much of the research has direct, practical application for prosecutors,

judges, defense attorneys, victim/witness advocates, and members of the law enforcement community. Typically, however, these practitioners are so caught up in trying to meet the day-to-day

demands of an overburdened system that they cannot accord family violence research the

attention it deserves.

The National Institute of Justice and the American Bar Association share a similar mission:

to inform our constituencies about the effectiveness of practical responses to family violence.

This publication, the product of a research partnership, is intended to provide busy practitioners

with a “quick and easy” overview of the wide range of available research on family violence and

to highlight a few major studies and their practical implications. The goal is to encourage practitioners to “think research” in dealing with family violence.

NIJ is optimistic that the continuing research in this area can improve criminal justice responses to

family violence by making practitioners aware of what works in which types of situations. It is our

hope that this publication will serve that purpose.

Jeremy Travis

Director, National Institute of Justice
vii

Introduction

As public awareness and concern about family

violence have increased in recent years, many

practitioners have sought to fashion responses

that take into account the needs of victims as

well as punishment and treatment of perpetrators. However, the myriad variables surrounding these responses often send complex and

sometimes conflicting signals to even the most

sophisticated criminal justice practitioners.

Research performs an invaluable function by

identifying and sorting through these variables

to determine how they affect, and are affected

by, various criminal justice responses.

Violence inflicted by one family member

against another includes child physical and

sexual abuse and neglect; domestic violence;

and elder abuse. Sorting out and understanding

violent behavior among family members presents complex challenges. Many factors render

traditional criminal justice responses inappropriate or ineffective—the cyclical nature of

family violence, the relationship between the

perpetrator and victim, the causes and effects

for both perpetrator and victim; the frequent

ambivalence of the victim/witnesses toward

involvement of the criminal justice system because of coercion by or fear of the perpetrator,

and the guarded privacy traditionally accorded

the family.
viii

About This Publication

This publication contains “bottom line” information from articles written by researchers

about their own work or in several instances

about other researchers’ work on subjects of

immediate concern to practitioners: collaborative efforts between police and protection agencies, arrest policies, protection orders, battered

women defense strategies, sentencing, batterer

treatment, child sexual abuse, and children’s

testimony.

The research findings are the core of the document. It is from these that the researchers have

derived their implications for practice and it is

from these that the reader may derive additional—and perhaps different—implications

for their own particular practice.

The studies summarized in this publication

represent only those that relate specifically to

how the criminal justice system addresses family violence. Other aspects of family violence,

such as those associated with custody and

divorce proceedings are not included. Also not

included are findings from ongoing research

mandated by the groundbreaking Violence

Against Women Act of 1994—for example,

the effects of the “full faith and credit” clause

as it pertains to protection orders.

Most of the articles were written by the researchers who conducted the studies, but several were written by commentators on research

undertaken by others.

The summaries were compiled and edited by

staff of the ABA dissemination project who

have generally maintained the language and

terms from the original documents even when

aware of their limitations.

In most instances the summaries merely mirror

major findings and implications in the underlying documents. When project staff have drawn

practical implications from the findings, this is

noted in the text. All the research highlighted

here has received scrutiny, either through peer

review or review by funding agencies or

publishers.

As science investigates complex, sensitive, and

private issues, such as family violence, various

methodological limitations can cloud the interpretation of findings. Reported results can vary

depending on the type of sampled population;

specific variables measured; and other personal,

family, or community characteristics not included in the research effort. For example, secondary analysis and replication efforts arising

from the seminal 1984 Minneapolis Domestic

Violence Experiment have yielded differing

results regarding the extent to which mandatory

arrest and “no drop” prosecution policies prevent further violence.

The long-range aim of this publication is to

encourage continued investigation into family

violence and continued critical review of the

results so that practitioners can make better

informed decisions about practical criminal

justice responses.
Chapter One 1

During the past decade, there has been a proliferation of research on child abuse, especially

child sexual abuse. While many of the research

findings relate to legal interventions to assist

child victims in the civil arena, the 13 research

projects summarized in this chapter were selected because of their relevance for criminal

justice practitioners. These are organized into

four main research topics: children’s testimony, prosecution of child abuse and neglect

cases, sentencing, and the impact of domestic

violence on children. The findings can help

law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim/

witness advocates, probation officers, and

judges better respond to these especially vulnerable victims and their families.

Children’s Testimony

Researchers and practitioners have questioned

the impacts, positive and negative, of children

testifying in court cases and have searched for

ways to make the process less onerous for children while protecting the rights of the accused.

Five research studies are summarized; four

center on testimony in child sexual abuse cases

and the fifth one on children’s testimony in

general.

The first study examines whether appearing in

court benefits or harms sexually abused children. It concludes that testifying can be both

harmful and beneficial depending upon the

circumstances under which, and the number

of times, children testify. Children are less

stressed when there is a high level of maternal

support and when the environment is child

friendly. The second study looks at interviewing, communication enhancement, and courtroom preparation techniques and offers suggestions to improve the way professionals

interview children. The third examines the

effects of cognitive interviewing techniques

and concludes that these techniques can help

children’s recall. The fourth is an evaluation

of the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s)

closed-circuit television and videotaped testimony funding program, which contains suggestions for criminal justice planners and professionals interested in starting or expanding

their use of closed-circuit television or videotape technologies. The last summary is of a

research project that explores the impact of the

courtroom environment on the quality of evidence given by children and the level of system-induced stress on children. It concludes

that testifying in a child-friendly environment

yields more accurate testimony and results in

less stress to the child.

Prosecution of Child Abuse and

Neglect Cases

Prosecution of child sexual and physical abuse

and child neglect cases presents special challenges for prosecutors and victim/witness

advocates. Much has been learned in the past

decade about how to meet those challenges

and effectively prosecute cases while protecting the child and the rights of the accused.

The first of the two studies summarized on

this topic examines the outcomes of nearly

1,000 child sexual abuse cases in 10 counties,

including case dynamics, the use of specialized techniques, case dispositions, and sentences imposed. Implications drawn from the

study results offer suggestions to improve the

response of the criminal justice system to such

cases. The focus of the second summary is a

case study of San Diego’s multiagency response to child physical abuse cases that

Chapter One: Research on Legal

Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases
2 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

contains suggestions to help other communities successfully prosecute these types of

cases.

Sentencing

Probation is a common or even primary sentence for persons convicted of child sexual

abuse. Most probation orders require the offender to seek treatment and stay away from

the victim and/or other children. Two research

studies are included. The first study examines

the use of probation as an alternative to incarceration, or in conjunction with incarceration,

in child sexual abuse cases. The results are

based on a national survey on probation departments’ supervision of child sexual abuse

offenders and case studies in four jurisdictions

that explored the effectiveness of probation in

these types of cases. The summary contains

recommendations for improving the response

to these offenders. The second study also looks

at the management of adult sex offenders but

is broader as it includes both probation and

parole departments and it deals with adult sex

offenders whose victims are adults as well as

children. It is included because the findings

apply to those who sexually offend against

children and many of the findings and recommendations mirror those of the first study.

Impact of Domestic Violence on

Children’s Behavior

Children who witness domestic violence often

suffer psychological and behavior problems.

The article included here measures the extent of

difficulties experienced by children of domestic

violence. It concludes that children from violent

homes experience significantly more behavior

problems than those from nonviolent homes.

This is especially true for boys, for children

exposed to a higher frequency and intensity of

physical violence, and for children whose mothers report more negative life events.
Chapter One 3

1 From a Research in Brief, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, April 1994,

NCJ 146414.

Purpose of Research

To examine whether testifying in court benefits or harms sexually abused children.

Methods

Three studies that used the same research

instruments to measure mental health were

analyzed:

• A National Institute of Justice (NIJ)-funded

study in North Carolina that reassessed the

mental health of 62 children between the

ages of 6 and 17 (an earlier grant from the

National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect

had assessed their mental health 5 months

after referral to the study). Reports of sexual

abuse of all of the children had been substantiated by child protection agencies.

• An NIJ-funded study in Denver that assessed

the mental health of children between the

ages of 4 and 17. All of the children’s perpetrators were charged in criminal courts in

three counties in the Denver area. The

children’s mental health was evaluated four

times: at the time they were referred to the

study, 3 months after testifying, 7 months

after testifying, and after the disposition of

the cases. A matched-pair design (matching

children on key demographic and case characteristics) was used to compare 60 children

who testified at any proceeding (competency

hearing, preliminary hearing, pretrial hearing, or trial) with 60 children who did not

testify at any hearing.

Children’s Testimony

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Emotional Effects of Testifying

on Sexually Abused Children

by Debra Whitcomb, Gail S. Goodman, Desmond K. Runyan, and Shirley Hoak1

• An Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-funded study in four jurisdictions that replicated the North Carolina

study on a much larger sample of children

(256) with a focus on children who testified

in criminal court. Instruments were administered shortly after the case was referred to

the prosecutor and again 7 to 9 months later.

Findings

Differences in findings from the three studies

do not allow a conclusive finding as to whether

testifying harms or benefits sexually abused

children. The Denver study found that testifying may impede the improvement process for

some children while the North Carolina study

found that testifying may enhance the recovery

of some children. The different findings may

have been the result of the different proceedings at which children testified. The children

in the North Carolina study testified in child

protection proceedings while the children in

the Denver study testified in criminal court, a

much more adversarial system.

Similarities across the three studies include:

• Children scored high on measures of stress

and anxiety at the initial testing.

• Children who testified more than once generally did not improve as much as children

who never testified or only testified once.

• Most children tended to improve with time

whether they testified in court or not.
4 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Techniques for Improving Children’s Testimony

by Debra Whitcomb2

Implications for Prosecutors, Judges,

Law Enforcement, and Victim/Witness

Advocates

The Denver study found that children appeared

to benefit when the environment of the criminal

court was made more child friendly, such as by

closing the court to spectators or allowing a parent or other support person to be present when

the child testifies. The U.S. Supreme Court

has ruled that under special circumstances the

criminal process can be modified. This beneficial finding of a child-friendly environment

has implications for all the practitioners in the

criminal justice system—judges, prosecutors,

victim/witness advocates, and law enforcement:

• If children need innovative courtroom procedures to testify, prosecutors should consider making the argument that testifying

without these innovations would be too

traumatic for the victim.

• Judges should consider whether the children

would be sufficiently traumatized to warrant

modifying the courtroom.

• Victim/witness advocates should accompany

children to court to provide comfort and

support, especially when the parent is unable, or unwilling, to do so.

• Children may also benefit when law enforcement interviews children in a childfriendly place (or room) rather than in a

frightening police station environment.

Study results also suggest how prosecutors and

victim advocates can aid in children’s mental

health recovery:

• Maternal support was positively associated

with children’s mental health improvement.

The North Carolina study found that mothers who were given help with their own

emotional stress were better able to help

their children recover. Prosecutors as well as

victim/advocates can assist by explaining

the criminal process to mothers and by referring those who are stressed to mental

health counseling.

• In each of the three studies, children who

testified more than once were found to recover more slowly than those who testified

only once. Prosecutors should consider limiting the child’s testimony to one proceeding, if at all possible.

Purpose of Research

To identify techniques that can improve

children’s ability to communicate as witnesses

without impairing the validity of the children’s

stories. The research can be divided into three

main areas: Interviewing Techniques, Communication Enhancement Techniques, and Courtroom Preparation Techniques.

Interviewing Techniques

Practitioners increasingly are asked to defend

their interviewing techniques regarding allegations of child sexual abuse. These techniques

include the use of anatomically detailed dolls

and leading questions, which assist in gaining

information from children who are reluctant or

unable to describe their experience.

2 From Child Victims as Witnesses: What the Research Says, Newton, MA: Education Development Center, Inc.,

1993.
Chapter One 5

Anatomically Detailed Dolls. Several studies

suggest that the use of dolls helps children

communicate what happened to them:

• One study revealed that twice as many children

identified suspected perpetrators when using

dolls than when not using the dolls. Dolls were

very helpful for children under the age of 3, but

some children provided no information even

after the doll was used (Leventhal et al., 1989).

• Another study suggested that dolls may be

more helpful for older children than for

younger children in eliciting correct and

truthful responses (Goodman and Aman,

1990).

• Critics suggested that the use of dolls places

unnatural and increased attention on body

parts, so that abused children might display

sexually explicit behaviors (Wakefield and

Underwager, 1988). Others point out that

research does not support that claim and

suggest that there is no evidence that the

dolls disturb children in any way.

Leading Questions. Another controversial

interviewing technique is the use of leading

questions. Critics claim that leading questions

direct the child’s story. Often, however, leading questions are the result of the interviewer

making unjustified assumptions prior to posing

a question. Studies in this area found:

• Specific questions elicited more information

from children than general questions but

specific questions also increased the risk of

inaccurate information (Dent, 1991).

• Although direct and specific questions increased the risk of false information, there

was an even greater risk that not asking direct questions would leave vital information

regarding touch unreported (Saywitz et al.,

1991).

• Repeated leading questioning influenced

children 5 and 6 years old, especially if the

questions were ambiguous. Factors identified as affecting responses to leading questions were delay since the event, repeated

suggestions by persons of authority, and

leading questions being posed by more than

one interviewer. In addition, younger children appeared to be much more vulnerable

to these types of questions (Goodman and

Clarke-Stewart, 1991).

Communication Enhancement

Techniques

Interviewers should try to phrase questions in

a developmentally sensitive manner. When

interviewing a child who may have been sexually abused, interviewers need to be aware that

children:

• Think in concrete terms.

• Do not organize their thoughts logically.

• Have limited understanding of space,

distance, and time.

• Have a complex understanding of truth

and lying.

• See the world egocentrically.

• Have a limited attention span.

• Have varying degrees of comfort with

strangers (Waterman, 1986).

It is recommended that interviewers turn to the

child’s caretaker for better understanding of

any idiosyncratic responses the child may provide (Melton and Thompson, 1987). While

children’s ages may be the same, their positions in the developmental process may differ.

Caretakers should be consulted for more individual information about the child.

Courtroom Preparation Techniques

Research reveals that as children get older they

gain a better understanding of the legal system.

Programs have been developed to assist children in understanding the system, which may

include using the following:
6 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

• Tours of courtrooms and introductions to

key court personnel.

• Coloring or activity books.

• Miniature-sized courtrooms with movable

figures and furniture.

• Videotapes explaining the court process.

Implications for Practitioners

When interviewing children who may have

been sexually abused, it is recommended that

the interviewer:

• Supplement use of anatomically detailed

dolls with other interviewing techniques,

rather than focusing solely upon the dolls.

• Use both general and direct interview questions but avoid repeated leading questions.

• Consult the child’s primary caretaker about

the child’s language skills and idiosyncratic

responses, and make sure the questions are

appropriate for the child’s developmental

stage.

• Be aware of the extent of the child’s knowledge of the legal process and take the time

necessary to educate him or her on the

process.

Practitioners would benefit from regular training to update their interviewing skills and to

enhance their ability to detect instances of miscommunication between the child being interviewed and the interviewer.

References

Dent, H.R. “Experimental Studies of Interviewing Child Witnesses.” In Doris, J. (ed.),

The Suggestibility of Children’s Recollections.

Washington, D.C.: American Psychological

Association (1991), 138–146.

Goodman, G.S. and A. Clarke-Stewart. “Suggestibility in Children’s Testimony: Implications for Sexual Abuse Investigations.” In The

Suggestibility of Children’s Recollections,

Doris, J. (ed.). Washington, D.C.: American

Psychological Association (1991), 92–105.

Goodman, G.S., and C. Aman. “Children’s

Use of Anatomically Detailed Dolls to

Recount an Event.” Child Development, 61

(1990), 1859–1871.

Leventhal, J.M., Hamilton, J., Rekedal, S.,

Tebano-Micci, A., and C. Eyster. “Anatomically Correct Dolls Used in Interviews of

Young Children Suspected of Having Been

Sexually Abused.” Pediatrics, 84 (1989),

900–906.

Melton, G.B. and R.A. Thompson. “Detours to

Less Traveled Paths in Child Witness Research” In Ceci, S. J., Toglia, M.P., and D.F.

Ross (eds.), Children’s Eye-witness Memory.

New York: Springer-Verlag (1987), 217–218.

Saywitz, K., Goodman, G., Nicholas, E., and

S. Moan. “Children’s Memories of a Physical

Examination Involving Genital Touch: Implications for Reports of Child Sexual Abuse.”

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59(5) (1991), 682–691.

Wakefield, H., and R. Underwager. Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse. Springfield, IL:

Charles C. Thomas (1988), 202–210.

Waterman, J. “Developmental Considerations”

In MacFarlane, K., and J. Waterman et al.

(eds.), Sexual Abuse of Young Children. New

York: The Guilford Press (1986), 15–29.
Chapter One 7

3 From Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(5) (1992), 744–756.

Purpose of Research

To refine and evaluate the modified version of

the cognitive interview for children originally

designed by Geiselman and Padilla; to evaluate

the effects of practicing cognitive interview

techniques before the interview; and to evaluate the completeness and accuracy of reports

from children who participated in the staged

event compared with those who only witnessed it.

Methods

In two studies, 132 children were interviewed

about staged activities. In one study, the staged

event centered on a private encounter between

an unfamiliar man (played by the research

assistant) and two children. Games involving

touching were played (such as Simon Says)

and one of the children in each pair wore a

costume. Pictures were taken with an

“instamatic” camera. One child played the

observer and one child the participant.

In the first study, 20 children between the ages

of 7 and 8 and another group of 20 between

the ages of 10 and 11 were randomly assigned

to either the cognitive or standard interview

condition and also were randomly assigned to

play the participant versus the observer. In the

second study, 34 children aged 8 and 9 and 58

aged 11 and 12 were assigned to one of three

interview conditions: cognitive interviewing

with practice, cognitive interviewing without

practice, and rapport building followed by

standard police interviewing techniques.

Interviewers who were off-duty detectives

from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s

Findings and Implications Drawn From

Effects of Cognitive Interviewing and Practice on

Children’s Recall Performance

by Karen J. Saywitz, R. Edward Geiselman, and Gail K. Bornstein3

Department were randomly assigned to conduct the cognitive interview. They were not

provided information about the staged event.

In both studies, children participated in a

staged event and were later interviewed. The

scenarios were conducted at a local school and

videotaped so the children’s statements could

be compared with what actually took place.

The children were interviewed 2 days after the

staged event. Both the cognitive and standard

police interviews began with rapport building

with the child. Interviewers in the standard interview used questioning procedures that they

normally use with children that began with an

open-ended question asking the children to describe what happened. Those in the cognitive

interviewing condition were trained in the use

of cognitive memory retrieval techniques.

Findings

The transcribed taped interviews were analyzed in terms of five dependent variables:

(1) number of correct facts recalled, (2) number of incorrect items recalled, (3) number

of questions asked about the staged event,

(4) total time taken to conduct the interview,

and (5) number of rapport exchanges preceding questioning. The analysis yielded the

following:

• The older children recalled significantly

more correct facts than the younger children

did.

• For all age groups, the cognitive interview

significantly increased the number of

correct facts recalled over the standard

interview.
8 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

• Children who were bystanders made more

errors than those who were participants.

However, they did not differ on number of

correct facts recalled.

• The younger children produced significantly

more incorrect items than the older children

did.

• The average number of questions asked did

not differ significantly as a function of age

of the child or whether the child was a witness or participant.

• The length of the interview was the same for

the older and younger children. Cognitive

interviews took about 5 minutes longer to

conduct than standard interviews in the first

study, but in the second study, there were no

significant differences.

• Cognitive interviewing with practice was

superior to cognitive interviewing without

practice and both were superior to standard

police interview techniques. Practice with

these novel interviewing techniques prior to

the interview produced a significantly greater

number of correct pieces of information

recalled.

Implications for Criminal Justice

Officials

Recollections of school-age children can be

improved through cognitive interviewing,

which becomes even more effective when:

• Interviewers and children become practiced

with cognitive interviewing techniques.

• Interviewers receive training—a critical aspect

to the success of cognitive interviewing techniques. Important elements to successful training are role-playing, critique of style, and

experienced and proficient cognitive interviewing trainers.

Purpose of Research

In 1993, the Bureau of Justice Assistance announced that funding was available to States

to provide assistance in purchasing equipment

and training in the use of closed-circuit television and/or videotape equipment in child

sexual abuse trials. The National Institute of

Justice funded the American Bar Association

and the American Prosecutors Research Institute to evaluate the impact of the BJA projects.

Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Use of Closed-Circuit Television and

Videotaped Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Trials:

An Evaluation of BJA’s Funding Program

by Sharon G. Elstein, Barbara E. Smith, Howard Davidson, Donald Rebovich,

Kathy Free, Mark Ells, and Caren Sempel4

Methods

The project’s methods included: (1) a telephone survey of the 26 States receiving BJA

funds; (2) a follow-on indepth telephone survey of jurisdictions to assess the effectiveness

of the technologies; (3) a 50-State legal analysis including an analysis of appellate cases;

and (4) site studies of four States that have

implemented a promising strategy for others to

replicate, either in distribution, administration,

4 From an Executive Summary submitted to the National Institute of Justice, May 1996, NIJ grant #94–IJ–CX–0054

to the American Bar Association. Elstein, Smith, and Davidson represented the American Bar Association on this

project; Rebovich, Free, Ells, and Sempel represented the American Prosecutors Research Institute.
Chapter One 9

or installation of equipment, or in providing

training on legal, interview, or technical setup

skills.

Findings

For the 26 States that received BJA funding,

the researchers found the following:

• In compliance with BJA requirements, the

States conducted a needs assessment to determine how to distribute the technologies,

but many States elected an informal, as

opposed to a formal, assessment process.

• Most States elected to distribute the funds

on a countywide, as opposed to a statewide,

basis.

• Funds were fairly equally divided between

the purchase of closed-circuit and videotape

equipment. Many States also expended BJA

dollars on training.

• Many States experienced delays in using

BJA funds and had to overcome funding

implementation obstacles.

• High marks were given to the impact and

usefulness of both videotape and closedcircuit equipment. Most prosecutors said

that the technologies were available and

useful when needed. Prosecutors generally

perceived that the technologies reduced

trauma to the child. It was emphasized that

closed-circuit television or the introduction

of videotape interviews is needed only in a

minority of cases and that “live” testimony

of children is preferred. But on those rare

occasions when a child simply cannot testify except on camera, these technologies

were considered an invaluable tool.

• Despite obstacles to the implementation

of BJA funding, the States persevered and

implemented the use of closed-circuit television and videotape equipment and/or provided training. Many States were creative in

the use of the funds and stretched the limited BJA dollars (approximately $38,000 to

each of the 26 States) by combining these

dollars with other Federal or State funds targeted for children’s issues. Consequently,

they were able to accomplish much more

than would have been possible with a single

funding source.

Implications for Federal Funding

Agencies

Federal agencies should consider the benefit of

requiring matching funds from States to demonstrate their interest in pursuing programs

supported by Federal dollars. BJA required

jurisdictions to demonstrate State support for

the projects by making a hard match of 25 percent a condition of the award. Limited Federal

funds can be used very effectively in supporting States with a demonstrated history of

ongoing programs focused on a particular

strategy for prosecuting child sexual abuse

cases. States with a history of supporting

closed-circuit television and videotape technologies were able to combine the BJA funding with other Federal and State funds and

create an ambitious program.

Implications for Criminal Justice

Planners and Professionals

The researchers offered the following suggestions with respect to training, multiagency

cooperation, resources, and equipment:

• Localities should take advantage of the

strengths of various agencies within their

jurisdiction when implementing child abuse

programs. In particular, they should look to

existing child advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams, which investigate and

prosecute child sexual abuse allegations, to

help implement such programs. The existing

open communication across agencies involved in multidisciplinary teams may help

ensure the success of such efforts.

The input of prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, investigators, defense attorneys,

victim/witness advocates, doctors, mental
10 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

health workers, and other professionals involved with abused children can help considerably in implementing closed-circuit

television and videotape projects.

• Training provided to a broad spectrum of

criminal justice professionals should be a

critical component of any effort to implement new strategies—or to expand existing

strategies—for prosecuting child abuse

cases. With respect to the closed-circuit and

videotape projects, training is important on

technical aspects of the equipment, but more

important on the legal requirements for using the technologies and forensic interviewing skills with abused children.

• To maximize resources, States should consider employing mobile units if special technologies will be used in a minority of cases.

Statewide or regionwide mobile units can

be effective in ensuring that closed-circuit

television equipment is available to any

court where it is needed, while at the same

time eliminating the waste involved in having the equipment lie dormant. States may

implement a program where small counties

can access videotape equipment at facilities

designed for taping testimony/interviews,

such as at local child advocacy centers.

• Closed-circuit television and videotape technologies are firmly established in the criminal justice system as appropriate for use in

special cases. The researchers recommended

that States:

— Continue to plan for the use of closedcircuit television and videotape equipment.

— Ensure that these technologies are available for appropriate cases in counties

across the State.

— Ensure that those using the technologies

are adequately trained in technical and

substantive issues related to their use.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Children’s Testimony and Their Perceptions of Stress

in and out of the Courtroom

by Karen J. Saywitz and Rebecca Nathanson5

Purpose of Research

To explore the effect of the courtroom environment on the quality of evidence given by children and the level of system-induced stress on

children.

Methods

Children were assigned to two conditions, one in

which an interview was conducted in the child’s

school and one in which the interview was conducted in a courtroom. A matched sample was

used in which 34 children between the ages of

8 and 10 were assigned to each of the groups

based on socioeconomic status and age.

The activity the children were to remember

was a 30-minute staged event during which an

adult male taught the children about the parts

and functions of the human body. A structured

interview was used to evaluate free and probed

recall of the staged event 2 weeks after the

staged event. The interview either took place at

the school or in a courtroom with actors playing the roles of judge, defense attorney, prosecutor, bailiff, jurors, and spectators.

5 From Child Abuse and Neglect, 17(5) (1993), 613–622.
Chapter One 11

Findings

Comparisons between children who were

questioned about the staged event in the courtroom versus at school found:

• Children interviewed at school recalled significantly more correct items than children

interviewed at court on the free recall part of

the questioning.

• For probed questions, children interviewed

at court gave significantly more incorrect

responses to probed questions than children

interviewed at school.

• Children interviewed at school made significantly fewer errors on misleading questions

than did children interviewed at court.

• Children interviewed at court perceived

their experience as significantly more stressful on some of the measures than children

interviewed at school.

• The more stressful children perceived their

court experience to be, the fewer correct

items they reported in free recall.

Implications for Judges, Law

Enforcement Officers, Victim/Witness

Advocates, and Prosecutors*

The following implications present suggestions to help reduce children’s stress and anxiety associated with interviews and the court

setting:

• Interviewing children in places where they

feel comfortable may yield fuller, more accurate accounts than interviewing them in a

potentially frightening place, such as a police station, prosecutor’s office, or formal

victim/witness office.

• Victim/witness advocates and prosecutors

can help reduce stress on children who must

testify in court by walking them through the

court process in a courtroom. This would

also help reduce children’s fear of the setting. Allowing a child to hold a familiar toy

may also minimize the strangeness of the

court setting.

• To reduce children’s anxiety about the court

setting, it might be helpful for a judge to

meet the child in the courtroom before the

hearing to explain the proceeding in less

frightening terms. If there would be a conflict for the trial judge to do this, another

judge might substitute, or the explanation

might be given right before the hearing

begins with the lawyers present.

* These implications are not explicit in the presentation but appear to follow from the findings.
12 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Purpose of Research

To determine how cases of child physical and

sexual abuse are being prosecuted and to examine the outcomes of child sexual abuse

cases in criminal courts across the country.

Methods

Project staff employed two methods of data

collection: a telephone survey of 600 prosecutors nationwide regarding child physical and

sexual abuse (conducted in 1990 and 1991)

and the collection of information from nearly

1,000 case files of sexual abuse in 10 counties

(for cases disposed of between 1988 and 1992;

dates of disposition varied from county to

county).

Findings

The study compared the findings from the national telephone survey of prosecutors with the

nearly 1,000 case files of child sexual abuse.

Based on the telephone interviews and the case

file review, the researchers found:

• Prosecutors noted an increase in fondling

offenses in the 2 years prior to the survey.

The case data revealed that 22 percent of the

cases involved only fondling offenses.

• Prosecutors reported seeing more cases involving younger children in the 2 years

prior to the survey. The case file data confirmed that many cases with young children

Prosecution of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Prosecution of Child Sexual

and Physical Abuse Cases

by Barbara E. Smith and Sharon Goretsky Elstein6

are being prosecuted. The researchers found

more than one-tenth (14 percent) of the victims were age 5 or younger.

• Many prosecutors noted an increase in the

number or proportion of perpetrators using

alcohol or drugs in the 2 years prior to the

survey. In the case data, the researchers

found that 18 percent of the defendants used

alcohol and 6 percent used drugs during (or

shortly prior to) the sexual assault.

• Prosecutors stated that they see very few

cases of child sexual abuse by strangers, and

noted a rise in the number of cases with

step-parents, romantic partners of the parent, and biological parents in the 2 years

prior to the survey. The case data document

the prevalence of abuse by perpetrators

known to the child. In only 6 percent of the

cases were victims abused by strangers

while 32 percent were abused by a parent

or parental figure.

• The majority of prosecutors stated during

the telephone survey that they do not divert

child sexual abuse offenders at any stage in

the process. Of the cases that passed indictment, only 3 percent of the offenders were

diverted prior to conviction, according to the

case data.

• Prosecutors stated during the telephone survey that the most likely sentence in child

sexual abuse cases was more than 1 year of

incarceration, with the next most likely

6 From a Final Report, American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law, submitted to the National

Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, September 30, 1993.
Chapter One 13

sentence being probation. In the case data,

the researchers found that 59 percent of offenders were given a jail or prison sentence

and 64 percent were given probation (these

were not mutually exclusive; 14 percent of

the offenders who received incarcerated

time were sentenced to a period of probation

following their incarceration).

Implications for Law Enforcement,

Prosecutors, Child Protective Services,

and the Medical Community

Prosecutors seldom see child physical abuse

cases compared with the frequency with which

they see sexual abuse cases. (Indeed, that was

why the researchers examined only child sexual

abuse cases in the case study; not enough counties could be located that prosecuted sufficient

numbers of physical abuse cases to be included

in the study.) The researchers concluded that

prosecutors should have the opportunity to review many more child physical abuse cases to

assess the feasibility of criminal prosecution.

Strategies such as public education; training of

law enforcement, child protective services, and

medical authorities to identify cases appropriate

for prosecutorial review; and training of prosecutors to prosecute these cases, hold promise

for increasing the frequency with which prosecutors accept child physical abuse cases for

prosecution.

Implications for Law Enforcement and

Prosecutors

The study found that the use of “special

techniques” such as closed-circuit television,

videotaped testimony, and anatomically correct dolls is not needed in most child sexual

abuse investigations and prosecutions. In

most cases, careful preparation of the witness

will be sufficient, but these special tools are

very important in the limited number of cases

where children cannot talk about the abuse

without using them.

Implications for the Criminal Justice

and the Substance Abuse Therapeutic

Communities

Defendants in the cases studied frequently

were using alcohol or drugs during the abusive

incident or had a history of alcohol or drug

abuse. In light of the large number of child

molesters who have alcohol or drug abuse

problems, criminal justice officials (judges,

prosecutors, probation officers, and defense

attorneys) and the substance abuse therapeutic

communities need to consider implementing a

comprehensive treatment approach for convicted child molesters.

Implications for Public Education

In the cases studied, the child almost always

knew the defendant (often a parent or parental

figure). Public attention should continue to focus on the dangers of children being molested

by strangers, but just as important, the general

public should be educated to the reality that

more than 90 percent of all child sexual abuse

offenders are individuals known to the children

they abuse. This is especially important in

criminal justice cases. Members of the public

make up jury pools and increased public

awareness that child sexual abuse is often

perpetrated by individuals close to the child

would help in prosecuting these cases.
14 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Purpose of Research

To learn via a case study in San Diego, California, about a coordinated response to the

prosecution of child physical abuse cases and

to help other communities replicate the model.

Methods

The case study included extensive interviews

with child protective services, law enforcement,

prosecutors, and staff at Children’s Hospital as

well as data collected from 15 case files.

Findings

San Diego has a multiagency approach to

prosecuting child physical abuse cases with

several distinctive characteristics:

• The police department and the district

attorney’s office each have specialized units

with specially trained staff members. Child

Protective Services provides a 6- to 8-week

training program on investigating child abuse

and neglect cases for newly hired workers.

• The roles and responsibilities of each

agency are delineated in a memorandum of

agreement to ensure that one agency does

not interfere with the work of another.

• The medical community plays a pivotal role

in collecting and interpreting evidence of

child physical abuse.

• Multiagency meetings among prosecutors,

law enforcement, child protective services,

and the medical community foster coordination of individual cases and provide a forum

for discussing general issues.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Prosecuting Child Physical Abuse Cases:

A Case Study in San Diego

by Barbara E. Smith7

Implications for Prosecutors, Law

Enforcement, Child Protective Workers,

and the Medical Communities

Based on the case files, interviews, and other

study data, the researchers drew the following

practical implications:

• Any case in which a child’s injury appears

suspicious should be carefully scrutinized to

determine if criminal action is warranted. The

common assumption that prosecutors will reject physical injury cases because they are

too difficult to prove needs to be changed.

What can be done to facilitate prosecutors receiving and reviewing more physical abuse

cases? Public education, training of criminal

justice and medical authorities, and a willingness to take on the challenge of cases that are

difficult to prove are strategies that hold promise for increasing the frequency with which

prosecutors accept physical child abuse cases

for prosecution.

• A coordinated multiagency response among

child protective services, the police, the

medical community, and the prosecutor is

recommended.

The successful prosecution of criminal cases

depends on the effectiveness of the prosecutor

and on the quality of the investigation conducted before the prosecutor receives the case.

Indeed, the early investigative work can make

or break the case for the prosecutor. Therefore,

it is important that the medical, child protective service, and law enforcement communities

look for signs that a child’s injuries were intentional and conduct sound investigations that

7 From a Research in Brief, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice and the

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, June 1995, NCJ 152978.
Chapter One 15

will preserve the important evidence for the

prosecution and defense.

• Specialization, coupled with extensive training, should be given strong consideration as

an important foundation for building sound

prosecution cases.

In San Diego, specialization within the police

department and the prosecutor’s office was important in several respects. First, specialization

created a core of professionals who received

the best available training on child abuse investigations and prosecutions. This is especially important in physical abuse cases where

the key evidence often rests on complicated

medical evidence. It also facilitates the acquisition of knowledge on the psychology of

child abusers and the dynamics in intrafamilial

abuse, so common in these cases. Second,

specialization allows law enforcement and

prosecutors to build an extensive level of

experience in investigating and prosecuting

child abuse cases. Third, specialization results

in a small number of law enforcement officers

and prosecutors handing child abuse cases.

Because the number of personnel is small,

professionals have the opportunity to form

close-knit interpersonal working relationships.

• Public education designed to reach future

potential jurors about the nature of child

physical abuse should be given priority.

The San Diego study leaves little doubt that

child physical abuse cases will remain difficult

to prosecute unless jurors are enlightened

about the dynamics involved in these types of

cases. Ten years ago, juror disbelief that child

sexual abuse occurred was common, but that

has begun to change with public education (although the fallout from some highly publicized

cases appears to have created some degree of

backlash among the public). Public education

in the area of physical abuse needs to reach

the level that public education has on sexual

abuse. Unless that happens, it is likely that

prosecutors will continue to confront jurors

who are reluctant to convict.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Justice System Processing of

Child Abuse and Neglect Cases

edited by Noy S. Davis and Susan J. Wells8

Purpose of Research

To better understand the civil and criminal

justice system processing of child abuse and

neglect cases; to determine the types of coordination activities that result in more effective

justice system processing; and to determine

the potential for tracking cases through the

child protective services and legal systems to

facilitate case coordination and allow for the

study of case processing and court outcomes.

Methods

The research had four unique components: (1) a

national telephone survey of child protective services, law enforcement, and court personnel in

41 counties; (2) a case study comparison of the

processing of child maltreatment cases in two

sites; (3) a case study of one site that aggressively prosecutes cases of child physical abuse;

and (4) a prospective case tracking study in one

site in which 450 cases were prospectively

8 From an Executive Summary submitted to the National Institute of Justice and the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, under NIJ grant #92–IJ–CX–K041, in cooperation with the National Center on Child Abuse

and Neglect, by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law; Westat, Inc.; James Bell Associates;

and the Research Triangle Institute, February 1996.
16 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

tracked from the time of the report through the

juvenile and criminal justice systems. The project

took place between 1993 and 1995.

Findings

Findings from the national telephone survey

revealed that:

• Slightly less than one-half of the law enforcement agencies surveyed for the study

had specialized units to investigate reports

of child abuse and neglect.

• There were substantial differences among

the 41 counties in the extent of communication between law enforcement and child

protective service agencies. The most frequent pattern called for law enforcement to

cross-report to child protective services.

Less than half of the counties reported using

a multidisciplinary approach.

• Respondents noted no established criteria

guiding the prosecutor’s decision to drop,

plea bargain, or try a case. More than twothirds of the counties had a specialized

prosecution unit to handle child abuse and

neglect cases.

• Communication between the prosecutor’s

office and child protective services was

rated as minimal in most counties.

• Several technical factors were identified as

inhibitors to the tracking of cases from one

agency to another such as inconsistent information maintained in databases; differing

geographical boundaries and jurisdictions;

widely varying timeframes for case actions;

and the lack of a system for giving feedback

on case outcomes to other agencies.

Findings from the case study comparison of

the processing of child maltreatment cases in

two sites showed that:

• In cases that involved both juvenile and

criminal proceedings, there were conflicting

opinions as to whether the timing of the

dual proceedings had any negative impact

on the outcome of either proceeding.

• In both sites there was neither routine, direct

communication between the juvenile and

criminal court judges handling the case nor

any automatic exchange of records or information between the two systems.

• Cases involving child abuse and neglect

were handled in an idiosyncratic fashion.

Findings from the case study of a county that

aggressively prosecutes cases of child physical

abuse are presented in the summary of a National Institute of Justice Research in Brief,

The Prosecution of Child Physical Abuse

Cases: A Case Study in San Diego, which

appears elsewhere in this document.

Findings from the prospective study of the

tracking of child maltreatment cases in one

jurisdiction showed that:

• Sexual abuse cases had the highest predicted

level of criminal prosecution.

• Cases involving female victims were more

likely to be criminally prosecuted than those

involving male victims.

• Cases involving victims ages 7 to 12 were

much more likely to be prosecuted than

cases involving older or younger children.

• Physical neglect cases were the most likely

to result in dependency court filings.

• Multiple relationships, that is, offenders

who had abused their own children as well

as another child, were most likely to result

in prosecution.

Implications for Improving Case

Processing

The researchers offered the following recommendations:

• The development of training system models

suitable to different environments may be

the most effective approach to developing

management information and tracking

systems in this field.

• Standard definitions for data elements

would be useful.
Chapter One 17

• Implementation of practices and procedures

to guide communication strategies across

agencies is needed.

• The formation of common goals would be

an important step in establishing interagency communication and trust.

• It is important to coordinate not only juvenile and criminal court processing, but also

other proceedings that may be related to

these cases, such as child support, domestic

violence, custody, or divorce proceedings.

• Professionalizing law enforcement, child

protective services agencies, and prosecution, combined with manageable caseloads,

may help improve the coordination among

the staff of these agencies. In addition, the

negative impact of frequent staff turnover

needs to be addressed as a deterrent to fostering coordination.

Findings and Implications Drawn From

Coordinating Criminal and Juvenile Court Proceedings

in Child Maltreatment Cases

by Debra Whitcomb and Mark Hardin9

9 From an Executive Summary under National Institute of Justice grant # 92–IJ–CX–K034 to the Education Development Center, Inc., and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law. The Full Report published

in 1995 is available through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, NCJ 161835.

Purpose of Research

To conduct a national assessment of the

coordination of criminal and juvenile court

proceedings in child maltreatment cases.

Intrafamilial child maltreatment cases often

involve simultaneous criminal and juvenile

court proceedings. The juvenile court handles

the child protection proceeding, which is designed to protect the child, assist the family,

and provide the child with a permanent home.

The purpose of the criminal proceeding is to

protect the public, deter future crime, punish,

and rehabilitate. Not only are the goals of each

proceeding different, but they can be incompatible, inefficient, and detrimental to the child

and family. For example, when juvenile court

actions precede the criminal matter, as is customarily the case, the alleged offenders are at

risk. Information they provide to comply with

juvenile court treatment plans, such as their

involvement with therapy, can be used against

them in subsequent prosecutions.

Methods

Two research components were employed

in this study: (1) a nationally representative

telephone survey of prosecutors and child protection attorneys and (2) site visits to four jurisdictions. For the phone survey, 150 counties

were sampled with two primary respondents in

each county: a prosecutor with responsibility

for criminal child maltreatment cases and an attorney representing the child protection agency.

Overall, 103 prosecutors and 59 child protection

attorneys responded to the phone survey. Four

counties were chosen for indepth court coordination study: Chittenden County (Burlington),

Vermont; Tompkins County (Ithaca), New York;

Santa Clara County (San Jose), California; and

Hawaii County (Hilo and Kona), Hawaii.
18 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Findings

Research from the phone survey revealed:

• A high proportion of respondents were

satisfied with the degree of coordination

between the two systems and their efforts to

achieve this level of coordination.

• Responding prosecutors estimated that 60

percent of their child maltreatment cases

were concurrently involved in juvenile court

proceedings. Sexual abuse was the offense

category most likely to be involved in both

courts.

• Approximately half the attorneys surveyed

indicated that dual court cases proceed independently, with no consideration given to

case status in the other court.

• There was little concern, particularly among

prosecutors, about the need to coordinate

between the criminal court and the juvenile

court. Some respondents felt that efforts to

coordinate would even be inappropriate or

counterproductive.

• Survey respondents reported that coordination of cases, which resulted in increased

knowledge of cases, had an impact on litigation strategies such as deciding whether or

not to pursue a case or negotiate pleas.

• Prosecutors from larger counties were less

satisfied with coordination than prosecutors

from smaller communities.

Visits to the four sites found:

• The exchange of information between juvenile courts and criminal courts was hampered by confidentiality rules.

• Inconsistent court orders occur infrequently

in all four jurisdictions because defense

attorneys represent the alleged offender in

both courts; probation officers incorporate

juvenile court orders into their presentence

investigation reports to the criminal court;

and criminal court judges mention juvenile

court orders in their own orders involving

pretrial release or probation.

• Juvenile court proceedings usually proceeded faster than related criminal cases.

Respondents were dissatisfied with the

conflicting goals of the two courts (rehabilitation/reunification vs. punishment/

retribution). Defense counsels were dissatisfied with the statutory protections available

to their clients. They regarded “testimonial

immunity” statutes (which allow alleged

perpetrators to speak freely without fearing

that their statements will be used against

them in criminal court) as inadequate protection and often advised clients not to

testify in juvenile court or participate in

therapy.

Based on the study findings, the researchers

concluded:

• Although coordination is not consistent across

jurisdictions, many agencies work well together during the investigative process.

• It is very important that there be coordination in the litigation between the criminal

and juvenile court. With increased coordination between the two types of proceedings

comes a decrease in inconsistent and conflicting orders.

• Counsel for the child protection agency and

the criminal prosecutor must communicate

in order to have successful coordination in

child maltreatment proceedings.
Chapter One 19

Implications for Criminal Justice

and Child Protection Authorities

Certain child maltreatment-related cases

should be coordinated in the criminal and

juvenile courts for several reasons:

• To ensure that both courts have access to

complete information.

• To decrease the likelihood of conflicting or

inconsistent court orders.

• To avoid unnecessary trauma to child victims.

• To address the conflict that arises when alleged offenders are denied treatment under

juvenile court plans for fear that admissions

will be used against them in criminal court.

Criminal justice and child protection authorities can increase their coordination by:

• Creating a detailed procedure for working

together.

• Establishing good working relationships

between counsels.

• Creating multidisciplinary councils and

teams.

• Mandating interagency coordination, cooperation, and collaboration.

• Increasing judicial awareness of parallel

proceedings in child abuse and neglect

cases.
20 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Purpose of Research

To explore what court-ordered probation in

child sexual abuse cases means in terms of

prosecution, sentencing, supervision, treatment, and revocation or success rates. Previous

studies had shown that probation is a common

or perhaps even the primary sentence for persons convicted of child sexual abuse.

Methods

The study employed two methods: (1) a national telephone survey of chief probation

officers in 100 randomly selected counties,

supplemented by a mail survey of State directors of probation or other relevant State representatives, and (2) site visits to Travis County,

Texas; Salt Lake County, Utah; St. Joseph

County, Indiana; and the State of Maine for

discussions with more than 60 judges, probation officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys,

therapists, and victim advocates.

Findings

Telephone and mail survey results revealed:

• Fewer than half of the county probation departments had special regulations or guidelines for dealing with probationers convicted

of child sexual abuse.

• Probation caseloads were too high to supervise

child sexual abuse probationers adequately.

Sentencing

 Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Probation Response to Child Sexual Abuse Offenders:

How Is it Working?

by Barbara E. Smith, Susan W. Hillenbrand, and Sharon R. Goretsky10

• Staff training on child sexual abuse was often inadequate, and relatively few probation

departments had specialized units to deal

with these cases.

• The average probation sentence in a majority of the jurisdictions was 3 to 5 years, a

period thought “about right” by the chief

probation officers.

• Most probation officers were satisfied with

the specificity judges used in ordering special conditions.

• Psychological counseling was the special

condition most often ordered. “Stay away”

orders were also common.

• Public mental health programs commonly

provided psychological treatment, although

private counselors were also frequently used.

• Few jurisdictions had sufficient numbers of

good treatment programs, either for those

who were indigent or for those with the

means to pay. Few departments had standards for treatment programs.

• Most child sexual abuse probationers were

required to report to their probation officers

in person; surprise and collateral contacts

were also common.

• Few child sexual abusers were brought back

to court for reoffending or other “major”

violations.

10 From a Final Report to the State Justice Institute under grant #SJI–88–11J–E–015 to the American Bar

Association, January 1990.
Chapter One 21

Practitioner interview results revealed:

• There was no consensus about whether individuals who sexually abuse children within

the nuclear (or extended) family should be

treated differently than other child sexual

abusers.

• Most child sexual abuse cases were handled

by negotiated plea rather than by trial.

• Judges usually followed the sentencing recommendations in the presentence report.

• Offenders thought to be amenable to treatment (i.e., those who admitted to at least

some sort of abuse) were likely to be sentenced to probation, sometimes accompanied by short periods of shock incarceration

in a local jail. Those who denied the abuse

were likely to receive prison sentences.

• There was no consensus as to the optimal

length of probation (the shortest was 2

years, the longest 10). Practitioners in jurisdictions with shorter probation sentences

tended to think that all that could be done

for the offender could be accomplished in

several years. Those in jurisdictions with

longer probation sentences tended to think

that lengthier supervision would at least

reduce reoffending for a longer time, and

might even extend the length of time between the end of probation and reoffense.

Regardless of the length of probation, however, there was little confidence that abuse

would not reoccur after probation terminated and probationers were no longer

closely watched.

• By far, the most common offense-specific

condition of probation was treatment for the

offender’s sexual orientation to children.

Orders to stay away from the victim or other

minor children were also common.

• Residential halfway houses were used in two

of the sites; intensive or maximum supervision was used in all, at least initially. Such

supervision included collateral contacts with

the probationer’s employer, therapist, family

members, and associates; unannounced

visits to the probationer’s home or place of

employment; and frequent in-person meetings between the probation officer and the

probationer.

• Specialized probation officers with reduced

caseloads and some training on issues relating

to child sexual abuse supervised child sexual

abuse probationers in three of the sites.

• Child sexual abuse probationers were generally required to sign waivers of confidentiality allowing their probation officers to receive

progress reports from treatment providers

and to obtain otherwise confidential information from employers and government

agencies.

• Lack of treatment alternatives and long

waiting lists were common. Almost universally, practitioners cited the need for more

therapists and more alternative therapy settings—in halfway houses, prisons, and jails.

• Coordination between the treatment provider and probation officer was considered

critical to the successful treatment of the

offender; unfortunately, such coordination

was often precluded by probation officers’

heavy caseloads.

Based on their study findings, the researchers

concluded:

• Child sexual abuse probationers require

special supervision by probation officers.

• Close coordination between probation officers and treatment providers is important.

• A variety of sentencing options and approaches are necessary to address the needs

of all child sexual abuse offenders.

• “Successful” and “unsuccessful” termination of probation and treatment needs to be

better defined and documented.
22 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Implications for all Criminal Justice

Officials

Prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and

probation officers should inform themselves

or be trained about available treatment options,

eligibility requirements, treatment regimens,

and waiting lists of various programs, both in

the community and in correctional facilities.

Implications for Judges

Judges faced with the uncomfortable sentencing

choice of treatment without incarceration or

incarceration without treatment might consider

short-term shock incarceration, followed by

probation with treatment. (Shock incarceration

was a system whereby judges would sentence

offenders to a lengthy prison term and then

bring them back to court after several months

were served. At that point, offenders would be

asked if they have had sufficient time to contemplate the severity of their crime and its affect

on their victims. If they responded affirmatively,

they would be offered the chance to be placed

on probation in lieu of returning to prison.)

Implications for Probation Officials

Probation departments could establish specialized units to monitor child sexual abuse offenders. These units would:

• Reduce caseloads to allow more careful

monitoring.

• Establish guidelines for frequent contact between the probationer and the probation officer, including surprise visits and collateral

contacts with the probationer’s therapist,

employer, family members, and associates.

• Provide intensive training on issues related

to child sexual abuse and the monitoring of

abusers.

Probation departments and officers could:

• Require probationers to sign confidentiality

waivers to facilitate access to relevant

information and allow meaningful communication between treatment providers and

probation officers.

• Receive joint training with treatment providers to clarify roles and responsibilities and to

establish mutually advantageous interactions.

• Communicate with probationers’ therapists

frequently, by telephone, written communication, and in-person meetings.

• Maintain and distribute to judges and treatment providers statistics on the number of

child sexual abuse probationers who successfully and unsuccessfully terminate their

periods of probation, including reasons for

unsuccessful terminations.
Chapter One 23

Purpose of Research

To identify how probation and parole agencies

manage adult sex offenders and develop a

model process for managing adult sex offenders in the community.

Methods

The study had two primary components: a telephone survey and field research. The telephone

survey was administered to probation and parole supervisors in 49 States and the District of

Columbia. The field research included more

than 100 interviews in 13 jurisdictions in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Oregon, and

Texas. Interviews were conducted with probation and parole officers, defense and prosecuting attorneys, law enforcement personnel, social

services workers, sex offender treatment providers, sexual assault victim treatment providers,

polygraph examiners, judges, correctional

administrators, parole authorities, victim advocates, and sex offenders. In addition to the

phone survey and field interviews, a literature

review on victim trauma and sex offender management and treatment, a legal analysis of sex

offender statutes in 50 States, and a review of

documents such as manuals, protocols, and

policies were conducted. This research examined the probation and parole response to adult

sex offenders whose victims are children as

well as adults. Many of these findings and recommendations apply particularly to adults who

sexually abuse children.

Findings and Implications Drawn From

Managing Adult Sex Offenders in the Community—

A Containment Approach

by Kim English, Suzanne Pullen, and Linda Jones11

Findings

Telephone survey results indicated:

• In 1994, about one-third of the probation

and parole agencies had specialized

caseloads for managing sex offenders.

• Agencies with specialized caseloads were

more likely than other agencies to report a

philosophy focusing on victim safety and the

use of community safety-related approaches

such as special supervision conditions and

after-hours monitoring of offenders.

Research into the model process found:

• Public safety, victim protection, and reparation for victims are important components

of the model process for managing and containing sex offenders on probation or parole.

• There are three elements of supervision that

make up the model community containment

process:

— Treatment to assist the offender in developing internal controls over deviant

thoughts.

— Supervision of the offender by probation and parole officers to exert external

controls.

— Polygraph examinations to obtain complete sexual history information and

monitor the offender’s behavior for

treatment and supervision compliance.

11 From a Research in Brief, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, January

1997, NCJ 163387.
24 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

• The model process employs a multidisciplinary approach to dealing with sex

offender management.

• The model process recommends clear and

consistent public policies.

• The model process includes quality control

to monitor current policies and practices and

to evaluate the impact of the policies and

practices.

Implications

Researchers drew several implications from

their findings:

• Professionals who work with sex offenders

may experience secondary trauma, that is,

emotional or psychological effects on professionals who work with difficult populations such as sex offenders. To deal with

secondary trauma, organizations and agencies should provide a safe environment

staffed by personnel who understand secondary trauma and the dynamics of sex

offenders. Professionals who work with sex

offenders would need to receive direct training as well as cross-training among different

agencies on a regular basis.

• The model process should be tailored to the

needs of each community. However, the

most important factor—public and victim

safety—must always be a high priority.

• Supervision plans should be individualized

for each offender and the offender’s particular risks.

• Individualized supervision plans should

restrict or bar certain activities that provide

access to victims.

• Short-term sanctions should be developed

for sex offenders who engage in high-risk

behavior. These could include short-term

mental health and jail holds, extra counseling, halfway house confinement, and fines.

• Agencies and organizations that deal with

sex offenses should communicate and

collaborate with each other.

• Sex offenders who are under supervision

should be required to participate in

approved treatment programs.

• For some sex offenders, long-term or

lifetime supervision sentences should be

considered.
Chapter One 25

Purpose of Research

To measure the impact of domestic violence

on children in terms of behavior problems and

social competence.

Methods

The study included 142 mothers and 198 children ranging from 4 to 16 years of age. Comparisons were made between 102 children in

violent families drawn from shelters and 96

children from nonviolent families drawn from

the community. For the mothers, the assessment measures were the amount of physical

violence between partners; the degree of maternal stress and adjustment as measured by

the mother’s symptoms of emotional and

physical health problems; negative life events;

and three sociodemographic factors—changes

in residences, number of marital separations in

the past 2 years, and use of community services to assess the level of family crises. For

the children, the assessment measure was a

checklist with a parental rating of 20 social

competence items and 118 behavior problems.

Impact of Domestic Violence on

Children’s Behavior

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Children of Battered Women: The Relation of Child Behavior to

Family Violence and Maternal Stress

by David A. Wolfe, Peter Jaffe, Susan Kaye Wilson, and Lydia Zak12

Findings

The study showed that:

• Significantly more children from violent

families scored higher on behavior and competency problems than did children from

nonviolent families. In fact, children from

violent families had a rate of behavior and

social competency problems 2.5 times

higher than those from nonviolent families.

More than one-quarter of the children from

violent families had problems severe enough

to fall into the clinical range.

• The association between behavior and social

competency problems between those in violent versus nonviolent families was especially strong for boys.

• Children in violent families who were exposed to a higher frequency and intensity of

physical violence and whose mothers reported more negative life events, scored

higher on behavior and social competency

problems than children with lower frequency and intensity of physical violence

and whose mothers reported fewer negative

life events.

12 From Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53(5) (1985), 657–665.
26 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Implications for Prosecutors

Domestic violence victims should be asked

whether their children are experiencing behavior and competency problems. For those who

are, prosecutors should refer the mother to victim assistance, crisis providers, and other support services so that the children’s needs are

not overlooked.

Implications for Victim Assistance

When providing services to domestic violence

victims, inquiries should be made on how the

children are coping. Efforts to assist mothers

will have a positive bearing on children.

Appropriate referrals to short- and long-term

services should be made.
Chapter One 27

Purpose of Research

To provide insight on when parental drug testing was conducted in child abuse and neglect

cases and to examine client and court outcomes associated with its use.

Methods

The Family Division of the District of Columbia Superior Court has civil jurisdiction over

children named in child maltreatment petitions. The D.C. Family Court judges began referring abuse and neglect cases for drug testing

in 1987 to assist courts and social services in

identifying and addressing treatment needs.

The court’s goal is to promote child safety as

well as family preservation.

The research compared a matched sample of

169 drug-involved cases that entered the drug

testing program from October 1, 1989, to December 31, 1990, with a similar group of 159

drug-involved cases from the same period that

did not enter the drug testing program.

Findings

The study identified case services and dispositions that may be associated with the testing

program. The author cautions that conclusions

are preliminary in light of research methodology limitations. The study found that cases in

which the parent(s) participated in drug testing

(compared to those that did not), were more

likely to experience the following outcomes:

• More frequent court hearings over a shorter

time and a shorter overall case processing

time.

• Children placed more often with the primary caregiver or other family member than

in foster homes or institutions.

• More service referrals to caregivers for drug

treatment, child-oriented services, and housing and other basic needs.

• Greater monitoring of visitation, as indicated by the court’s practice to grant,

revoke, or deny visitation rights.

• Increased parental cooperation with referrals

for diagnostic services.

Other

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Parental Drug Testing in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases:

The Washington, D.C., Experience

by Lisa C. Newmark13

13 From a Final Report to the National Institute of Justice under grant #93–IJ–CX–0042, published by the Urban

Institute, December 1995.
28 Research on Legal Interventions in Child Maltreatment Cases

Implications for the Criminal

Justice System

Drug testing seems to be a promising tool for

courts and social services to use in working

with child maltreatment cases in which parents are substance abusers. Testing was associated with achieving a number of the courts’

and social services agencies’ goals, including

identifying treatment needs and making service referrals, using family placements and a

monitored parental visitation program, and

reunifying families.

Other jurisdictions interested in implementing

a testing program can benefit from the District

of Columbia’s experience. When developing

such a program, it is critical to enroll the support of all relevant agencies and establish a coordinated approach with strong channels of

communication. Policies should be developed,

monitored, and revised as needed on specific

operational issues, such as testing logistics,

case selection and referral mechanisms, testing

schedules, program registration, recordkeeping

and reporting, and monitoring and sanctioning

noncompliance and “dirty” test results.

Jurisdictions interested in implementing drugtesting programs also need to plan for the

court and social service resources required by

such programs. These include:

• Court resources. Testing appears to be associated with more frequent court hearings

and shorter case processing times. Courts

may need to allocate resources for a more

intense approach to case processing.

• Case management services. Children of

tested parents were placed more frequently

with their parents and less frequently in foster homes than were children of nontested

parents. As a result, more extensive services

may be required for reunited families in order to monitor progress, protect child safety,

and promote healthier family functioning in

the long term.

• Service referrals. Increased referrals to several types of services, not just drug treatment services, were associated with testing.

Jurisdictions should allocate sufficient resources to meet the needs of referred cases

and courts should coordinate anticipated demands with treatment professionals in the

community. This is especially important

given that judges and case managers said

that inadequate levels of services for drug

abuse and other family problems is the biggest obstacle to the restoration of functional

families.

• Case disposition. There was some evidence

that testing is associated with family reunification rather than adoption or termination of

parental rights. Should this occur in other

jurisdictions implementing drug testing programs, a plan for extensive aftercare services should be implemented to reduce the

incidence of repeat maltreatment and the recycling of these cases through the system.
Chapter Two 29

Chapter Two: Research on Legal

Interventions in Elder Abuse Cases

While elder abuse has not been examined as

extensively as spousal violence and child

abuse, research over the past decade has shed

some light on elder abuse and resulted in recommendations for improving the response to

this problem. However, there is a critical need

for more research in this area. This chapter

examines studies on the coordination and collaboration between social service and criminal

justice systems, as well as research-based recommendations for State courts when dealing

with elder abuse.

Coordination and Collaboration

Collaborative and coordinated responses by the

various relevant public and private agencies

have become increasingly popular strategies

when addressing complicated social problems.

The two studies presented in this chapter examine working relationships between the social

services system and the criminal justice system. The first examines the extent to which formal and informal protocols and joint training

exist among State adult protective agencies and

law enforcement agencies in 45 States. The

second study examines interagency protocols

in an effort to improve communication between

agencies, increase referrals, and facilitate service plans for victims. In both studies, communication, coordination, and collaboration between social service agencies and the criminal

justice system are viewed as having a positive

impact on elder abuse services. To facilitate

this positive impact, practitioners need to be

aware of legislation and existing protocols between agencies; to improve existing protocols,

as necessary; and to establish protocols where

there are none.

Recommendations to State Courts

The last article focuses on developing knowledge about judicial handling of elder abuse

cases and using that knowledge to develop recommended guidelines to help courts. Twentynine recommendations are made as to ways

that State courts can improve their handling of

elder abuse cases, ensure that these cases enter

the court system, and coordinate the judicial

system with other community resources.

Specific recommendations include:

• Providing training on elder abuse issues for

judges.

• Making courts more flexible to accommodate the special needs of the elderly.

• Encouraging the formation or continuation

of multidisciplinary, interagency task forces

on elder abuse.

• Including elder abuse experts on court

advisory councils.

• Making victim/witness advocates or other

court staff available to help victims throughout the court process in both criminal and

civil proceedings.
30 Research on Legal Interventions in Elder Abuse Cases

Purpose of Research

To examine the nature of the working relationships that State adult protective service (APS)

units and State units on aging have with law

enforcement agencies in handling domestic

and institutional elder abuse cases; to obtain

information about formal protocols or agreements that State and/or local aging and APS

units have with law enforcement agencies; and

to obtain information about joint training, research, or public education programs.

Methods

Beginning in August 1991, survey questionnaires were sent to the APS and aging agencies

in each of the States, two territories, and the

District of Columbia. Agencies in 45 of these

jurisdictions returned completed forms.

Findings

Results from the survey questionnaires were

analyzed from two perspectives: domestic

elder abuse and institutional elder abuse.

The survey on domestic elder abuse revealed:

• The majority of States (36 of 45 jurisdictions) have laws mandating law enforcement

involvement in handling domestic elder

abuse cases (e.g., investigations and home

visits for evidence gathering).

• The law enforcement agencies most often

required to be involved are the police (22 of

45), local prosecutor (21), sheriff (20), and

court (18). One or more responding jurisdictions require involvement by the State’s attorney, attorney general, district attorney,

coroner, county protective services, and

county probation officers.

• Few States (3 of 45) have formal protocols

between State APS or aging agencies and

State law enforcement; local protocols are

somewhat more common (14 of 45), but still

relatively rare.

• Regardless of whether or not formal protocols exist between APS/aging and law

enforcement agencies, in the majority of

States, these agencies regularly work together (31 of 45) and undertake joint training, public education, and research activities

(31 of 45). Law enforcement agencies or

officials most likely to participate in joint

activities are the police, the sheriff, the attorney general, medicaid fraud control unit,

court, and the district attorney.

The survey on institutional elder abuse revealed:

• The majority of States (32 of 45) have laws

mandating law enforcement involvement in

handling institutional elder abuse cases.

• Law enforcement agencies or officials most

frequently required to be involved are police

(17 of 45), local prosecutor (17), sheriff (14),

Coordination and Collaboration

Findings and Implications Drawn From

Working Relationships Between Adult Protective Services,

Aging Agencies, and Law Enforcement Agencies—

A Short-Term Project

by Toshio Tatara and Margaret Rittman1

1 From a Final Report, National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse (NARCEA), April 1992.
Chapter Two 31

and court (10). One or more States require

involvement of the attorney general, State’s

attorney, county protective services unit,

coroner, and medicaid fraud control unit.

• Formal protocols are rare at both the State

level (9 of 45) and the local level (4).

• In about half the States, law enforcement

works with APS/aging agencies (23 of 45) and

participates with them in other activities (21).

• In about half the States, law enforcement

works with APS/aging agencies (23 of 45) and

participates with them in other activities (21).

Implications for Law Enforcement*

The following conclusions were drawn:

• Law enforcement officials should be aware of

existing legislation mandating their involvement with APS/aging agencies and protocols

for implementing such involvement.

• Where protocols do not exist or where they

are ineffective, law enforcement officials

should work with APS/aging agencies to

establish or improve such protocols.

* These implications are not explicit in the report but appear evident from the survey results.

2 From the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 6(2) (1994), 9–21.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Collaboration Between Protective Services and

Law Enforcement: The Massachusetts Model

by Donna M. Reulbach and Jane Tewksbury2

Purpose of Research

To develop, test, and refine interagency protocols regarding elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation; improve communication and

flow of information between the protective services agency and law enforcement; increase

cross-agency referrals; and facilitate development of service plans to support victims

throughout the criminal justice process.

Methods

The development of the Middlesex County

Guidelines for Handling Elder Abuse Referrals

was a collaborative effort of Massachusetts

Protective Services and the Middlesex County

District Attorney’s Office. This collaborative

effort involved reviewing cases referred to the

district attorney and examining their outcome

in terms of satisfaction of the district attorney,

the protective services agency, and the victim;

agreeing upon common language, terms, and

concepts; cross-training of both front-line and

supervisory police, and prosecutorial, victim/

witness, and protective service personnel about

the requirements and implications of mandatory reporting; and developing and testing

guidelines focusing on mandatory reporting

requirements of statutes and regulations.

Findings

Historically, there has been considerable mistrust and little cooperation between the social

services and criminal justice systems. The

study results showed:

• Despite statutory mandatory reporting requirements, protective services personnel often failed to report elder abuse and neglect to

the district attorney. Many protective services

workers believed that such reports would
32 Research on Legal Interventions in Elder Abuse Cases

necessarily result in criminal prosecution

and probably incarceration of the perpetrator/

caregiver. In fact, however, not all reports

resulted in criminal prosecution and not all

prosecutions resulted in incarceration. Moreover, inadequate reporting by protective services personnel often resulted in lost or destroyed physical evidence.

• When protective services did refer cases to

the district attorney’s office, there was often

inadequate followup by either side, that is:

— The district attorney’s office often failed

to investigate to see if criminal charges

could be brought.

— Protective services rarely requested

to be kept apprised of how the

prosecutor’s office was going to

proceed—information that was critical

to the development of an appropriate

service plan for the victim.

• Despite statutory mandatory requirements

that police report elder abuse and neglect to

the protective services agency, police rarely

did so. Consequently, protective services

was unable to provide needed services to

victims, initiate alternative interventions

when criminal prosecutions would not go

forth, or develop victim safety plans to support victims through the criminal justice

process.

Conclusions

Based on case reviews, interagency guidelines

were developed, field-tested, and—after extensive cross-training of Protective Services and

law enforcement staff—implemented. From this

process researchers concluded:

• A coordinated multidisciplinary effort to develop and implement interagency protocols

can increase case referral, improve interagency communication, and result in better

investigations and more timely prosecutions.

• The development and cultivation of personal

contacts among all of the involved agencies

is an essential ingredient of effective interagency cooperation and collaboration.

• Protocols would:

— Clearly define the types of cases protective services should refer to the

prosecutor.

— Specify who on the prosecutorial staff

is to receive referrals.

— Detail the steps the prosecutor’s office

should take upon receiving such referrals, emphasizing timeliness.

— Specify the types of information protective services and prosecutors should

share with each other.

• The process of developing protocols can also

result in the identification of statutory or

regulatory obstacles to interagency cooperation. For example, in addition to developing

the Guidelines, the project’s collaborators:

— Drafted and filed with the legislature a

criminal neglect bill.

— Successfully sought an amendment

of protective services legislation to

include financial exploitation as a

reportable condition.

— Obtained modification of protective services requirements so as to allow law

enforcement to assume early and exclusive jurisdiction in investigating cases

involving the death of the victim.

Implications for Law Enforcement and

Prosecutors

Experience with the Massachusetts model resulted in several recommendations to improve

the response to elder abuse and neglect cases:

• Supervisory and front-line personnel in the

police department, prosecutor’s office, and

the protective services agency should participate in and coordinate their agency’s efforts.
Chapter Two 33

• Police should report elder abuse, neglect, and

financial exploitation to the protective services agency.

• Prosecutors should keep the protective services agency advised about how specific

cases are proceeding so that it can:

— Deliver needed services to victims.

— Arrange for alternative interventions to

protect victims when prosecution will

not go forth.

— Develop victim safety plans to support

victims through the criminal justice

process when prosecution will go forth.

• Prosecutors should maintain close coordination with protective services to:

— Clarify whether or not specific cases

should be referred to the prosecutor

and what the procedure is for handling

cases referred by protective services.

— Encourage reporting of elderly abuse

cases that might warrant criminal

prosecution.

— Obtain assistance in securing information or testimony from intimidated

victims.

— Obtain useful information about the

facts and circumstances of the reported

prosecutorial handling of specific cases.

• The prosecutorial screening function should

be centralized and should encourage consultation with protective services workers who

are unsure about the suitability of referral in

specific cases. Screeners can also serve as

troubleshooters to field complaints from

protective services about prosecutorial handling of specific cases. The prosecutor

should encourage protective services to establish a parallel position to field complaints

from prosecutors.
34 Research on Legal Interventions in Elder Abuse Cases

Recommendations to State Courts

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Recommended Guidelines for State Courts

Handling Cases Involving Elder Abuse

by Lori A. Stiegel3

3 From a publication of the American Bar Association Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly,

developed under State Justice Institute grant #SJI–93–12J–E–274, 1995.

Findings

Criminal court involvement in elder abuse

cases is appropriate when:

• The case involves criminal intent, criminal

neglect, or a crime committed in a nursing

home that would be prosecuted if committed

on the street.

• The alleged offender is a public guardian, a

person with a history of abusive behavior, a

caregiver, or someone who violated protective orders.

• The abused elder is mentally ill or mentally

impaired.

• The abuse involved severe physical harm or

injury or sexual abuse.

Noncriminal court involvement in elder abuse

cases is appropriate when:

• The case involves abandonment, domestic

violence, fiduciary abuse, elder abuse

within a Medicaid-certified nursing facility;

emotional, psychological, or mental abuse;

financial exploitation; improper institutionalization; sexual abuse; theft by a caregiver;

or severe harm or death.

• The alleged abuser is a guardian or caregiver.

• A protective order or injunction is needed to

stop the abuse.

• An incapacitated older person refuses to

accept protective services.

Purpose of Research

To develop a base of knowledge about judicial

handling of cases involving elder abuse and to

use that knowledge to develop recommended

guidelines to help courts provide judicial solutions that respect the values and wishes of

elder abuse victims while protecting their welfare; ease access of appropriate cases to the

court system; and enhance coordination among

the court system and public and private agencies serving abused elders.

Methods

The project involved: (1) review and analysis

of relevant civil and criminal statutes, case law,

and legal and social sciences literature; (2) two

Delphi consensus-building surveys completed

by 214 and 170 respondents, respectively,

including judges, court administrators, legal

services, private attorneys, prosecutors, adult

protective services and social services personnel, staff from Medicaid fraud control units

and State attorney’s general offices, health care

providers, long-term care ombudsman program

staff, researchers, and victim/witness advocates; (3) development, expert advisory committee review, and revision of draft recommendations based on survey issues that elicited at

least 75 percent “consensus”; and (4) continual

review of proposed recommendations by nine

focus groups representing relevant national

organizations.
Chapter Two 35

Barriers inhibiting entry of elder abuse cases

into the courts include certain concerns or

beliefs of abused elders such as:

• Reluctance to get family members or caretakers in trouble.

• Dependence on abusers for companionship

or care.

• Fear that court involvement will result in

their removal from the home.

• Fear of testifying and shame in airing their

abuse in court.

• Lack of knowledge about legal remedies.

• Logistical problems in getting to and spending time in court.

• Belief that court intervention will not prevent further abuse or retaliation.

Barriers inhibiting entry of elder abuse cases

into the courts include certain institutional

barriers such as:

• Judges’ insensitivity and ignorance about

elder abuse, which inhibits lawyers, prosecutors, and abused persons from bringing

cases.

• Court delays that result in elders’ forgetting

about the abuse or in the lessening of their

ability to recall information about it.

• Lack of knowledge by prosecutors, lawyers,

and law enforcement officers about handling

elder abuse cases.

• Lack of coordination between adult protective service workers and law enforcement.

Implications for Judges

The project developed a total of 29 recommendations on ways State courts can improve their

handling of elder abuse cases, ensure that elder

abuse cases enter the court system, and coordinate the judicial system functions with that of

other community resources. Among these:

• Judges should be trained about the dynamics of elder abuse and family violence,

relevant laws, available services for elder

abuse victims, and effective handling of

elder abuse cases. Training should include

cross-training with other relevant professionals.

• In handling elder abuse cases, judges should

make accommodations for victims with

physical and mental deficiencies, be flexible

in scheduling hearings to accommodate

needs of elderly victims, and expedite cases.

• If the capacity of elder abuse victims is an

issue, judges should use experts trained and

knowledgeable about the problems of older

persons to assess capacity. In noncriminal

proceedings involving incapacitated victims,

judges should use guardians and alternatives

to guardianship appropriately and ensure

that, when one is to be used, an appointed

counsel is assigned as early as possible. In

criminal proceedings involving incapacitated victims, judges should allow prosecutors special latitude in questioning victims,

and ensure that plea negotiations and sentences meet the victims’ needs.

• Courts should establish intracourt communication systems to ensure that judges hearing

elder abuse cases are aware of related cases

that have been previously heard or are underway in different divisions.

• Judges should encourage the formation or

continuation of multidisciplinary, interagency task forces on elder abuse, and have

elder abuse experts serve on court advisory

councils.

Implications for Victim/Witness

Advocates and Court Staff

Victim/witness advocates or other court staff

should assist older abused persons throughout

the court process in both criminal and noncriminal proceedings.

Victim/witness advocates need to learn about

the dynamics of elder abuse, the jurisdiction’s

adult protective services, and resources offered

by other network services for the elderly.
Chapter Three 37

Chapter Three: Research on Legal

Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

As public awareness about the prevalence

and nature of spouse and partner violence has

increased, so too has public demand that the

justice system step in to stop the violence,

rather than continue to treat it as a private

matter between consenting adults. Accordingly, police, prosecutors, probation officers,

and judges are using or adapting various strategies to this end. Researchers have examined

some of these strategies, including civil protection orders, arrest and prosecution, and courtordered treatment of offenders. At the same

time, research has shed increasing light on

characteristics common to batterers.1

Batterer Characteristics

Justice system practitioners must have at

least a general understanding of the nature of

batterers to be able to deal with them effectively and to protect their victims from further

violence. Two of the studies summarized in

this chapter specifically sought to identify

characteristics predictive of domestic violence.

Although their methods differ considerably,

both conclude that criminal history, history

of mental illness, and use of alcohol and

drugs are among the common characteristics

of batterers. (These and other batterer

characteristics are also included among the

findings of several other studies summarized

in this chapter under other headings.)

Civil Protection Orders

Restraining orders have been touted as workable and preferable alternatives to criminal

proceedings or useful tools in conjunction

with criminal proceedings in domestic violence cases. They also have been criticized

as ineffective or, worse, as providing false

comfort to victims who rely on them.

The four studies on civil protection orders

explore the benefits and limitations of issuing

and enforcing such orders, assess their impact

in reducing abusive behavior and improving

the quality of women’s lives, and provide some

insight into abusers against whom restraining

orders are issued and their future risk of abuse.

Generally, the studies find that civil protection

orders have important, but limited, value to

victims. Restraining orders can provide immediate relief from the violence and enhance

victims’ self-esteem. However, they are rarely

effective in reducing future violence unless

accompanied by safety planning and other

community services,2

 or when, as is commonly

1 In 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Violence Against Women Grants Office (VAWGO) launched an initiative

to identify and develop promising practices for law enforcement, prosecution, the courts, and victim services.

Findings from expert panels, a national survey of hundreds of practitioners, and indepth interviews with practitioners

will be published in the spring of 1998 as a manual to help States and subgrantees with Federal Violence Against

Women Act funds draw on the most promising practices in their fields. In the meantime, VAWGO has released a

document entitled “Assessing Justice System Response to Violence Against Women” that contains checklists

for each discipline, supplemented by selected program profiles. It is available on the VAWGO Web page

(http://www.vaw.umn.edu), or by calling 800–256–5883.

2 Many advocacy groups, including the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, recommend

that safety planning be conducted regularly with all victims of domestic violence. The Commission also recommends the development of “one-stop shopping” for victim services or intake centers in courts, at shelters, or at

police stations.
38 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

the case, the batterers have a history of severe

violence or are substance abusers. Not surprisingly, protection orders also have been found

to be ineffective when not promptly served or

effectively enforced on the abuser. Given the

limitations of civil protection orders, several of

the studies recommend that domestic violence

cases be prosecuted as well, and one study

recommends that prosecution be “no drop.”3

Arrest

One of the most widely implemented—but

controversial—efforts to deal with domestic

violence in recent years has been the adoption

of proarrest or mandatory arrest policies.4

Some believe such policies are necessary to

convince batterers that, regardless of the relationship between the parties, violence is a

crime. Others believe proarrest policies only

confirm victims’ sense of powerlessness

over their own lives. The research projects

described show how the numerous variables

associated with arresting batterers can complicate the evaluation of these policies, and lead

to some different conclusions. Generally, however, the studies find that mandatory arrest as

a deterrent to future violence works better for

some perpetrators than for others, and that it

is more effective in the short term than in the

long run. Several also argue that deterrence

should not be the only value on which

mandatory arrest is judged.

Prosecution

The prosecution studies described in this

volume shed light on various aspects of prosecuting domestic violence cases. The first

study concerns a survey of how these cases

are handled in large jurisdictions, that is, what

sort of domestic violence cases prosecutors

handle, how cases come into the office, and

how they are dealt with in terms of pretrial

release, postcharge diversion, trial, and

sentencing. The next study examines the effectiveness of eight combinations of arrest and

prosecution policies—including a “no drop”

option—in reducing renewed violence.

It concludes that victim involvement in

decisionmaking can reduce the likelihood of

rebattering. Several others address evidence

about battering—how it differs from “the battered woman syndrome,” how it should and

should not be used for defense or prosecution

purposes, and current trends in statutes and

court decisions that recognize the validity of

such evidence to supplement, but not to supplant, more traditional forms of evidence.

Court-Ordered Treatment

Two studies summarized in this chapter

address the effectiveness of court-ordered

treatment for reducing renewed violence by

batterers. One concludes that batterer treatment does not reduce the prevalence or frequency of violence, while the other finds that

integrated substance abuse/batterer treatment

programs are more effective in reducing

battering than separate treatment programs

for battering and substance abuse.

Other

Finally, this section of the publication includes

a study summary relating to the corporatesector response to domestic violence.

3 In 1997, the American Bar Association adopted a resolution recognizing that “no drop” prosecutions can be very

helpful in sparing victims from the sole responsibility for prosecuting their batterers but at the same time urging

that such prosecutions be undertaken with great care to ensure victims’ protection.

4 The Federal Violence Against Women Act of 1994 encourages police departments to adopt either proarrest or

mandatory arrest policies (42 U.S.C. 3796hh(b)(1) and (c)(1)). The American Bar Association has endorsed the

adoption of proarrest policies (February 1997).
Chapter Three 39

Purpose of Research

To study the health and development of a complete cohort of infants born between April 1,

1972, and March 31, 1973, in Dunedin on

New Zealand’s South Island. The goal was to

improve prediction, understanding, and treatment of partner violence by studying the developmental experiences, personal characteristics, and situational circumstances that lead

individuals into partner violence, and to help

make policy to deter batterers through arrest,

prosecution, or therapy.

Methods

This research summary is part of the Dunedin

Multidisciplinary Health and Development

Study, a 21-year study of a representative birth

cohort. The cohort was assessed at ages 3, 5,

7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 21. When the cohort

became 21 years old, the researchers embedded questions about partner violence in a

50-minute standardized interview about

intimate relationships.

Findings

The section of the study on partner violence

found that partner violence is strongly

associated with the following:

• Cohabitation at a young age.

• A variety of mental illnesses.

• A background of family adversity, leaving

school early, and juvenile aggression.

• Conviction for other types of crime,

especially violent crime.

• Drug abuse.

• Long-term unemployment.

• Motherhood at a young age.

Implications for the Criminal Justice

System

Based on the study results, the researchers

concluded:

• Perpetrators of partner violence tend to be

perpetrators of other violent crimes. This

finding may point to a need to coordinate

policing and judicial approaches to

batterers.

Batterer and Victim Characteristics

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Findings About Partner Violence From the

Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study

by Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi, and Phil A. Silva5

5 The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the New Zealand Health

Research Council. This research was supported by grant #94–IJ–CX–0041 from the National Institute of Justice.

Additional support was provided by U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) grant MH–45070 to Terrie E. Moffitt from

the Violence and Traumatic Stress Research Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, by USPHS grant

MH–49414 to Avshalom Caspi from the Personality and Social Processes Branch of the National Institute of Mental

Health, by the William T. Grant Foundation, and by the William Freeman Vilas Trust at the University of Wisconsin.

Forthcoming in 1998.
40 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Purpose of Research

To construct “red flags” that might serve

as bases to intervene and prevent domestic

fatalities.

Methods

Data sources included police records; court

documents; autopsy reports; newspaper

accounts; hospital reports; and interviews with

police, court personnel, mental health workers,

social service providers, and advocates for

battered women. Data were gathered on victim

and perpetrator characteristics, including gender, race, and relationship; “situational antecedents” such as prior history of domestic

violence, emotional or mental difficulties,

and acknowledged conflict in the relationship;

and the incident itself, including mode of killing, presence of other parties at the scene, nonfatal wounding of others, and use of weapons,

drugs, or alcohol.

While acknowledging the potential objection

that the many variables of domestic fatalities

are inseparable and interwoven parts of an

abusive relationship, the researchers contend

that breaking down the various components

allows for a determination of combinations

of subcomponents most likely associated with,

and therefore predictive of, lethal domestic

situations.

Findings

Data sources revealed:

• Domestic fatalities for 1994 were underreported by the Florida Department of Law

Enforcement. Whereas the official count

was 230, the study revealed 321 domestic

fatalities, 281 of which were consistent with

the Florida domestic violence statute. Fortyseven of these domestic fatalities were suicides within homicide-suicide incidents.7

• Interventions should target teen mothers, to

protect very young children from high rates

of exposure to family violence.

• Domestic violence should be a standard intake assessment in all public mental health

settings, to identify both perpetrators and

victims before injury brings them in contact

with medical practitioners.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Florida Mortality Review Project:

Executive Summary

by Byron Johnson, De Li, and Neil Websdale6

6 From research undertaken by the Center for Justice Research and Education at Lamar University (Texas) for the

Florida Governor’s Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence; funded by grant #95–WF–NX–0012 from the

Stop Violence Against Women program, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. For further

information, contact Robin Hassler, Executive Director, Governor’s Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence,

2555 Shumard Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399–2100.

7 These figures continue to be updated as new data (e.g., cases solved) and access to additional data sources

(e.g., child and protective services case files) are obtained.
Chapter Three 41

• Of domestic homicide victims, nearly 95

percent of the women were killed by men,

while only a quarter of the men were killed

by women.

• Domestic fatalities involving female victims

were usually final events in long-standing

abusive relationships; this was not the

case when the victims were male.

• Women who killed men usually did so out

of self-defense or, less often, the defense

of their children.

• The rate of domestic homicides perpetrated

by women is considerably higher for blacks

than for whites or Latinos; the rate was

lowest for Latinos.

• Deaths of children resulting from abuse

and/or neglect showed a strong correlation

with unmarried caretakers, poverty, and a

history of physical abuse.

• “Red flags” identified with the 1994 domestic fatalities in Florida were as follows:

— Prior history of domestic violence in

the relationship.

— Obsessive-possessive beliefs on the part

of the perpetrator, that is, a perpetrator’s

belief or sense of possession and total

control over the victim.

— Threats to kill.

— Perpetrator belief of betrayal by partner,

or morbid jealousy, including departure

from expected role.

— Victim attempts to break away.

— Prior police calls to the residence.

— Drug and/or alcohol use prior to the

incident.

— Prior criminal histories of victims and

perpetrators.

— History of mental illness or medical

treatment of mental health problems.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Since prior police contact is a “red flag,” it is

critical that police document the nature of their

involvement with domestic violence incidents.

Such information can be used to screen highrisk cases. Police reports should contain the

following information:

• The names of the victims.

• History of prior violence.

• Police involvement, injunctions, and prior

criminal histories.

• History of possessive beliefs, mental illness,

and so forth.

Police could receive sensitivity training on the

importance and implications of the “red flags,” *

including:

• Threats to kill an intimate partner or spouse,

which need to be taken seriously.

• Complaints from individuals who have

obtained injunctions, left the household, or

previously summoned the police, which

need to be given priority attention.*

Police could work with judicial and social

services groups to develop plans for unusual

and highly proactive interventions.

* These implications are not explicit in the executive summary but appear to follow from the findings.
42 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Implications for Judges

To improve their role in domestic violence

interventions and thus prevent fatalities,

judges could:

• Be made aware of the existence and nature

of “red flags” for domestic fatalities and

take them into consideration in fashioning

specific conditions in restraining orders

and sentences.*

• Encourage recipients to develop safety

plans and work with local domestic violence

agencies when issuing protective orders.*

• Work with police and social services

groups to develop plans for unusual and

highly proactive interventions.

* These implications are not explicit in the executive summary but appear to follow from the findings.
Chapter Three 43

Purpose of Research

To explore concerns involved in issuing

and enforcing civil protection orders.

Methods

Information was drawn from four sources:

(1) a review of pertinent State statutes and case

law; (2) telephone interviews with 12 judges

and 12 victim advocates; (3) examination of

program documentation in Duluth, Minnesota,

and Seattle, Washington; (4) site visits to Portland, Maine; Portland, Oregon; Springfield,

Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Colorado

Springs, Colorado, which included personal

interviews with judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, women’s advocates, and

battered women; courtroom observation;

and—in two of the sites—ride-alongs with

police officers.

Findings

Civil protection orders can provide:

• A workable alternative to criminal charges

or an additional remedy for many victims

seeking protection from further domestic

abuse.

• Immediate relief to domestic violence

victims.

• An alternative form of relief where the

level of evidence may not sustain criminal

charges or where the victim, for reasons of

age, illness, or alcohol or drug dependency,

may be a weak prosecution witness.

The utility of protection orders may depend on

their specificity, consistency of enforcement,

and the ease with which they are obtained.

Serious limitations of civil protection orders

include:

• Widespread lack of enforcement, even

though such orders allow for expansion

of police arrest powers and increase the

ability of police to monitor repeat offenders.

Civil Protection Orders

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Civil Protection Orders: Legislation,

Current Court Practice, and Enforcement

by Peter Finn and Sarah Colson8

8 From an Issues and Practices Report prepared for the National Institute of Justice by Abt Associates Inc.,

Contract #OJP–86–C–002, published by the National Institute of Justice, March 1990, NCJ 123263. Since this

groundbreaking study was published in 1990, there have been a number of changes regarding the issuance of protection orders, some likely as a result of the problems flagged in the report. For example, many jurisdictions now provide 24-hour access to protection orders and improved court forms or computerized filing and petition procedures.

Many States have enacted statutes making violations of protection orders a matter of criminal contempt, a misdemeanor, or even a felony. Federal law now makes mutual protection orders issued in violation of due process unenforceable and prohibits abusers convicted of domestic violence or having outstanding protection orders against them

from possessing firearms. Finally, increased emphasis has been placed on substantive criminal prosecutions of

domestic violence.
44 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

• Uncertainty about enforcement of the orders

on the part of both police and judges.

• Common statutory weaknesses, including:

— Filing fees.

— Lack of procedures and funds for training and supervising clerks to assist petitioners seeking protection orders.

— Narrow eligibility categories.

— Lack of means of issuing emergency

orders when courts are not in session.

— Requirement of service to the defendant

before the order becomes effective,

leaving victims unprotected until service has been made.

— Failure to provide for case tracking

to determine compliance.

— Failure to provide law enforcement

officers with adequate authorization for

arresting respondents who violate protection orders by designating violations

as civil (rather than criminal) contempt

or misdemeanors or by failing to provide

for warrantless arrest for violations.

• Petition procedures that require the assistance of counsel. Even with a simplified

petitioning procedure and energetic lay

assistance, victims not represented by counsel are less likely to get protection orders. If

an order is issued, it is less likely to contain

all appropriate provisions regarding exclusion from the residence, temporary custody

of children, child support, and protective

limitations on visitation rights.

Centralized court administration of domestic

violence petitions reduces postponements of

hearings due to attorney absences and helps

judges develop specialized expertise in domestic violence cases. It also facilitates matters for

victims. On the other hand, full-time work on

domestic violence cases can be exhausting and

“burnout” is likely.

Implications for Judges

The researchers offer several recommendations

or points of consideration to address concerns

regarding civil protection orders and to improve judges’ effectiveness in issuing and enforcing such orders. These recommendations

are in the areas of guideline development and

court policies, victims’ access to the petitioning process, information on the victims’ circumstances, and education about civil protection orders and domestic abuse.

Guideline development. Judges can develop

guidelines for when to issue and how to enforce civil protection orders based on statutory

authorization, available case law, and local

court procedures.

Guidelines for issuing civil protection orders

should:

• Ensure that such orders take into account

a wide range of behaviors by abusers.

• Include all statutorily authorized protections

to meet the needs and circumstances of the

victims they are intended to protect.

• Include other appropriate forms of relief,

which might include eviction of the offender

from the family home, no-contact provisions, denial of or limitations on child custody and visitation by the offender, and

mandatory counseling for batterers.

To address other concerns regarding issuing

protection orders, judges can:

• Have clearly defined procedures for notice

and hearing to address concerns about defendants’ due process rights in protection

order proceedings.

• Make protection orders as specific as possible so as to minimize doubt by victims,

respondents, law enforcement officials,

and other judges about abusers’ proscribed

behavior.
Chapter Three 45

Guidelines for enforcing civil protection orders

should:

• Clarify what procedures law enforcement

officers are statutorily required and authorized to follow and what procedures judges

themselves will follow in holding violation

hearings.

• Address distinctions between civil and

criminal contempt as well as probable cause

requirements for warrantless arrests in connection with violation of protection orders.

• Address defendants’ due process rights in

enforcement proceedings and sentencing

considerations.

Even where statutory weaknesses exist, judges

can establish a court policy on enforcement of

orders that includes:

• Admonishing defendants.

• Establishing procedures for modifying

orders.

• Promoting—as appropriate—the arrest of

violators.

• Handling violators sternly.

Judges should also ensure that law enforcement officers know that prompt service of protection orders on respondents is a top priority.

Victims’ access. Judges can play a key role in

promoting victims’ access to counsel or the

petitioning process, even where not explicitly

mandated or authorized by statute. Judges can:

• Encourage local legal aid organizations,

bar association pro bono projects, and law

school clinical programs to place a high priority on representing victim petitioners.

• Provide training for victim advocates and

meet regularly with victim advocacy groups

to address mutual problems and preview

changes in court procedures.

• Help train court clerks to improve their

assistance to petitioners, including:

— Ensuring that clerks have written

instructions for assessing petitioners’

eligibility for protection orders under

the State statute.

— Providing firm instructions not to

assess petitioners’ credibility.

— Advising them what course of action to

follow or giving legal advice.

In addition, courts can assist victims who cannot secure legal counsel or who prefer to proceed without counsel by providing simplified

forms and clerical assistance to help with the

writing and filing of petitions. Judges can ask

questions of petitioners about what assistance

is needed (e.g., child support or alternative living arrangements) and about other matters that

should be taken into account, such as potential

danger to children.

Information on victims’ circumstances. Even

when judges are not statutorily required to

hold a hearing prior to issuing a temporary

protection order, they may find it of value to

inform themselves about the victim’s circumstances. Judges could:

• Speak with the petitioner to determine what

dangers may exist and, accordingly, what

provisions need to be in the protection order

to ensure the safety of the petitioner and

other members of the petitioner’s household.

• Inform the petitioner of the importance of

appearing for the hearing on a permanent

order, and assess the petitioner’s credibility

and thus safeguard the rights of the defendant.

Judges may also find it valuable to gather

information on the victim prior to allowing

dismissal of a temporary order or dismissing
46 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

the proceedings for a permanent order because

of the petitioner’s failure to appear. Judges

may wish to inquire as to whether the petitioner has been intimidated or has failed to

understand the necessity of appearing at the

hearing for the permanent order.

Education about domestic abuse. Judges

need to:

• Be aware of the cyclical nature of domestic

violence, whereby incidents of abuse are

followed by periods of affectionate behavior

and promises to reform. Judges may find

this knowledge useful when faced with

repeat petitioners. Even several temporary

emergency petitions followed by failure to

pursue petitions for permanent orders do not

necessarily imply bad faith on the part of the

petitioner nor suggest that successive emergency orders are not warranted.

• Understand and not underestimate the

power of judicial admonitions in promoting

abusers’ adherence to the requirements of

protective orders.

Training on civil protection orders. Judicial

training in this area should include:

• A thorough analysis of the State statute.

• An explanation of how civil protection

orders can contribute to maintaining law

and order.

• An explanation of the dynamics of battering

and the psychosocial and institutional factors that sustain it.

• A discussion of how judges can best use

their authority in the courtroom to intervene

effectively in domestic violence situations.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Training on civil protection orders would

help police officers:

• Provide victims with information about

the protection order process, which they

are often required to do by statute or by

police department general orders.

• Become aware that quick service of protection orders is important to prevent renewed

violence.

• Learn of the statutory requirements regarding enforcement of protective orders, police

liability for failure to enforce, and the advantages of strict enforcement for police

officers.

Implications for Prosecutors

Whether or not the State statute mandates assistance to victims seeking protection orders,

prosecutors may provide that assistance as part

of a larger mandate to control crime. Because

protection orders offer an opportunity to prevent future crime and enhance law enforcement, regular involvement by prosecutors,

while creating an immediate time demand,

may be viewed as a desirable investment in

reducing future caseloads.

Implications for Victim Advocates

Victim advocates can assist petitioners in

various ways, including:

• Determining their eligibility under the

statute to petition for an order.

• Explaining the protection order process

and assisting in filling out forms.

• Explaining the legal help available, relief

that can be requested, and the limitations

of an order.

• Accompanying petitioners to the initial

hearing for a temporary order.

• Helping prepare petitioners for the hearing

for the full order.

• Accompanying petitioners to the hearing

for a permanent order.
Chapter Three 47

Victim advocates can also expedite court

proceedings by performing the following

functions:

• Prescreening petitioners for eligibility

criteria under the statute and making sure

that petition forms are properly completed

before the hearing.

• Accompanying victims in the courtroom,

resulting in more orderly proceedings.

• Arranging for witnesses to appear with the

victim, facilitating complete presentation of

evidence.

• Addressing petitioners’ fears about appearing for the hearing for the permanent order.

• Increasing the court’s ability to provide

needed protection.

• Helping to identify cases in which attorney

assistance is essential.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

 The Effectiveness of Civil Protection Orders

by Susan Keilitz, Paula Hannaford, and Hillery S. Efkeman9

Purpose of Research

To measure how various factors affect the effectiveness of civil protection orders in terms

of improving the quality of women’s lives and

of deterring abusive behavior. These factors

include the court intake process, the level of

assistance available to petitioners, the level of

abuse the victim suffered, and the criminal history of the respondent.

Methods

The study examined civil protection orders in

the Family Court in Wilmington, Delaware;

the County Court in Denver, Colorado; and the

District of Columbia Superior Court. Data

were compiled from initial telephone interviews with 285 women petitioners approximately a month after they received a protection

order; followup interviews with 177 of these

women about 6 months later; civil case records

of petitioners participating in the study; and

criminal history records of men named in the

protection orders the study participants

obtained.

Findings

Data from interviews and criminal and court

records disclosed:

• Most of the petitioners had suffered physical

abuse, and for more than half the physical

abuse was severe. Few victims sought protection orders immediately; a quarter had

endured the abuse for more than 5 years.

• The longer the women experienced abuse,

the more intense the abusive behavior

became.

• The majority of abusers had criminal

records, and most had been arrested for

violent crimes other than domestic violence.

• Temporary protection orders can be useful

even if the victim does not follow through

to obtain a permanent order. Victims’ most

common stated reason for not returning for

a permanent protection order was that their

abusers had stopped bothering them.

• While respondents usually violate protective

orders in some way, the orders generally

9 From Civil Protection Orders: The Benefits and Limitations for Victims of Domestic Violence, an Executive

Summary of a National Center for State Courts study funded by the National Institute of Justice under grant

#93–IJ–CX–0035, 1997, NCJ 164866.
48 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

deter repeated incidents of physical and

psychological abuse.

• While victims whose partners have a history

of violent crime are more likely than other

victims to be revictimized after receiving

protection orders, they are also more likely

than other victims with protection orders

to believe that the orders have improved

their well-being in terms of self-esteem

and feelings of security.

• Victims do not use the contempt process

to enforce orders.

• The potential for linking victims to services

through the court process has not been

achieved.

Implications for all Criminal

Justice Practitioners

To improve the level of assistance, practitioners, including victim advocates, need to:

• Provide counseling to domestic violence

victims as soon as possible about the low

likelihood of abatement of the abuse without

a specific intervention. In cases where the

abuser has a criminal history/record of violence, the dual interventions of criminal

prosecution and civil protection orders may

best meet the victim’s objective need for increased protection and subjective need for

self-esteem and greater feelings of security.

• Stress the importance of safety planning to

victims seeking protection orders, particularly those whose abusers have a history

of violent crime.

Implications for Prosecutors

Since protection orders are less likely to deter

abusers with a history of violent crime than

other abusers, criminal prosecution may be

required to curb their abusive behavior.

Implications for Judges and Court

Employees

Issuing protection orders can provide the necessary intervention to abate the increasing intensity of domestic violence. Protection orders

should take into account:

• The particular needs of the petitioner.

Among the potential orders issued should

be exclusive use of the family residence by

the victim and substance abuse treatment

and batterer treatment for the abuser.

• The criminal history of alleged abusers. This

is critical because abusers with a history of

violent and drug- and alcohol-related crimes

engage in particularly intense abuse of their

partners. Special conditions such as batterer

treatment and substance abuse treatment

may be warranted in such cases. In addition,

judges should stress to these victims the

need for safety precautions and inform them

about using law enforcement and the court

to enforce the protection orders.

To increase the victims’ use of the legal system

in deterring further violence in their lives,

judges can help ensure the provision of the

following:

• Education for petitioners about temporary

protection orders and about safety planning.

This information is critical because significant numbers of victims who have obtained

temporary protection orders do not follow

through with a request for permanent protection orders.
Chapter Three 49

• User-friendly information to victims who

have obtained protection orders about using

law enforcement and the contempt process

to enforce the orders locally, throughout the

State, and in other States.

• User-friendly information for petitioners of

protection orders about the full range of

special conditions in protection orders and

about available services, such as police and

prosecutor victim assistance units, victim

counseling, shelters for battered women and

their children, pro bono legal services, and

employment and education counseling.

• A more centralized court process and

direct assistance to petitioners for

protective orders.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement agencies can do more to

assist prosecutors in developing cases for

prosecution, to arrest perpetrators, and to

help victims access the civil protection

order process, for instance:

• Police can mandate, as an integral component of officer preparation police training

in domestic violence, arrest policies with

respect to domestic violence, and enforcement procedures.

• Police can provide victims with userfriendly information about the civil

protection order process.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Effects of Restraining Orders on Domestic Violence Victims

by Adele Harrell and Barbara Smith10

Purpose of Research

To assess the impact of restraining orders in

domestic violence cases by focusing on the

extent to which such orders reduce further

abuse of women.

Methods

Data were obtained from a sample of 355 temporary restraining orders issued in two jurisdictions in Colorado during the first 9 months

of 1991. The cases involved abuse of a female

by a male with whom she lived or had lived

or with whom she was involved or had been

involved in an intimate relationship. Interviews

were conducted 3 months after the order with

the women and the men named in the complaints. The women were again interviewed

a year following the initial order. Additional

information was obtained from court and

police records.

Findings

Analysis of the data revealed:

• More than half the women had been physically injured during the incident that led

them to seek temporary restraining orders.

• Many women thought the temporary restraining order was helpful in documenting

that the abuse had occurred, but fewer than

half thought the man believed he had to

obey the order.

10 From Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work?, edited by Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, Sage Publications,

1996. The research was supported by the State Justice Institute, grant #SJI–90–12L–E–054.
50 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

• Of the women who obtained temporary

restraining orders, three-fifths returned to

request that the order be made permanent.

• Women gave several reasons for not returning to request permanent orders, among

these:

— Their abusers had stopped bothering

them.

— Their abusers exerted pressure on them

to drop their complaints.

— They feared retaliation if they persisted

in their complaints.

— Problems had been encountered in

getting the temporary orders served

on the abusers—a prerequisite to the

hearing for the permanent order.

• Other significant factors related to whether

the women returned to court for a permanent order were age (older women were

more likely to return); race/ethnicity (white

and Hispanic women were slightly more

likely than black women to return); and

whether the women gave the police copies

of the restraining orders (those who did

were more likely than those who did not

to return).

• Factors not significantly related to the

decision to return for a permanent order

included education, employment status,

children in the home, whether or not the

woman lived with the man at the time of the

incident, length of the relationship, duration

of abuse in the relationship, and severity

of the incident described in the complaint.

• The majority (60 percent) of women with

temporary restraining orders reported that

the orders were violated in the year after

they were issued. Nearly a third (29 percent)

reported that the violations involved severe

violence.

• Severe violence, other forms of physical

violence, and threats or property damage

occurred as often for women with permanent orders as they did for women without

permanent orders. Permanent orders did

significantly reduce psychological abuse.

• The severity of the incident described in the

complaint did not predict abusive incidents

or specific types of abuse during the year

following the initial order. However, severity of prior abuse and persistence in prior

abuse were significantly related to the severity of abuse in the year after the restraining

order.

• The probability of continued abuse increased when the male strongly resisted the

orders at the time of the hearing; when the

woman seeking the order was living apart

from the abuser at the time the order was

sought; and when the woman had children.

• The woman’s age, employment status, or

financial support from the man after the

order were not significantly related to

postorder abuse.

• When police arrested the abuser during the

incident that led to the protection order, the

likelihood of severe violence during the following year diminished but the likelihood

of other abusive acts was not reduced.

• Men who voiced strong objections to

restraining orders were three to four times

as likely to violate the orders.

The researchers concluded:

• The majority of women seeking restraining

orders had serious complaints of abuse.

Protection orders were generally not sought

as a form of early intervention but rather as

a signal of desperation following extensive

problems.
Chapter Three 51

• Information about the persistence and severity of prior abuse (rather than merely about

the abuse that precipitated the request for

a protection order or the duration of prior

abuse) was useful in assessing for potential

lethality and in developing safety plans for

the abused.

• Although men named in restraining orders

continued their abuse, they were less likely

to commit acts of serious violence if

arrested.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement can take several steps to

reduce further violence against women:

• Police can reduce the likelihood of severe

violence after the order by being helpful

at the time of the initial incident.

• Police can reduce the likelihood of severe

violence in the year after the incident by

making an arrest at the time of the incident.

• Sheriffs can be more resourceful in helping

to serve abusers with temporary protection

orders.

• Law enforcement should reexamine the

appropriateness of police response to

violations and institute training and

monitoring of enforcement of orders.

Implications for Judges

Judges can increase the impact of restraining

orders and make better informed decisions

about granting an order and the conditions

of an order, specifically, judges need to:

• Be aware of the history of violence between

the parties, the presence of children during

the violence, and the full extent of the injuries sustained during the incident that led

the woman to seek an order of protection.

• Take a leadership role in working with other

agencies to help women get their temporary

orders served, including educating sheriffs

and having probation departments help

locate subjects of the orders who might be

on probation.

• Include firm and specific statements about

the behavioral requirements of the order and

the consequences of noncompliance when

the abuser voices strenuous objections to

the order.

• Include in the temporary order specific prohibitions against the abuser’s pressuring the

woman to drop the petition.

• “Customize” standardized forms where warranted to include additional orders and make

sure that both the abuser and the abused

understand the meaning of the various

provisions.

• Treat seriously strenuous objections to the

orders by the men against whom they are

issued.

• Emphasize during the temporary and permanent hearings that women can, and should,

return to court to report violations.
52 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Re-abuse in a Population of Court-Restrained Male Batterers:

Why Restraining Orders Don’t Work

by Andrew R. Klein11

• Most abusers had prior criminal histories;

the average record length was 13 complaints. More than half had at least one

prior record for an alcohol or drug crime

(usually drunk driving), and two-fifths had

at least one prior complaint for a crime

against the person. Most abusers with histories of crimes against the person had been

violent with men as well as women.

• Nearly two-fifths of the incidents resulting

in restraining orders involved alcohol or

drug use by the abuser.

• A significant number of women requesting

restraining orders had taken significant steps

to protect themselves prior to coming to

court, either by divorcing or by physically

separating from their abusers.

• While three-quarters of the women who

had received temporary restraining orders

returned to court for the contested hearing

(for the permanent order), nearly half asked

the court to drop the order prior to the

1-year termination date.

• Almost half of the abusers reabused their

victims within 2 years of the restraining

order. The reabuse rate did not differ for

those who maintained the orders and those

who dropped them.

Purpose of Research

To provide insight into the abusers against

whom restraining orders are issued and the

effect of the orders in terms of new abuse, and

to predict future risk of abuse based on the

characteristics of the abuse, the victim, the

defendant, or the criminal justice system

intervention.

Methods

Data were drawn from 663 restraining order

cases—every such case in the Quincy (Massachusetts) District Court in 1990 in which the

defendant was a male and the victim a current

or former spouse or current or former girlfriend, who either cohabited with the abuser or

had a child by him. Each abuser was tracked

for 2 years to determine further abuse, that is,

an arrest for a criminal violation of the order

or for a new assault and/or threat, and/or a new

restraining order based on a new incident of

abuse filed in the Quincy District Court.

Findings

An examination of the restraining order cases

showed that:

• Most abusers brought to civil court by their

victims had physically assaulted their

victims.

11 From Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work?, edited by Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, Sage Publications,

1996.
Chapter Three 53

• Statistically significant predictors for new

abuse as measured by a new arrest were age,

prior criminal history, and court-ordered

“no contact” provisions:

— Younger abusers reabuse more than

older abusers.

— Abusers with criminal histories reabuse

more than abusers without criminal histories.

— Abusers with longer prior criminal

records reabuse regardless of whether

or not the orders specify “no contact”

with the victims.

• Variables that do not predict new abuse

include an arrest at the time of the order, the

violent or nonviolent nature of the precipitating incident, and the existence of a prior

restraining order.

Conclusion

Civil restraining orders do not adequately protect women from further abuse and a primary

reliance on such orders must be seriously

questioned. Any effectiveness that they have

in preventing reabuse comes from their issuance, rather than their maintenance. Accordingly, their optimal use may be in conjunction

with vigorous prosecution and significant

sanctioning of abusers.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Arrest for domestic violence should be mandatory whether a restraining order is in effect or

not.

Implications for Prosecutors

Given the limitations of civil restraining orders

and the risk presented by abusers, prosecutors

should consider these cases for criminal prosecution. Prosecutors also need to institute a

“no-drop” policy.

Implications for Judges

If abusers are allowed to remain in the community, victim safety requires that they receive

the same intensity of supervision and scrutiny

as the other more serious offenders currently

under community-based supervision.
54 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Arrest

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Does Arrest Deter Domestic Violence?

by Janell D. Schmidt and Lawrence W. Sherman12

• Colorado Springs (sample size: 1,600)

(1)Arrest with professional counseling.

(2)Arrest without professional counseling.

(3)Issuance of an emergency protection

order.

• Milwaukee (sample size: 1,200)

(1)No arrest.

(2)A 2-hour arrest.

(3)Arrest with an overnight stay in jail.

• Charlotte (NC) (sample size: 686)

(1)Arrest.

(2)Mediation.

(3)Separation.

(4)Citation.

• Omaha (sample size: 330)

(1)Arrest.

(2)Sending the suspect away for 8 hours.

(3)Advising the couple to get help.

(4)Arrest warrants for absent offenders.

(5)No followup for absent offenders.

Purpose of Research

To test the deterrent effects of various police

responses to domestic violence.

Methods

The original Minneapolis study and replication

studies were controlled experiments in which

domestic violence misdemeanor cases were

assigned one of several possible responses. In

Minneapolis and most of the replication studies, the assignment was random (an exception

was Metro-Dade where the police had discretion whether to arrest or not); the efficacy of

each treatment was measured by interviews

with victims and official records.

The six cities selected for the study and the

random assignments to possible treatments

were as follows:

• Minneapolis (sample size: 314)

(1)Arrest.

(2)Sending the suspect away for 8 hours.

(3)Advising the couple to get help.

• Metro-Dade (sample size: 907)

(1)Arrest with followup counseling.

(2)Arrest without followup counseling.

(3)No arrest with followup counseling.

(4)No arrest without followup counseling.

12 From Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work?, edited by Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, Sage Publications,

1996.
Chapter Three 55

Findings

The research undertaken in the six cities

revealed:

• Arrests reduced violence by some abusers

(e.g., employed abusers; those whose

victims were white and Hispanic) and

increased it for others (e.g., unemployed

abusers, those whose victims were black).

• Arrests may reduce domestic violence in

the short run, but may increase it in the

long run.

• None of the innovative treatments—namely,

counseling or protective orders—produced

any improvement over arrest versus no

arrest.

• Citations to appear in court caused more

violence than arrests. (Charlotte)

• Offenders who had left the scene before the

police arrived and against whom warrants

were issued were responsible for less repeat

violence than absent offenders against

whom warrants were not issued. (Omaha)

Implications for Legislators and Law

Enforcement

The following recommendations were drawn:

• Legislators should repeal mandatory

arrest laws and authorize structured

police discretion.

• Legislators should allow police to make

warrantless arrests.

• Police should serve warrants on absent

offenders.

• Special units and policies should focus

on chronically violent individuals.

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should issue warrants for absent

offenders.

Conclusions and Implications Drawn From

Must We Stop Arresting Batterers?:

Analysis and Policy Implications of

New Police Domestic Violence Studies

by Joan Zorza13

Purpose of Research

To review and critique the methods and findings of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence

Police Experiment and five replication studies

that attempted to test the deterrent effect on

domestic violence of arrests and other police

responses.

Methods

The methods of these studies are described in

the summary of “Does Arrest Deter Domestic

Violence?” by Janell D. Schmidt and Lawrence

W. Sherman, which appears elsewhere in this

publication.

13 From New England Law Review, 28 (Summer 1994), 929.
56 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Findings

The major research findings of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Police Experiment and

the replication studies are included in the

above-referenced summary of “Does Arrest

Deter Domestic Violence?”

Conclusions

There were fundamental design flaws in the

studies, which included:

• Ignoring the fact that domestic violence,

unchecked, usually escalates in frequency

and severity.

• Failing to take into account the impact of

postarrest decisions by prosecutors and

courts.

Other design flaws included (in one or more

studies):

• Instructing the police to discourage future

police contacts by the victim.

• Including self-defense cases that have lesser

deterrent possibilities.

• Assigning bad risks to the arrest category.

• Providing advance notice to responding

officers about the response to be made.

• Failing to screen offenders for prior police

contact.

• Failing to take into account victims’ responses to offender arrests or the effect

of the violence on others (e.g., children).

• Failing to randomly assign separated parties.

The policy value of the studies is limited since

they:

• Were limited to misdemeanors.

• Did not address the effect of nonarrest.

• Isolated the initial police response from

other possible responses to domestic abuse

and studied only one of potentially dozens

of issues that could have been studied.

• Ignored nondeterrence benefits of arrest,

including immediate safety for the victim,

access to services, and conveying a message

that domestic violence is a crime.

Other conclusions include:

• While mandatory arrest may have no greater

deterrent effect than other police responses,

it is unclear as to whether or not it has a

lesser deterrent effect.

• In the short term, mandatory arrest results

in lower rates of recidivism than nonarrest

police responses. It is likely, therefore, that

later escalation is motivated by something

other than anger or retaliation for arrest.

• Mandatory arrests are followed by a reduction of subsequent violence against victims

of employed abusers and against white victims and Hispanic victims, and a slight increase in subsequent violence against black

victims.

• Arrest without more follow-through by the

criminal justice system may be too weak a

sanction to deter many batterers.

• In addition to considering the deterrent

effects of arrest, it is important to consider

its effects on victims, children, and society.

Implications for Law Enforcement

With probable cause, police should:

• Arrest all abusers not acting in self-defense.

• Issue an arrest warrant even if the offender

is absent.

A final implication: The length of time an

arrested abuser is held should be no shorter

than that of other offenders.
Chapter Three 57

Selected Conclusions Drawn From

 Mandatory Arrest of Batterers: A Reply to Its Critics

by Evan Stark14

• In addition to repeated physical abuse,

woman battering typically includes a range

of coercive strategies designed to dominate

a partner. Many offenders respond to sanctions against physical abuse by isolating,

intimidating, and controlling their partners.

Therefore, mandatory arrest policies are

best assessed by their overall effect on the

victim’s subordination rather than by the

incidence of violence alone.

• There are reasons beyond deterrence for

mandatory arrest policy. These include:

— Providing a standard against which to

judge variation in police response.

— Providing immediate protection from

current violence and giving victims

time to consider their options.

— Reducing the overall incidence of domestic violence both directly (because

arrest might deter recidivism), and by

sending a clear message that battering is

unacceptable.

— Acknowledging a special social interest

in redressing the legacy of discriminatory treatment of women by law enforcement.

— Serving a “redistributive” function by

acknowledging that police service is

a resource previously not available

to women on an egalitarian basis.

— Providing victims access to services and

protection that would not be available

outside the criminal justice system.

14 From Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work?, edited by Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, Sage Publications,

1996.

Purpose of Research

To review and critique the assumptions, methods, and findings of the literature concluding

that mandatory arrest policies are ineffective,

including the Minneapolis police experiment

and the five studies designed to replicate it,

which attempted to test the deterrent effect on

domestic violence of arrests and other police

responses.

Methods

The methods of these studies are described in

the summary of “Does Arrest Deter Domestic

Violence?” by Janell D. Schmidt and Lawrence

W. Sherman, elsewhere in this publication.

Findings

The major research findings of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Police Experiment and

the replication studies are described in the

above-referenced summary of “Does Arrest

Deter Domestic Violence?”

Conclusions

The author offers several conclusions regarding “proarrest” or mandatory arrest strategies:

• Proarrest strategy should be thought of as a

“package of goods” that may include everything from a mere warning, handcuffing, or

an arrest warrant through a weekend in jail,

mandated treatment, a stalker’s law, community intervention programs, the provision of

court-based advocates, and real prison time.
58 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Determining Police Response to Domestic Violence Victims

by Eve S. Buzawa and Thomas Austin15

same residence. There was not, however, a

statistically significant difference in arrest

rates for married versus unmarried couples.

• About one-third of the victims told the

officer they wanted prosecution; among

those who expressed such a desire, arrests

were made in 44 percent of the cases. When

the victim did not want an arrest, an arrest

was made in only 21 percent of the cases.

Interviews with the victims found:

• The large majority of victims (85 percent)

were satisfied with the police response.

They were especially satisfied when the police complied with their preferences regarding arresting (or not arresting) the offender.

• Most women victims were satisfied with

the police response but not one male

victim was.

Implications for Law Enforcement

With regard to victim preferences, it is recommended that police officers:

• Weigh more heavily the desires of victims

about arresting (or not arresting) the offender. As a way to accomplish this, police

reports could include victim preferences

and if the officer disagreed with the victim

preferences, he or she should state why.

• Increase their understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence cases through

training; this is critical as this is correlated

with officers taking victims’ preferences

seriously.

Purpose of Research

To determine when and if victim preferences

affect the decision to arrest domestic violence

offenders and to determine victim satisfaction

with police response.

Methods

The research was conducted in four precincts

within the Detroit Police Department. Officers

were instructed to complete Supplemental

Arrest Reports in domestic assault cases to

provide background information on the victim

and offender, characteristics of the incident,

seriousness of injury to the victim, the victim’s

preferred response, and the actual police response. The researchers analyzed 165 reports.

In addition, 110 victims were randomly

selected for in-person interviews.

Findings

An analysis of the Supplemental Arrest

Reports found:

• The presence of bystanders or children

during the abuse dramatically increased

the chances that an arrest would be made.

• The presence of weapons affected how the

officer handled the incident. The use of guns

and sharp objects more often resulted in an

arrest than the use of blunt objects or bodily

weapons.

• When an injury resulted, officers were more

likely to make an arrest.

• Arrests were more than twice as likely

when the offender and victim shared the

15 From American Behavioral Scientist, 36 (5) (May 1993), 610–623.
Chapter Three 59

Prosecution and Defense

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Prosecution Response to Domestic Violence:

Results of a Survey of Large Jurisdictions

by Donald J. Rebovich16

Case screening and charging:

• In more than three-quarters of the jurisdictions, domestic violence cases typically

came into the prosecutor’s office through

the police rather than the victim.

• Most prosecutors’ offices experienced

screening and charging decisionmaking

problems unique to domestic violence cases.

Slightly more than half also used criteria

unique to domestic violence cases in

screening and charging these cases. Most

proceeded with prosecution despite the

noncooperation of the victim.

• Approximately two-thirds had formal office

protocols for processing domestic violence

cases, but fewer than a third had separate

protocols for misdemeanors and felonies.

• Most large prosecutors’ offices were in

jurisdictions where proarrest policies have

been adopted by local police departments.

While proarrest policies affected the volume

of domestic violence cases in these offices,

they resulted in modified decisionmaking in

fewer than a fifth of the offices and affected

the plea negotiation process in even fewer.

• Two-thirds of the prosecutors’ offices had

no-drop policies, although there was usually

some flexibility in these policies.

16 From Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work?, edited by Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, Sage Publications,

1996. The study was funded under National Institute of Justice grant #93–IJ–CX–0039.

Purpose of Research

To assess the state of formal and informal

domestic violence programs within local

prosecutors’ offices, identify needs of local

prosecutors, explain common obstacles to successful prosecution of domestic violence, and

recommend ways to improve the effectiveness

of domestic violence prosecution.

Methods

Data were gathered from a national mail survey of 200 local prosecutors’ offices, comprising all prosecutors’ offices in jurisdictions

with populations of more than 250,000. The

response rate was 68 percent.

Findings

Data from the survey were grouped according

to the following categories:

Case Management:

• Most prosecutors’ offices handled both

felony and misdemeanor domestic violence

cases.

• The level of available resources affected the

manner in which domestic violence cases

were handled in most prosecutors’ offices.
60 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

• The degree to which victim willingness to

cooperate affected prosecutorial decisions

varied according to size of the jurisdiction.

In jurisdictions with populations of more

than 500,000, only 8 percent of the respondents felt that victim cooperation affected

their decision to prosecute to a high degree,

whereas a third of those in jurisdictions

between 250,000 and 500,000 felt that it

affected the decision to a significant degree.

Pretrial release policies:

• Three-quarters of prosecutors recommended

bail amounts comparable to those for other

offenses. Almost all requested that certain

conditions be set on the abuser’s release.

• Slightly more than two-thirds of prosecutors in jurisdictions between 250,000

and 500,000 notified the victim of the

defendant’s release, while only half in jurisdictions with more than 500,000 did so.

• While most prosecutors relied on protective

orders at least to a medium degree, only

three-quarters found them effective, and

two-thirds rated their effectiveness as only

average.

• The presence of a child had a medium or

high impact on how the prosecutor proceeded in nearly three-quarters of the

jurisdictions.

Postcharge diversion:

• Half the prosecutors’ offices used postcharge diversion and half did not. Where

such programs existed, nearly two-thirds

were pretrial and the rest were postplea.

Generally, offenders who successfully completed the program were not prosecuted.

Trials:

• All jurisdictions in the study encountered

victims who preferred not to be involved

or come to court. Most also experienced

victims who testified only upon subpoena,

victim nonappearance upon subpoena, and

active undermining of the prosecution by

victims. A third of jurisdictions had uncooperative victims in slightly more than half of

their cases.

• The most common method used to overcome problems connected with uncooperative domestic violence victims was the subpoena, used by most of the jurisdictions.

A close second was the use of photographs

of injuries to the victim. Other much less

frequently used methods included evidence

of “excited utterances” at the crime scene,

family/neighbor testimony, 911 audiotapes,

sworn statements, victim advocate testimony, and videotapes of initial victim

interviews.

Sentencing options:

• About two-thirds of prosecutors believed

sentences for domestic violence offenders in

their jurisdictions were moderate and most

of the rest believed they were lenient.

Victim support programs:

• Most prosecutors’ offices employed some

formal procedures to encourage victim participation in the prosecution process.

• The most common services were referral to

social service agencies and court accompaniment of the victim. Others included court

preparation, victim education about criminal/

civil remedies, and supportive counseling.
Chapter Three 61

Implications for Prosecutors

As growing numbers of police departments

adopt proarrest policies for domestic violence

offenses, prosecutors’ offices are being faced

with increasing numbers of domestic violence

cases.

The study provides benchmarks against which

prosecutors may compare their domestic violence policies and practices with those of their

colleagues in other jurisdictions and learn of

their colleagues’ views on a number of issues.

It also raises—but does not generally provide

definitive answers to—a number of important

questions for prosecutors’ offices. Among

them:

• What, if any, aspects of domestic violence

cases warrant unique screening criteria?

• What alternatives might be pursued when

victims are noncooperative?

— Subpoenas.

— Photographs of injuries to the victim.

— Evidence of “excited utterances” at the

crime scene.

— Family or neighbor testimony.

— Use of 911 audiotapes.

— Sworn statements.

— Victim advocate testimony.

— Videotapes of initial victim interviews.

• Is a “no drop” policy appropriate? If so, are

there any exceptions?

• Should bail amounts be different for domestic violence cases than for other cases? What

about other conditions of pretrial release?

• Should victims be notified of defendants’

pretrial release?

• When should protective orders be recommended? What is the appropriate extent of

followup to ensure enforcement of protective orders?

• How should the presence of a child affect

the decision whether or not to prosecute?

• Should postcharge diversion be an option?

If so, should it be used pretrial or postplea?

If a defendant successfully completes the

diversion program, should the charges be

dropped? Should lesser charges be pursued?

• What formal procedures should be employed to encourage victim participation in

the prosecution process?

— Referral to social service agencies.

— Court accompaniment of the victim.

— Court preparation of the victim.

— Victim education about criminal/civil

remedies.

— Supportive counseling.

• What, if any, protocols should differ for

misdemeanor domestic violence offenses

and felony domestic violence offenses?

• What (additional) resources are needed to

implement desirable domestic violence

policies? What are the priorities?
62 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Indianapolis Domestic Violence Prosecution Experiment

by David A. Ford and Mary Jean Regoli17

Findings

The study revealed:

• Domestic violence victims were considerably more likely to have been battered in the

6 months before their cases were brought to

the prosecutor than in the 6 months following settlement (more than 70 percent before

vs. fewer than 40 percent after).

• Battering did not necessarily stop between

the time accused batterers were arrested or

summoned to court and the time their cases

were settled. Approximately 20 percent of

defendants arrested on the scene or as a result of warrants issued in response to formal

victim complaints rebattered their victims

before case settlement, as did 27 percent of

defendants summoned to court following

formal victim complaints.

• Regardless of particular prosecutorial

policies pursued and methods of bringing

defendants to court, there was considerable

rebattering in the 6 months following case

settlement. However, in victim-initiated

cases, the manner whereby defendants

were brought to court and the specific

prosecutorial policies followed significantly

affected the extent of rebattering:

— In cases initiated by warrantless onscene arrests, nearly 40 percent of

defendants rebattered their partners

within 6 months of settlement. None of

the three prosecutorial policies (pretrial

diversion to rehabilitative counseling,

17 From a Final Report submitted to the National Institute of Justice, October 1993, NCJ 157870. Research was conducted under NIJ grant #86–IJ–CX–0012 by David A. Ford, Department of Sociology, Indiana University at Indianapolis and University Research Associates, and by Mary Jean Regoli, Indiana University at Bloomington.

Purpose of Research

To examine the effectiveness of alternative

prosecutorial policies in reducing renewed

violence by misdemeanor battery defendants

against their partners.

Methods

The research consisted of two randomized

experiments. One involved on-scene arrests

(OSAs) of 198 suspects by police responding

to violent domestic disturbances, and the other

involved 480 suspects who were the subject of

victim complaints (VCs) filed in person with

the prosecutor’s office. OSA cases could not

be dropped by the victims, and were randomly

assigned to one of three prosecutorial policy

tracks: (1) pretrial diversion involving rehabilitative counseling; (2) adjudicated guilt with

counseling as a condition of probation; and

(3) other sentencing such as fines, probation,

and jail time. VC cases had a fourth randomized policy track whereby victims were allowed to drop charges; in addition, the defendants in VC cases were randomly assigned to

be brought to court through either a warrant or

a summons. Accordingly, there were eight

combinations for VC cases compared to three

for OSA cases.

Six months after court settlement, victims and

accused offenders were interviewed and official records examined to determine whether

any of the alternative criminal justice policies

had influenced the prevalence, severity, and

frequency of subsequent violence.
Chapter Three 63

adjudicated guilt with counseling as a

condition of probation, or traditional

sentencing) had a unique preventative

impact on the prevalence, severity, or

frequency of rebattering.

— In cases initiated by formal victim complaints, 29 percent of defendants battered

their partners again within 6 months of

settlement. However, arresting defendants by warrant and allowing victims to

drop charges resulted in a rebattering

rate (13 percent) less than half that of

each of the other seven prosecution possibilities. Summoning defendants to

court and pursuing noncounseling sentencing alternatives resulted in the highest rebattering rate (44 percent).

— Moreover, while fewer than 20 percent

of all subjects of victim complaints

engaged in severe followup violence

within 6 months of settlement, 36 percent of those summoned to court and

prosecuted on noncounseling sentencing tracks did so.

• When victims were allowed to drop complaints they had filed (whether resulting in

warrant or summons), those who elected to

go forth with the prosecution were significantly less likely to be rebattered than those

who did not. Those who dropped charges

after the batterer was summoned to court

were in greatest jeopardy of renewed

violence.

• Regardless of the prosecutorial track pursued, desired court outcomes resulted more

frequently when cases were initiated by

victim complaints (67 percent of the cases)

than when they were initiated by on-scene

arrests (58 percent).

• The lowest rates of followup violence were

associated with findings of “not guilty.”

Other court outcomes did not significantly

affect the prevalence of followup violence.

• Regardless of whether cases were initiated

by on-scene arrests or by victim complaints

and regardless of the prosecutorial track

taken, most victims reported feeling more

secure and in control 6 months after their

cases were settled than they did before

prosecutorial action was taken.

Implications for Prosecutors

The following practical implications were

drawn:

• Prosecutors can help victims minimize the

chance of violence by affirming the legitimacy of their criminal complaints and by

respecting their decisions about what is best

under their unique circumstances, even if

contrary to the prosecutor’s administrative

concerns.

• Since victims are frequently battered between the time a defendant is arrested or a

complaint is filed and the time the case is

settled, prosecutors can support and hopefully protect victims by attending to their

interests throughout the prosecution process,

for example, by monitoring warrants to see

they are served in a timely manner; by requesting protection orders and seeing that

they are aggressively enforced; by watching

for evidence of obstruction of justice in defense attorneys’ contacts with victims; and

by making every effort to account for a

victim’s safety.

• Prosecutors should review their own prosecution policies in terms of their effectiveness in reducing followup violence.*

• Prosecutors who allow victims to drop their

complaints should explain to them that

dropping the charges might entail increased

risk of violence.*

* These implications are not explicit in the report but appear to follow from the findings and conclusions.
64 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Purpose of Research

To compile information about “medical and psychological testimony on the validity of battered

women’s syndrome as a condition” (as required

in the 1994 Violence Against Women Act).

Method

The study consisted of a review of literature

concerning scientific and clinical knowledge

about battering and its effects, the implications

of this scientific knowledge for criminal cases

involving battered women, and the role of

expert testimony in criminal cases involving

battered women.

Implications for Judges

In sentencing batterers, judges should take into

account that, at least in the short term, probation with counseling may be no more effective

in reducing followup violence than traditional

sentences. Judges should seek evidence that

counseling programs available in their jurisdictions are effective in preventing violence or,

if honoring a victim’s request for mandated

counseling, that the counseling will not result

in further harm.*

• Prosecutors who respond to victim complaints by issuing summonses to alleged

batterers should consider whether warrants

might result in less rebattering, especially if

victims are allowed to drop charges or cases

are generally put on a traditional sentencing

track.*

• Before diverting accused batterers to counseling programs or recommending probation

with counseling, prosecutors should be informed about the long-range success rates

of available counseling programs since, at

least in the short term, counseling alternatives are no more effective than traditional

sentences in reducing followup battering.*

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Validity of “Battered Woman Syndrome” in

Criminal Cases Involving Battered Women

by Malcolm Gordon18

* These implications are not explicit in the report but appear to follow from the findings and conclusions.

18 From an edited version of a review paper prepared by Mary Ann Dutton, “The Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in Criminal Trials: A Report to Congress Under the Violence Against Women Act,”

Research Report, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental Health, May 1996, NCJ 160972.

Findings

The term “battered woman syndrome”

wrongly implies that all battered women respond similarly to being battered and that the

common response includes inability to defend

themselves, posttraumatic stress distress, and a

pathological or maladjusted mental state.

In fact, battered women may experience a

wide range of traumatic psychological reactions to being battered, which may affect:

• Continued involvement in an abusive

relationship.

• Use of physical aggression toward the

abuser.

• Future appraisal of the threat of violence.
Chapter Three 65

• Involvement in other criminal activity.

• Refusal or reluctance to cooperate in prosecuting the abuser because of fear of

retaliation.

Battered women also experience negative psychological consequences of domestic violence,

which may include:

• Amnesia.

• Re-experiencing the trauma

(e.g., flashbacks).

• Absence of emotional reactions.

• Hostile or angry reactions.

• Depression.

Additional findings included that:

• Battered women may continue their involvement in abusive relationships because of:

— Economic factors.

— Fear that violence will escalate if there

is an attempt to leave.

— Fear that the abuser might retaliate by

legally or illegally taking the children.

— Emotional attachment to the abuser.

• It is a myth that battered women are passive

about their victimization; many do fight

back either physically or verbally, or engage

in other active efforts to resist, avoid, escape, and stop the violence against them.

• A battered woman’s appraisal of the threat

implicit in a batterer’s behavior is based on

the pattern of the batterer’s prior violence

and abuse, the actual threat, the timing of

the threat, and the victim’s state of mind at

the time of the threat.

• There is no one pattern that characterizes all

batterers’ behavior. Several recognized patterns include:

— A “cycle of violence” with a series of

stages with differing levels of positive

and negative emotional engagement,

coercion, and physical aggression.

These stages may include tensionbuilding, acute-battering, and contriteloving phases.

— A long period of time between acute

battering episodes.

— “Separation abuse” where the batterer

threatens violence or retaliates violently

if the victim separates from the batterer

either physically or by making herself

unavailable (e.g., becoming involved in

a new relationship or beginning

divorce proceedings).

• Battered women may fail to cooperate with

prosecution as a way to avoid retaliation by

their abusers or as a way of avoiding painful

and distressing emotions that cooperation

would entail.

• Because battering and the effects of battering vary from case to case, there is no

“battered woman defense” per se.

• Nevertheless, evidence and expert testimony

about battering and its effects can assist

the factfinder in putting battered women’s

actions in context in criminal proceedings

involving:

— Self-defense or insanity defense of a

battered woman who has murdered or

assaulted her batterer.

— Charging or sentencing a battered

woman who has murdered or assaulted

her batterer.

— Duress defense of a battered woman

who has committed criminal or illegal

conduct through the instigation or

coercion of a perpetrator.

— Prosecution of alleged perpetrators of

domestic violence.

Such testimony can also dispel misconceptions

about domestic violence that might be held by

a judge or jury.

• Expert testimony about battering may be

either general (providing information about
66 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Purpose of Research

To assess the effects that evidence of battered

woman syndrome may have in criminal trials.

Method

The findings were based on a 3-day focus

group meeting attended by Federal, State, and

tribal court judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, expert witnesses, and advocates.

Findings

Results from the panel discussion included:

• Expert testimony concerning battering

and its effects can help factfinders more

effectively assess evidence in criminal cases

involving battered women.

the scientific and clinical knowledge about

battering without relating the information to

a specific individual) or specific (based on

an evaluation of a specific individual).

Implications for Defense Attorneys

Expert testimony on domestic violence may be

useful in supporting a plea of self-defense, an

insanity defense, or a duress defense. It may

also be used to support mitigating factors in

charging and sentencing and to explain mis19 From The Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in Criminal Trials: A Report to

Congress under the Violence Against Women Act, Research Report, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice,

National Institute of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental

Health, May 1996, NCJ 160972.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Impact of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in

Criminal Trials Involving Battered Women

by Mary Ann Dutton19

conceptions about domestic violence to judges

and juries.

Implications for Prosecutors

Expert testimony may be useful in supporting the

prosecution of defendants accused of domestic

violence by explaining the victim’s recantation of

previous statements, refusal or unwillingness to

proceed, and other behavior that might otherwise

be detrimental to the prosecution, and by explaining misconceptions about domestic violence

to judges and juries.

• Expert testimony concerning battering and

its effects can also dispel common myths

and misunderstandings concerning domestic

violence, including stereotypes of both

battered women and batterers, that may

interfere with the factfinders’ ability to

assess the case.

• Despite precedent for referring to expert

testimony in cases involving battered

women as “battered woman syndrome”

testimony, the term is both too ambiguous

and too narrow to help factfinders understand the evidence or determine facts in

issue. As with other victims of violence,

there is no single set of effects that characterize all battered women, but rather a range

of effects. References to “battered woman

syndrome” should be replaced by references

to “battering and its effects.”
Chapter Three 67

• There is a continuing need to educate

judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys

about effectively incorporating into criminal

trials available expertise concerning battering and its effects.

• There is an increased need for resources for

expert witnesses to consult with attorneys

and testify in criminal cases.

• Testimony from “nonprofessionals” experienced in working with battered women

(e.g., shelter workers, police officers, trauma

technicians, hotline workers) should be considered admissible. While such individuals

are not qualified to conduct psychological

testing, they should be allowed to testify

about their observations and knowledge of

battered women’s experiences generally and

their observations of particular battered

women based on their expertise.

• The development of domestic violence coordinating councils has been associated with

the introduction of evidence concerning

battering and its effects into the courtroom.

Often headed by the court, these councils

typically include representatives from

the prosecutor’s office, law enforcement,

batterer treatment programs, battered

women’s shelters, schools, hospitals, law

clinics, child welfare agencies, and other

government agencies and organizations.

Implications for Judges

Judges who handle cases involving domestic

violence would benefit from the following:

• A basic understanding of battering and its

effects to determine the relevancy of expert

witness testimony to the issues at hand and

to rule on issues such as jury instructions

and the scope of expert testimony to be

allowed before the triers of fact.

• A general understanding of various scientific methods used in domestic violence

research (e.g., experimental design, correlational, factor analysis, descriptive, or qualitative) to determine the validity of scientific

evidence about battering and its effects.

• Judicial education programs to increase their

substantive knowledge about domestic violence and the methods of scientific inquiry

related to it. The State Justice Institute, the

National Judicial College, the National

Council of Juvenile and Family Court

Judges, and the American Bar Association

Judicial Administration Division are among

groups active in promoting and sponsoring

judicial education about domestic violence.

Implications for Defense Attorneys

Defense attorneys can learn more about battering by attending continuing legal education

programs on the topic and by consulting with

expert witnesses. Consultants may be shelter

workers, battered woman advocates, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, or social

workers. Defense attorneys with knowledge

about battering and the effects it has on victims would be able to recognize the following:

• Relevant evidence on the subject when

defending battered women charged with

crimes.

• Relevant expert testimony about battering

not only in cases where self-defense can be

asserted but also in other cases (e.g., where

the woman commits a crime under the coercion of her batterer).

• Evidence about battering relevant to evaluation of clemency petitions.

• Potential ramifications of prosecutorial use

of expert testimony regarding battering and

its effects when defending alleged batterers.

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors also can learn more about battering by attending continuing legal education

programs on the topic and by consultation

with expert witnesses. Consultants may be

shelter workers, battered woman advocates,
68 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Purpose of Research

To capture current trends in court decisions

and statutes regarding the use of expert testimony on battering and its effects and to highlight various ways expert testimony can ensure

that relevant evidence about battering is introduced at the trials of battered women or their

alleged batterers.

Research Methods

The study analyzed 238 State and 31 Federal

court decisions (mostly appellate) in cases

where women defendants introduced—or tried

to introduce—expert witnesses at their trials,

and 12 State statutes relating to the use of

expert testimony on battering and its effects

in criminal cases.

counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, or

social workers. Education on battering and its

effects is critical for prosecutors to help them:

• Recognize and introduce relevant evidence

on the subject when prosecuting alleged

batterers.

• Use expert testimony in cases against the

batterer to explain why the battered woman

has previously recanted testimony, is unwill20 From The Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and its Effects in Criminal Trials: A Report to

Congress under the Violence Against Women Act, Research Report, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice,

National Institute of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental

Health, May 1996, NCJ 160972.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Trend Analysis: Expert Testimony on Battering

and its Effects in Criminal Cases

by Janet Parrish20

ing to cooperate with the prosecution, or has

engaged in behavior that the factfinder may

find puzzling.

• Recognize the importance of paying considerable attention to battering issues at the

charging stage, whether or not a grand jury

is involved.

• Be aware of the potential ramifications of

the defense use of expert testimony regarding battering and its effects.

Research Findings

An analysis of the court decisions revealed:

• There is no “battered woman’s defense”

per se; expert testimony on battering and

its effects can only be used to support—

not to supplant—a battered woman’s use

of traditional self-defense or duress claims.

• Since the mid-1980s, courts have increasingly recognized the relevance of expert testimony about battering and its effects. Such

testimony has been admitted to at least some

degree in the District of Columbia and each

of the 50 States. Of the 19 Federal courts

that have considered the issue, all but 3 have

admitted the testimony in at least some

cases.

• Expert testimony on battering and its effects

has been most readily accepted by State

courts in cases involving traditional selfdefense situations.
Chapter Three 69

• A substantial number of States have also

admitted expert testimony on battering and

its effects in nontraditional self-defense

situations (e.g., when a battered woman kills

her batterer while he is sleeping or hires a

third party to kill him).

• Some State and Federal courts have admitted expert testimony on battering and its

effects in non-self-defense cases (e.g.,

where duress is asserted as a defense or

where a battered woman has been charged

with a crime against a third party).

• Most States have admitted expert testimony

on battering and its effects to prove the defendant is a battered woman. However, in

many of these States, the testimony must be

“generic,” that is, used to explain battering

and its effects generally without reference to

the specific defendant.

• Most States have found expert testimony

relevant to supporting a self-defense

claim (assessing the reasonableness of the

defendant’s belief she was in danger of

imminent harm and/or of her actions in

defense of herself or others) and to assessing the woman’s state of mind at the time of

the charged crime.

• More States have precluded expert opinions

on whether the defendant acted reasonably

or in self-defense than have allowed such

opinions.

• Most States consider expert testimony on

battering and its effects relevant to explaining a battered woman’s conduct, including

why she did not leave the battering relationship or committed certain acts.

• Some States have found expert testimony to

be admissible to:

— Prove a defendant’s diminished capacity, mental defect, or lack of intent.

— Bolster the defendant’s credibility.

— Show the existence of mitigating factors

at the sentencing phase of the trial.

• Most States that have considered whether

expert testimony on battering and its effects

subjects the defendant to an adverse psychological examination have concluded that it

does.

• The majority of courts that have considered

whether failure to offer expert testimony on

battering and its effects constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel have found that

it does not. Moreover, the few States that

have considered whether indigent battered

women must be afforded State funds to hire

expert witnesses have found that the funds

can be denied (although one such decision

was reversed in Federal court).

• Appeals courts affirmed nearly two-thirds

of the State convictions appealed by women

who had introduced or tried to introduce expert testimony about battering and its effects

at their trials. In nearly three-quarters of the

cases where convictions were affirmed, expert testimony had been admitted or found

admissible. Erroneous exclusion of, limitation of, or failure of counsel to present expert testimony accounted for less than half

of the convictions that were reversed.

• Expert testimony on battering and its effects

has been admitted in some States when offered by the prosecution (e.g., to explain a

battered woman complainant’s prior inconsistent statements).

Implications for Defense Attorneys*

Defense attorneys should be aware of the statutes and case law in their jurisdictions and, if

applicable, in the Federal statutes and case

law, regarding:

• General admissibility of expert testimony.

• General exclusion of expert testimony.

* These implications are not explicit in the report but appear to follow from the findings.
70 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

• Specific types of cases in which expert testimony is admissible or excluded, including

“traditional” and “nontraditional” selfdefense cases and non-self-defense cases.

• The showing necessary for introduction of

expert testimony, including whether or not

there must be a self-defense claim; evidence

that battering (or the “battered woman’s

syndrome”) is accepted in the scientific

community; certain qualifications of the

expert; and a showing that the defendant is,

in fact, battered.

• Ineffective counsel issues (outcome of

appeals asserting ineffective counsel on

grounds of failure to offer expert testimony

on battering and its effects).

• Issues relating to State funding for expert

testimony (decisions relating to whether

States must provide funding for expert

testimony).

• The scope and relevance of expert testimony

(admissibility of expert testimony to prove

* These implications are not explicit in the report but appear to follow from the findings.

the defendant is a battered woman and/or to

explain battering and its effects generally;

admissibility of expert opinion as to whether

the defendant herself is a battered woman).

Implications for Prosecutors*

Prosecutors should be aware of the statutes

and case law in their jurisdictions and, if applicable, Federal statutes and case law, as they

relate to:

• Prosecution of battered women on charges

related to the murder or injury of their

batterers or for other crimes where the

defense is duress. (See specifics under

“Implications for Defense Attorneys,”

above.)

• Prosecution of alleged batterers and admissibility of expert testimony on battering and

its effects to explain certain behaviors of

battered women, that is, staying with the

batterer, prior inconsistent statements, and

previous failure to pursue charges.
Chapter Three 71

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases With Reluctant Victims:

Assessing Two Novel Approaches in Milwaukee

by Robert C. Davis, Barbara E. Smith, and Laura Nickles21

After introduction of a new liberalized district

attorney charging policy:

• Case backlog increased greatly.

• Cases filed with the court contained a higher

proportion of victims who did not want their

cases prosecuted.

• Time to case disposition doubled.

• Convictions declined.

• Pretrial crime increased.

• Victim satisfaction with case outcomes and

with the prosecutor’s handling of the case

declined.

The researchers concluded as follows:

• The study produced evidence that the theory

on which the domestic violence court was

based was sound. Reducing processing time

produced concomitant changes in convictions and opportunities for pretrial crime.

• What was accomplished in the Milwaukee

domestic violence court was highly significant. It is one of the few documented successful attempts to address the problem of

low convictions in domestic violence cases.

It was done without coercion of victims (as

is the case in jurisdictions that institute

no-drop policies) and without additional

resources.

• The district attorney’s policy to prosecute

a larger proportion of domestic violence

arrests had several effects, none of them

positive, which may have been due in part

to insufficient allocation of resources. One

21 From a Final Report to the National Institute of Justice by the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice

Section; funded by NIJ grant #95–IJ–CX–0105, April 1997, NCJ 169111.

Purpose of Research

To assess the impact of two domestic violence

projects implemented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first examined the effectiveness of a

specialized domestic violence court designed

to speed up case processing time. The second

examined the effect of a subsequent change in

the district attorney’s screening policy that

admitted more cases into the special court.

Methods

Data were collected from each of three periods: prior to September 1994 (the start of the

special domestic violence court), between

September 1994 and January 1995 (the period

after the special court began and before the

change in the district attorney’s charging

policy), and after January 1995 (after the

change in the district attorney’s charging

policy). Data were collected from prosecutors’

files, police reports of new arrests for offenders, and via interviews with victims.

Findings

After the creation of the specialized court:

• Processing time was halved.

• Convictions were up by 25 percent.

• Pretrial crime declined.

• The prevalence of new felony arrests

showed a slight but statistically nonsignificant reduction.
72 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

effect of the new policy was to bring into

the court system a larger proportion of cases

with victims who were not interested in

seeing the defendant prosecuted. Victim satisfaction with prosecutors and with court

outcomes declined after the new screening

policy. As the special court became overwhelmed with cases, case processing time

increased back to the level that had existed

prior to the start of the specialized court.

Implications for Criminal Court

Officials

The researchers drew the following implications:

• Shortening court processing time in domestic violence cases is a good idea. It has been

shown to decrease pretrial crime and increase conviction rates.

• Introducing domestic violence cases with

reluctant victims into the criminal justice

system should be carefully considered.

Potential benefits may result, but negative

results were noted in the Milwaukee study.

These types of cases were found to increase

case processing time, increase pretrial

crime, decrease convictions, and decrease

satisfaction with prosecutor handling and

court outcome.

• Should the decision be made to introduce

cases with reluctant victims, sufficient resources should be allocated to adequately

prosecute and adjudicate the cases. In Milwaukee, there was no increase in victim/

witness, prosecutorial, or judicial staff to

handle twice the number of cases the district

attorney entered into the court system.

• In deciding whether or not to prosecute, the

victim’s voice should be carefully considered. It may be justified to go counter to victims’ wishes not to prosecute in select cases

where there is a clear indication (e.g., by

virtue of prior history and dangerousness of

the defendant) that harm will come to victims if defendants are not prosecuted. However, to completely ignore victims’ wishes

is likely to produce a caseload with many

unwinnable cases and disgruntled victims.
Chapter Three 73

Court-Ordered Treatment

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Impact of Court-Ordered Treatment

for Domestic Violence Offenders

by Adele Harrell22

Purpose of Research

To evaluate the impact of court-ordered treatment for domestic violence abusers.

Methods

Research was based on quasi-experimental

design with a total sample of 193 “male against

female” misdemeanor domestic abuse offenders in five district courts in Baltimore County,

Maryland, between September 1988 and October 1989. Rotating judges with different treatment/nontreatment preferences ordered the

abusers to treatment in one of three available

treatment programs. The study compared

81 treated offenders with 112 offenders not

ordered to treatment. The cessation of subsequent severe violence, physical aggression,

threats and the frequency of physical aggression, and psychological abuse were measured

by interviews with victims and abusers

1 month after case disposition and again

4 to 6 months later.

22 From a Paper presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of The American Society of Criminology, New Orleans,

Louisiana, November 4–7, 1992. The research was supported by the State Justice Institute, grant #90–12L–E–089.

23 Researcher’s caution: The treatment programs studied may have been too short or insufficiently intense, or may

have used ineffective strategies; they may have been inadequately implemented; or their failure to sanction for

noncompliance may have reduced the treatment impact. The author recommends that the study be replicated.

Findings23

Study comparisons of treated and nontreated

offenders indicated:

• Treatment did not reduce the prevalence

or frequency of violence:

— Treated and nontreated abusers were

not significantly different in terms of

ceasing severe violence or threats of

violence. Moreover, those not treated

were significantly less likely than those

treated to continue engaging in physical

aggression.

— While psychological abuse occurred

significantly less frequently for treated

abusers, treated and nontreated abusers

were not significantly different in terms

of the frequency of physical aggression

and threats of violence.

• Offender characteristics that did not reduce

frequency of violence were offender age,

employment status, history of domestic violence, past criminal history, children living

with the victim, and violent victimization

of the offender as a child. Moreover, neither

arresting the offender nor deferring prosecution had a significant effect on the frequency

of posttreatment violence.
74 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Implications for Judges and Court

Practitioners

Courts need to closely examine:

• Practices such as long delays in hearing

cases and in starting treatment when ordering offenders to treatment.

• Monitoring of compliance with treatment

orders and the provision of sanctions for

noncompliance.

• Victims’ protection needs while offenders

are in treatment.

• Alternative sanctions to be used in combination with or in place of treatment that will

protect the interests of victims of domestic

violence.

The following variables affected the impact

of treatment:

• Among cases with a history of severe violence, treated offenders who were married

to or living with the victim were significantly more likely to cease severe violence.

• Among cases with a history of physical

aggression, treated offenders who were involved with drugs or alcohol use of whose

victims had children living with them were

significantly more likely to cease physical

aggression.

• Treated offenders with a past criminal

record were significantly more likely than

other offenders to be involved in a subsequent incident.

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

The Role of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in

Domestic Violence and Its Treatment:

Dade County’s Domestic Violence Court Experiment

by John S. Goldkamp, with Doris Weiland, Mark Collins and Michael White24

24 From the Executive Summary of a Crime and Justice Research Institute study funded by the National Institute of

Justice, grant #93–IJ–CX–0028, June 1994, NCJ 163411. The findings—particularly from the baseline study—were

broader than those directly relevant to substance abuse that are described here.

Purpose of Research

To obtain baseline data on domestic violence

offenders and offenses, including data about

the role of substance abuse in domestic violence and the dropout and rearrest rates of

those ordered to treatment; and to compare the

impact on treatment status and reinvolvement

in the criminal and civil justice systems of two

treatment approaches for domestic violence

batterers: (1) the regular “dual” approach in

which batterer treatment and alcohol/drug

treatment are separate, with substance abuse

treatment an “add-on” to batterer treatment

and (2) a new “integrated” approach merging

substance abuse and batterer treatment.

Methods

The two-phase project took place in the specialized treatment-oriented Dade County

(Florida) Domestic Violence Court. The baseline study included a review of misdemeanor

cases processed in the court for a 1-year period

prior to the availability of integrated batterer/

substance abuse treatment.

In the experiment, misdemeanor divertees and

probationers ordered to treatment for both

substance abuse and battering between early

June 1994 and late February 1995 were randomly assigned to either the regular dual treatment process (n=140) or the new integrated
Chapter Three 75

treatment program (n=210). The progress of

individuals in both groups was observed for 7

months to determine treatment status and to

chart reinvolvement in the criminal and civil

justice systems.

Findings

Among the findings in the baseline study of

immediate relevance to the followup treatment

experiment were the following:

• Roughly half of misdemeanor defendants in

entering cases were involved in the abuse of

alcohol and/or other drugs. However, fewer

than half of the defendants so involved were

processed into substance abuse treatment.

Many of the cases with drug or alcohol involvement were dismissed or “no-actioned.”

• Slightly more than half of the defendants

were diverted or placed on probation.

Nearly all divertees and probationers were

assigned to domestic violence treatment;

about two-fifths were also assigned to substance abuse evaluation and/or treatment.

• Large numbers of divertees and probationers

assigned to treatment failed to appear at

treatment programs.

• Higher rearrest rates were found among

divertees and probationers who were not

admitted to treatment. Rates of rearrest were

lower for those who were admitted and

“continued in process.”

• Higher treatment dropout rates were found

among those substance abuse-involved

divertees and probationers who were assigned to batterer treatment and substance

abuse treatment in separate programs than

among those assigned to batterer programs

only.

The treatment experiment yielded three statistically significant findings:

• The integrated treatment approach was far

more successful than the dual process in

getting divertees and probationers to begin

treatment (43 percent of the dual program

participants never showed up for treatment

after intake compared to 13 percent of the

integrated program participants).

• The integrated approach was more successful than the dual process at keeping participants in treatment (median of 160 days

compared to 99).

• During the 7-month followup, participants

in the integrated treatment program were rearrested for same-victim domestic violence

offenses at less than half the rate of those

assigned to dual programs (6 percent vs.

14 percent).

Implications for Judges*

The following implications were drawn:

• Since the fact and length of treatment favorably impact rearrest rates, judges should

attempt to identify treatment programs that

have demonstrated the ability to admit and

keep in treatment domestic violence offenders with substance abuse problems, and

should maintain contact with offenders to

ensure they are attending treatment. (It is

difficult to discern whether the treatment’s

effect on rearrest is because of the treatment

itself or because the offender had more contacts with the court.)

• When the option is available, judges should

consider ordering domestic violence offenders with substance abuse problems to integrated batterer/substance abuse treatment

programs rather than to separate programs

for batterer treatment and substance abuse

treatment.

* These implications are not explicit in the report but appear to follow from the findings.
76 Research on Legal Interventions in Domestic Violence Cases

Other

Selected Findings and Implications Drawn From

Corporate Sector Response to Domestic Violence

by Nancy E. Isaac25

25 From a Summary Report to National Institute of Justice under grant #94–IJ–CX–0050 to the Harvard School of

Public Health, 1997, NCJ 166616.

Purpose of Research

To explore what role the corporate sector is

playing in responding to partner abuse as it impacts upon the health and safety of employees

in the workplace.

Methods

The research findings were based on (1) interviews with corporate professionals in a variety

of companies that examined their level of

awareness and attitudes about partner violence

and its potential effects on employees’ work

lives and (2) surveys with employee assistance

professionals (EAPs) that examined how the

corporate sector views the impact of partner

violence on its employees.

Findings

The interview study found:

• Most executives and managers in the corporate sector have given little or no thought to

the impact of partner abuse on the health

and safety of their employees.

• Among larger companies, the EAP and

security departments are the most aware

of the potential impact of partner abuse

on employees’ work lives. There is little

communication across departments within

companies about this issue.

• Potential barriers to understanding and helping employees who are victims of partner

abuse include lack of awareness, denial,

embarrassment, privacy and confidentiality

concerns, victim blaming, expectations of

self-identification by abused women, fear of

advocating for change, and concern that outreach to abused women may alienate male

employees, damage the company image, or

be too expensive.

The EAP survey found:

• A large majority of EAP providers have

been faced with cases of partner abuse,

including restraining order violations and

stalking in the workplace.

• General policies on “workplace violence”

exist in many companies but few specifically address domestic violence.

• There is increasing awareness among EAP

staff that employees may bring domestic

violence problems to the EAP.

• Among larger corporations, EAP staff are

using a range of practices to assist employees impacted by abuse, including the use of

a leave of absence, medical leave, and shortterm disability.

• EAP staff expressed an interest in learning

more about partner abuse and its potential

impact on employees.
Chapter Three 77

• Interaction with the criminal justice sector

with respect to domestic violence is limited.

Only a handful of corporations have received training from police or other criminal justice officials. Further, three-quarters

of EAP staff thought there was inadequate

follow-through by the criminal justice

system when a case of partner abuse was

reported.

Implications for Interactions

Between Companies and the

Criminal Justice System

Companies should develop ties with the criminal justice sector. Suggestions included:

• Inviting local law enforcement officials to

train key corporate staff and to provide an

overview of local, State, and Federal statutes related to family violence.

• Developing ongoing contacts in criminal

justice agencies and in particular in the

domestic violence units of local law

enforcement and prosecutor’s offices.
78

Child Maltreatment 1995: Report From the States

to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data

System, annual report, U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, 1997

(The) Crime of Stalking: How Big Is the Problem?,

summary of a presentation by Patricia Tjaden,

Center for Policy Research, National Institute of

Justice “Research Preview,” November 1996

Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1994:

A National Crime Victimization Survey Report,

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Tina Dorsey and

Jayne Robinson, May 1997 (NCJ 162126)*

(The) Cycle of Violence, National Institute of

Justice “Research in Brief,” Cathy Spatz Widom,

October 1992 (NCJ 136607)*

Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Data Collection: A Report to Congress Under the Violence

Against Women Act, Justice Research and Statistics

Association, James Zepp, a joint publication of the

National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of

Justice Statistics, July 1996 (NCJ 161405)*

Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Antistalking

Legislation: An Annual Report to Congress

under the Violence Against Women Act, Mary

Graham, ed., National Institute of Justice, April

1996 (NCJ 160943)*

Drugs, Alcohol, and Domestic Violence in Memphis, summary of a presentation by Daniel

Brookoff, National Institute of Justice “Research

Preview,” October 1997

Elderly Crime Victims, Bureau of Justice Statistics

“Selected Findings” from the National Crime

Victimization Survey, March 1994 (NCJ 147186)*

Female Victims of Violent Crime, Bureau of Justice

Statistics, December 1996 (NCJ 162602)*

Murder in Families, Bureau of Justice Statistics

“Special Report,” John M. Dawson and Patrick A.

Langan, July 1994 (NCJ 143498)*

Statistical Reports on Family Violence

Partner Violence Among Young Adults, summary

of a presentation by Terrie E. Moffitt, National

Institute of Justice “Research Preview,” April 1997

Sex Differences in Violent Victimization, 1994,

Bureau of Justice Statistics “Special Report,”

Diane Craven, September 1997 (NCJ 164508)*

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties, Bureau of Justice Statistics “Executive Summary,” Patrick A. Langan and John M. Dawson,

September 1995 (NCJ 156831)*; full report,

October 1995 (NCJ 153256)*

Stalking in America: Findings from the National

Violence Against Women Survey, Patricia Tjaden

and Nancy Thoennes, Center for Policy Research,

July 1997 (NIJ grant #93–IJ–CX–0012)

Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse

and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, 1996

Violence Against Women: Estimates from the

Redesigned Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics

“Special Report” on the National Crime Victimization Survey, Ronet Bachman and Linda E.

Saltzman, August 1995 (NCJ 154348)*

Violence Against Women: A National Crime

Victimization Survey Report, Bureau of Justice

Statistics, Ronet Bachman, January 1994 (NCJ

145325)*

Violence Between Intimates, Bureau of Justice

Statistics, November 1994 (NCJ 149259)*

Violence Between Intimates: 1992-1995, Bureau of

Justice Statistics, forthcoming (NCJ 167237)*

*NCJ documents can be obtained from the

National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

Most are free of charge. E-mail at “askncjrs” or

call 800–851–3420.
For more information on the National Institute of Justice, please contact:

National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000

800–851–3420

e-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org

To access the World Wide Web site, go to

http://www.ncjrs.org

If you have any questions, call or e-mail NCJRS.
About the National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a component of the Office of Justice Programs, is the research agency of

the U.S. Department of Justice. Created by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended,

NIJ is authorized to support research, evaluation, and demonstration programs, development of technology, and

both national and international information dissemination. Specific mandates of the Act direct NIJ to:

● Sponsor special projects, and research and development programs, that will improve and strengthen the

criminal justice system and reduce or prevent crime.

● Conduct national demonstration projects that employ innovative or promising approaches for improving

criminal justice.

● Develop new technologies to fight crime and improve criminal justice.

● Evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice programs and identify programs that promise to be successful if

continued or repeated.

● Recommend actions that can be taken by Federal, State, and local governments as well as by private organizations

to improve criminal justice.

● Carry out research on criminal behavior.

● Develop new methods of crime prevention and reduction of crime and delinquency.

In recent years, NIJ has greatly expanded its initiatives, the result of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement

Act of 1994 (the Crime Act), partnerships with other Federal agencies and private foundations, advances in

technology, and a new international focus. Some examples of these new initiatives:

● New research and evaluation are exploring key issues in community policing, violence against women, sentencing

reforms, and specialized courts such as drug courts.

● Dual-use technologies are being developed to support national defense and local law enforcement needs.

● The causes, treatment, and prevention of violence against women and violence within the family are being

investigated in cooperation with several agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

● NIJ’s links with the international community are being strengthened through membership in the United Nations

network of criminological institutes; participation in developing the U.N. Criminal Justice Information Network;

initiation of UNOJUST (U.N. Online Justice Clearinghouse), which electronically links the institutes to the

U.N. network; and establishment of an NIJ International Center.

● The NIJ-administered criminal justice information clearinghouse, the world’s largest, has improved its

online capability.

● The Institute’s Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program has been expanded and enhanced. Renamed ADAM

(Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring), the program will increase the number of drug-testing sites, and its role

as a “platform” for studying drug-related crime will grow.

● NIJ’s new Crime Mapping Research Center will provide training in computer mapping technology, collect and

archive geocoded crime data, and develop analytic software.

● The Institute’s program of intramural research has been expanded and enhanced.

The Institute Director, who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, establishes the Institute’s

objectives, guided by the priorities of the Office of Justice Programs, the Department of Justice, and the needs of

the criminal justice field. The Institute actively solicits the views of criminal justice professionals and researchers

in the continuing search for answers that inform public policymaking in crime and justice.