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Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................. vi

Performance Measures.................................................................................................. vi

1. Overview of Domestic Violence....................................................................................... 1

1.1 How widespread is nonfatal domestic violence?.................................................. 1

1.2 What percentage of calls to police are to report domestic violence?.................... 1

1.3 What time of day does domestic violence occur? ................................................ 2

1.4 How widespread is stalking? ............................................................................... 2

1.5 How widespread are sexual assaults of intimate partners? ................................. 2

1.6 How widespread is fatal domestic violence?........................................................ 3

1.7 How widespread are multiple forms of domestic violence against the same 

victims? ............................................................................................................... 4

2. Reporting and Arrests ..................................................................................................... 5

2.1 To what extent is domestic violence reported to law enforcement and what 

percentage actually reaches the courts? ............................................................. 5

2.2 At what point do victims report domestic violence?.............................................. 6

2.3 Which victims are likely to report domestic violence? .......................................... 7

2.4 Does the quality of the law enforcement response influence whether 

domestic violence is reported? ............................................................................ 7

2.5 Who else reports domestic violence? .................................................................. 8

2.6 Are there other major sources for reports of domestic violence? ......................... 8

2.7 What kinds of domestic violence are reported to law enforcement and are 

prosecuted? ........................................................................................................ 9

2.8 Do arrest rates correspond to actual rates of domestic violence and stalking 

based on victim surveys? .................................................................................. 10

2.9 Do stalking arrests correspond to actual stalking rates as reported by 

victims? ............................................................................................................. 11

2.10 Is arrest the best response? .............................................................................. 11

2.11 What should law enforcement‟s response be if the suspect is gone when 

they arrive? ....................................................................................................... 12

2.12 Who is the primary/predominant aggressor? ..................................................... 13

3. Perpetrator Characteristics ........................................................................................... 15

3.1 What is their gender? ........................................................................................ 15

3.2 What age are they?........................................................................................... 16

3.3 Are they likely to be known to law enforcement already?................................... 16

3.4 Are they likely to be drug and/or alcohol abusers? ............................................ 17

3.5 Are they likely to be mentally ill or have certain personality traits?..................... 18

3.6 Do abusers stick with one victim?...................................................................... 18

3.7 How many abusers are likely to do it again?...................................................... 19

3.8 Are abusers at risk for committing new nondomestic violence crimes?.............. 20

3.9 When are abusers likely to reabuse?................................................................. 21

3.10 Which abusers are likely to do it again in the short term?.................................. 22

3.11 Is gender an important risk factor? .................................................................... 22

3.12 Is age an important risk factor? ......................................................................... 22

3.13 Is prior arrest history an important risk factor?................................................... 22

3.14 Is substance abuse an important risk factor?..................................................... 23
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3.15 Are victims accurate predictors of reabuse?...................................................... 24

3.16 Are there other common risk factors associated with reabuse?......................... 25

3.17 What factors are not associated with reabuse? ................................................. 25

3.18 Do the widely used risk instruments accurately predict reabuse?...................... 26

3.19 Which abusers are most likely to try to kill their victims?.................................... 26

3.20 How critical is the presence of firearms and other weapons? ............................ 26

3.21 What are other lethality risk markers? ............................................................... 27

3.22 What are the risk markers for severe injury? ..................................................... 28

4. Victim Characteristics.................................................................................................... 29

4.1 Are victim characteristics and actions important factors in assessing the 

likelihood of abuse?........................................................................................... 29

4.2 To what extent do victims engage in alcohol and drug abuse?.......................... 29

4.3 Why do some victims behave as they do?......................................................... 30

4.4 Do male domestic violence victims differ from female victims?.......................... 31

5. Law Enforcement Responses ....................................................................................... 33

5.1 Are specialized law enforcement domestic violence units effective in 

responding to domestic violence? ..................................................................... 33

5.2 Do they influence prosecutions and convictions of abuse suspects?................. 33

5.3 Do they influence victim behavior? .................................................................... 33

5.4 Do they reduce reabuse? .................................................................................. 33

5.5 Do they increase victim satisfaction?................................................................. 34

5.6 Should law enforcement agencies participate in coordinated community 

responses?........................................................................................................ 34

5.7 Does domestic violence training improve law enforcement responses to 

victims? ............................................................................................................. 35

6. Prosecution Responses ................................................................................................ 36

6.1 What is the current level of domestic violence prosecution across the 

country? ............................................................................................................ 36

6.2 Can most domestic violence arrest cases be successfully prosecuted in 

court?................................................................................................................ 36

6.3 Will aggressive prosecutions or sentences increase the demand for trials?....... 38

6.4 Do victims want their abusers prosecuted? ....................................................... 38

6.5 Why do a minority of victims oppose prosecution? ............................................ 39

6.6 Is victim fear of prosecution well founded? ........................................................ 40

6.7 Can prosecutors increase victim cooperation? .................................................. 40

6.8 Should prosecutors follow victim preferences when prosecuting offenders?...... 42

6.9 What evidence is typically available to prosecute domestic violence cases?..... 42

6.10 Can cases be successfully prosecuted without the victim?................................ 43

6.11 Can successful prosecutions be increased?...................................................... 45

6.12 What does adoption of no-drop policies actually mean?.................................... 45

6.13 What kind of dispositions do most suspects receive? ........................................ 45

6.14 Does prosecuting domestic violence offenders deter reabuse?......................... 46

6.15 When does sentencing of domestic violence defendants not necessarily 

prevent reabuse? .............................................................................................. 48

6.16 Are defendants who don‟t show up in court more at risk for reabusing than 

those who do?................................................................................................... 48

6.17 Can “first” offenders be safely diverted or discharged?...................................... 48

6.18 Do specialized prosecution units work?............................................................. 49
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6.19 What characterizes specialized prosecution units?............................................ 50

7. Judicial Responses ....................................................................................................... 52

7.1 Does sentencing domestic violence offenders deter reabuse? .......................... 52

7.2 Should judges follow victim preferences when determining sentences?............ 53

7.3 What should the response be when the suspect is brought in on an arrest or 

court-default warrant? ....................................................................................... 53

7.4 What are current abuser sentencing practices?................................................. 54

7.5 What accounts for dispositions?........................................................................ 54

7.6 Are defendants who don‟t show up in court more at risk for reabuse than

those who do?................................................................................................... 55

7.7 Can “first” offenders be safely diverted or discharged?...................................... 55

7.8 Who obtains civil protective orders? .................................................................. 56

7.9 When and why do victims ask for orders? ......................................................... 56

7.10 How many abusers violate court protective orders? .......................................... 57

7.11 Do protective orders work?................................................................................ 58

7.12 Does judicial demeanor make a difference?...................................................... 59

7.13 Do specialized domestic violence courts work?................................................. 60

7.14 What makes specialized domestic violence courts different? ............................ 61

7.15 Do enhanced domestic violence dispositions require enhanced 

postdisposition court time and resources?......................................................... 63

7.16 Does the type of postdispositional monitoring matter?....................................... 63

7.17 Does probation supervision of abusers reduce likelihood of reabuse?............... 64

8. Intervention Programs................................................................................................... 65

8.1 Do batterer intervention programs prevent reabuse?......................................... 65

8.2 Does the type or length of batterer intervention program make a difference? .... 65

8.3 Do couples counseling or anger management treatment programs prevent 

reabuse?........................................................................................................... 66

8.4 Does alcohol and drug treatment prevent reabuse? .......................................... 67

8.5 Are court-referred batterers likely to complete batterer programs? .................... 67

8.6 Do those who complete batterer programs do better than those who fail?......... 68

8.7 Can court monitoring enhance batterer intervention program attendance?........ 69

8.8 Which batterers are likely to fail to attend mandated batterer intervention 

treatment?......................................................................................................... 70

8.9 When are noncompliant abusers likely to drop out of batterer programs? ......... 71

8.10 What should the prosecutor‟s response be if court-referred abusers are 

noncompliant with programs?............................................................................ 71

8.11 What should the judge‟s response be if court-referred abusers are 

noncompliant with programs?............................................................................ 72

8.12 What should the prosecutor‟s or judge‟s response be to abusers who 

reoffend while enrolled or after completing a batterer intervention program?..... 73

8.13 What effect do batterer intervention program referrals have on victims? ........... 73

References .......................................................................................................................... 74
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Preface

The purpose of this work is to describe to practitioners what the research tells us about 

domestic violence, including its perpetrators and victims, the impact of current responses to it 

and, more particularly, the implications of that research for day-to-day, real-world responses to 

domestic violence by law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges. 

Although many state and federal statutes define domestic violence broadly, for the purposes of 

this work, it is confined to offenses committed by and against current or former intimate 

partners, married or unmarried, with or without children. 

Most but not all of the research reports discussed in this brief are from studies funded by the 

National Institute of Justice and/or published in a variety of refereed journals. For example, 

several studies of women seeking hospital emergency room treatment for injuries inflicted by 

intimate partners are included because, although of primary concern to the medical community, 

these studies underscore victim characteristics found in criminal-justice-related research, 

suggesting how representative the latter is.

Less rigorous research reports are also included because of the quality of their data collection 

or because they provide accurate examples of performance measures. For example, several 

performance evaluations of specific programs are included, not because they address program 

effectiveness in terms of preventing reabuse but because they provide concrete examples of 

what specific programs can achieve in terms of important program outputs such as arrest or 

successful prosecution rates. Some of the most extensive examinations of prosecution practices 

have been conducted by newspaper-initiated investigations in which reporters gained access to 

state court data tapes of thousands of cases.

Although some research findings may be questionable because researchers used less than 

rigorous research methodology, the research itself may be cited because it contains accurate 

data illustrating an important phenomenon. The data are unaffected by the research design 

used by the researchers. For example, although Jacobson and Gottman‟s findings regarding the 

typology of batterers [128] have been questioned, their reported observations, if not their 

conclusions, have been confirmed. [158] They are cited in support of the proposition that 

batterer reaction to their violence is not uniform but are not cited in support of their more 

controversial conclusion that all batterers fall into two distinct categories.

The policy and practice implications are based on the evidence provided by the research and 

are therefore confined to areas specifically addressed by researchers. Consequently, the 

implications described in this brief do not constitute a comprehensive listing of promising 

practices or even policies and procedures widely recognized to be effective. Whenever possible, 

policy implications are based on multiple studies. However, in some instances, where only one 

study examined an issue deemed to be important to practitioners, policy implications may be 

drawn from just that one study. In such cases, the narrative will alert readers that the research 

has not yet been replicated.

Performance Measures

The performance measures (featured in textboxes) include examples of specific programs, 

specific jurisdictions‟ achievements, or surveys of multiple departments. These measures are 

included to provide examples of what a specific, real-life program or jurisdiction can accomplish. 
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Because jurisdictions vary, these measures may not be replicable in all other jurisdictions but 

suggest what may be achieved in similar jurisdictions. 
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1. Overview of Domestic Violence

1.1 How widespread is nonfatal domestic violence?

According to the latest 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), during the period 

from 1993 to 2005, the average annual domestic violence rate per 1,000 persons (age 12 or 

older) for intimate partners and/or relatives was 5.9 for females and 2.1 for males. About onethird of the victims reported they were physically attacked; two-thirds were threatened with 

attack or death. A little more than half (50.5 percent) of the female victims suffered an injury, but 

only 4.5 percent were seriously injured. Slightly more than 3 percent were sexually assaulted. 

Fewer male victims — 41.5 percent — reported injuries, of which less than 5 percent were 

serious injuries. Those males or females who were separated (or divorced) experienced more 

nonfatal domestic violence than those who were together. [27]

Victimization rates vary among different subpopulations. The highest reported rates are for 

Native American women. [154]

1.2 What percentage of calls to police are to report domestic violence?

Domestic-violence-related police calls have been found to constitute the single largest category 

of calls received by police, accounting for 15 to more than 50 percent of all calls. [68, 114] Not 

all domestic violence calls are for activities that constitute crimes. Several New York studies, for 

example, found that 65 percent of such calls in upstate New York pertained to criminal conduct. 

In New York City, the police department found that 35 percent of reports pertained to specific 

chargeable index or other criminal offenses. [165, 184] In San Diego, approximately 25 percent 

of calls for service in domestic violence cases result in an arrest. [196]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Given the large numbers adversely affected by domestic violence and that victims‟ prime 

countermeasure — leaving their abusers — may not stop the abuse, law enforcement agencies 

must commit time, resources and attention to domestic violence as they do to confront any other 

major crime. For this reason, all law enforcement agencies should have a domestic violence 

policy that specifies, at a minimum, that written reports be completed on all domestic violence 

calls and, if no arrest is made, the reports fully explain the circumstances why not. (Research 

basis: Disparate national surveys, supplemented by local police department studies.)

Performance Measure: A total of 77 percent of police departments have written 

operational procedures for responding to emergency domestic violence calls, and 

larger departments are most likely to have such written procedures. Most 

procedures include requiring the dispatcher to ask about weapons, check for 

protection orders, and advise the caller to stay on the line until police arrive. [213] 

(Research basis: Representative sample of 368 drawn from 14,000 law 

enforcement agencies across the nation.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Given the large numbers adversely affected by domestic violence and that victims‟ prime 

countermeasure — leaving their abusers — may not stop the abuse, and given the amount of 

time committed to responding to domestic violence calls and arresting and prosecuting alleged 
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offenders, prosecutors and judges must commit sufficient resources and attention to ensure that 

domestic violence cases are handled efficiently and effectively. (Research basis: Disparate 

national surveys, supplemented by local police department and prosecution studies.)

1.3 What time of day does domestic violence occur?

According to the NCVS, most offenses (60 percent) occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. at the 

victim‟s home. [27]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Although all potential responding law enforcement officers must be trained and prepared to deal 

with domestic violence, if the agency has only a limited number of victim advocates, related 

auxiliary personnel, or volunteers to assist on domestic violence calls, priority should be given to 

the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. time period. (Research basis: National survey data from 1993 to 2004.)

1.4 How widespread is stalking?

Estimates of stalking vary, depending upon how it is defined. A 1995-1996 National Violence 

Against Women Survey (NVAWS) found that 5 per 1,000 females (18 and older) and 2 per 

1,000 males report being stalked annually, using a conservative definition that requires victims 

to suffer a high level of fear. Eighty percent of stalking victims are women, and 87 percent of 

stalkers are male. Women were stalked by spouses or ex-spouses (38 percent), current or 

former intimates (10 percent), dating partners (14 percent), other relatives (4 percent), 

acquaintances (19 percent), and strangers (23 percent). The percentages add to more than 100 

percent because some women reported being stalked by more than one person. Males were 

more likely than females to be stalked by strangers (36 percent) and acquaintances (34 

percent). [131, 207] Furthermore, research suggests a close association between stalking and 

murders of women by intimate partners. One study, for example, found more than half (54 

percent) of female intimate partner murder victims had reported stalking to police prior to their 

murders by the stalkers. [156] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

It is important for law enforcement officers to correctly identify stalking behavior in order to 

accurately analyze victim risk and to use stalking laws appropriately. Even if the stalker is not 

charged, stalking constitutes a red flag for potential lethality. (Research basis: National study of 

141 murders and 65 attempted murders of women, and confirmation in other stalking studies.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Whether stalkers are specifically charged or not, it is important for prosecutors and judges to 

correctly identify stalking behavior and recognize its significance in order to give victims 

maximum protection against potentially lethal abusers. (Research basis: National study of 141 

murders and 65 attempted murders of women, and confirmation in other stalking studies.)

1.5 How widespread are sexual assaults of intimate partners?

If there is physical abuse in domestic violence, studies suggest that there is probably sexual 

abuse as well. A Texas study found that almost 70 percent of women seeking protective orders 

were raped, most (79 percent) repeatedly. [157] Although reporting a lower rate, an earlier 

Massachusetts study found 55 percent of female restraining order petitioners reported to 

interviewers that they had been sexually assaulted by their abusers, although no one had 
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included this in her affidavit requesting a protective order. [143] Female victims similarly 

underreported sexual abuse in a Colorado study. Although 20 to 50 percent of women seeking 

protective orders had been subjected to a variety of abuse, including forced sex within the 

preceding year, only 4 percent listed forced sex on the complaint form requesting the temporary 

restraining order. [105]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Investigators should be alert to possible sexual as well as physical abuse in interviewing or 

investigating domestic assaults. Judgment must be used as to how and when to approach 

potential victims of sexual assaults. (Research basis: National survey as well as disparate 

individual studies from multiple regions.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Prosecutors should be aware that sexual abuse is often part of domestic violence, although 

victims may not report it or be prepared to cooperate in its prosecution. Even if prosecutors 

cannot file or prosecute, evidence of sexual assaults should be taken into account when 

prosecutors and judges consider abuser risk and victim vulnerability in terms of filing other 

charges and making appropriate sentencing recommendations, bail decisions, issuing protective 

orders, and sentencing abusers after pleas or convictions. (Research basis: National survey as 

well as disparate individual studies from multiple regions.)

1.6 How widespread is fatal domestic violence?

According to the Supplementary Homicide Reports of the FBI‟s Uniform Crime Reporting 

Program in 2005, 1,181 females and 329 males were killed by their intimate partners. [27] The 

number of men killed has dropped by almost three-quarters since 1976, whereas the number of 

women killed has only dropped by a quarter. The number of white females killed has declined 

the least — only 6 percent. Intimate partner homicides constituted 11 percent of all homicides 

between 1976 and 2005, 30 percent of all female murders (1976-2004), and 3 percent of all 

male murders (1976-2005). The proportion of female homicide victims killed by an intimate 

partner is increasing. Unlike nonfatal domestic violence, most intimate partner homicides (54 

percent) involve spouses or ex-spouses, although intimate partner homicides for unmarried 

couples are approaching the rate for married or divorced couples. 

Intimate partner homicides may also involve third parties, including children, bystanders, 

employers and lawyers, among others. For example, according to the Washington State 

Domestic Violence Fatality Review, between 1997 and 2004, there were 313 domestic violence 

fatality cases in that state involving 416 homicides, including 23 children, 32 friends/family 

members of primary intimate partner victims, 19 new boyfriends of primary intimate victims, one 

co-worker of the primary intimate victim, three law enforcement officers responding to the 

intimate partner homicide, 9 abusers killed by law enforcement, and 10 abusers killed by a 

friend or family member of victims. Additionally, 93 abusers committed suicide after killing their 

victim(s). [199]

Implications for Law Enforcement

To reduce female homicides generally, law enforcement must give priority to the protection of 

female intimate partners. (Research basis: National data collected by the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation.)
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Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

To reduce female homicides generally, prosecutors and judges must give priority to the 

protection of female intimates. Reduction of female intimate homicides will also reduce collateral 

homicides of children, other family members, and responding law enforcement officers as well 

as reducing abuser suicides. (Research basis: National data collected by the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation, and multiple state and local fatality reviews.)

1.7 How widespread are multiple forms of domestic violence against the same 

victims?

Analysis of NVAWS data revealed that 18 percent of the women who experienced abuse 

experienced systemic abuse, meaning they were likely to suffer physical attacks (with and 

without weapons) and strangulation; of these women, 24.4 percent also experienced sexual 

assault, and 47.8 percent experienced stalking. [153] A study of dating violence similarly found 

substantial overlap between physical and sexual victimization. [222]

Implications for Law Enforcement

A full investigation may indicate additional, even more serious incidents of domestic violence 

than the one to which the law enforcement officers respond. (Research basis: A national survey 

and a five-year longitudinal study of college students from schools considered representative of 

state colleges attended by 80 percent of all U.S. college students.)

Implications for Prosecutors

A post-arrest investigation by the prosecutor may indicate additional, even more serious 

incidents of domestic violence than the one specifically noted by law enforcement officers. 

Rarely does the reported abuse incident represent a single isolated, atypical act. Appropriate 

charges should be filed that cover the range of criminal behaviors of abusers. In light of the 

United State‟s Supreme Court case, Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), and its 

increased demand for live victim testimony, prosecutors must work with law enforcement to 

uncover any evidence of abuser intimidation of victims that would inhibit the victim‟s testimony. 

Such evidence may also be used in preparing victim impact statements. (Research basis: A 

national survey and a five-year longitudinal study of college students from schools considered 

representative of state colleges attended by 80 percent of all U.S. college students.)

Implications for Judges

Although called upon to respond to discrete criminal charges, judges must insist that they 

receive sufficient information to reveal any pattern of systemic, abusive behaviors in order to 

accurately understand the victim‟s vulnerability. (Research basis: A national survey and a fiveyear longitudinal study of college students from schools considered representative of state 

colleges attended by 80 percent of all U.S. college students.)
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2. Reporting and Arrests

2.1 To what extent is domestic violence reported to law enforcement and what 

percentage actually reaches the courts?

As with any crime, not all incidents of domestic violence are reported to law enforcement, not all 

incidents reported to law enforcement are forwarded to prosecutors, and even fewer are 

prosecuted. 

Both the older NVAWS and the more contemporary NCVS reports agree that victims do not 

report all cases of their victimization to police. According to the NVAWS, only 27 percent of 

women and 13.5 percent of men who were physically assaulted by an intimate partner reported 

their assault to law enforcement. Less than 20 percent of women victims reported intimate 

partner rapes to police. Reporting rates for stalking were higher, with 52 percent of women and 

36 percent of men reporting stalking incidents to law enforcement. A succession of NCVS 

surveys over the past several decades find much higher reporting rates (but for far fewer 

victimizations). According to these surveys, reporting to police of nonfatal partner victimization 

has increased for all victims (male and female) to more than 62 percent, with no gap between 

male and female victim reporting rates. The highest reporting rate is for black females (70.2 

percent) and the lowest is for black males (46.5 percent). [27]

Comparing hundreds of police domestic violence incident reports with victim statements at four 

sites in three different states, researchers found that a proportion of victims deny abuse 

documented by police. Researchers found 29 percent of victims reported “no assault,” 

contradicting police findings. Ironically, their alleged assailants were more likely to admit to the 

assaults, with only 19 percent reporting “no assault.” However, suspects were more likely than 

victims to minimize the severity of the assaults. [63] Researchers also found that some victims 

do not report repeated incidents of abuse to police. A review of NCVS data from 1992 through 

2002 found that, although 60 percent of the victims had been assaulted by their intimate 

partners before, only half of the latest survey assaults were reported to police, and these

included reports made by persons other than the victim. Prior unreported domestic violence may 

be more serious than the incident actually reported. [63] 

Reasons given in the 2005 NCVS for not reporting abuse incidents included a belief that the 

abuse was a private or personal matter (22 percent for females, 39 percent for males), fear of 

reprisal (12 percent for females, 5 percent for males), a desire to protect the suspect (14 

percent for females, 16 percent for males), and a belief that police won‟t do anything (8 percent 

for females and for males). [27, 63] 

Once reported, police arrest rates vary, depending on the jurisdiction and how each defines 

domestic violence. Arrests for domestic violence per 1,000 persons ranged from 3.2 in Omaha, 

Neb. (2003), to 12.2 in Wichita, Kan. (2000). [135]

Prosecution rates similarly vary. A review of 26 domestic violence prosecution studies from 

across the country found prosecutions per arrest ranged from 4.6 percent in Milwaukee in 1992 

to 94 percent reported in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2005. The average rate was 63.8 percent, and the 

median rate was 59.5 percent. [71]
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Implications for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors

Performance Measure: On the basis of victim reporting rates to law 

enforcement alone, law enforcement officers should be responding annually to at 

least 4 to 5 incidents per 1,000 females (12 and older) and 1 to 2 per 1,000 

males (12 and older). On the basis of actual rates as determined by victim 

surveys, law enforcement officers should be responding annually to 8 to 9 

incidents per 1,000 females, and 2 to 3 per 1,000 males. Therefore, if the 

incidence of domestic violence reported in victim surveys is significantly above 

the level that victims actually report to law enforcement, greater community 

outreach and barriers to reporting must be addressed. Law enforcement officers 

must encourage the rest of the community to do its part, and prosecutors must 

work with law enforcement if incidents are not making it into the courts. 

(Research basis: Confirmed by multiple national surveys over past decades, 

although exact rates [as opposed to the national average] may vary by region, 

population density, ethnicity of population, and so on.)

Implications for Judges

Judges typically see only a small minority of domestic violence cases that actually occur. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies across the country based on victim surveys, police arrest 

records and court cases.)

2.2 At what point do victims report domestic violence?

Victims do not generally report their initial intimate partner victimization but typically suffer 

multiple assaults or related victimizations before they contact authorities or apply for protective 

orders. [63, 105, 133] A Texas protective order study, like others conducted across the country, 

found that 68 percent of the victims taking out orders had been physically abused by their 

partners in the two years before they took out orders. [26] A Massachusetts arrest study found 

that a majority (55 percent) of sampled intimate partner victims who called police reported that 

either the frequency or the severity of ongoing abuse was increasing in the period before the 

call. Another 11 percent reported no increases in either frequency or severity but increased 

controlling behaviors such as restrictions on freedom of movement, access to money, medical 

or counseling services, or social support. [23] The NCVS found that victims were more likely to 

report reassaults than initial assaults. [63] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

In questioning victims, law enforcement officers should always inquire about unreported prior

assaults for evidence of crimes that may be charged, depending on the jurisdiction‟s statute of 

limitations. These inquiries are also necessary to develop an accurate offender history to 

determine offender risk and to advise the victim. Prior abuse history may also be helpful in 

determining the primary or predominant aggressor. (Research basis: Both national studies and 

multiple, disparate individual-jurisdiction studies agree that battering that is likely to come to the 

attention of law enforcement constitutes repeated activity, much of it not reported to law 

enforcement initially.)
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Implications for Prosecutors

In questioning victims, prosecutors should always inquire about prior unreported domestic 

violence for evidence of crimes that may be charged, depending on the jurisdiction‟s statute of 

limitations, and/or are necessary to develop an accurate offender history to determine 

appropriate prosecution and sentencing recommendations. (Research basis: Both national 

studies and multiple, disparate individual-jurisdiction studies agree that battering that is likely to 

come to the attention of law enforcement constitutes repeated activity, much of it not reported to 

law enforcement initially.)

Implications for Judges

Judges should not assume that the civil petition or criminal case before them represents 

isolated, unique behaviors on the part of the involved parties, particularly the abuser. Although 

this assumption may not be relevant until after the specific petition or case has been decided, it 

must be considered in terms of fashioning remedies and sanctions. (Research basis: Both 

national and multiple, disparate individual-jurisdiction studies agree that battering that is likely to 

come to the attention of the criminal justice system represents repeated activity.)

2.3 Which victims are likely to report domestic violence?

Some victims are more likely to report their victimization or revictimization than others. 

Research indicates that women who have more experience with the criminal justice system —

especially those with protective orders or who have experienced more severe abuse histories —

are more likely to call police. [23, 27, 120, 141] 

The seriousness of injury may not increase victim reporting, however, because of incapacity, the 

increased likelihood that a third party will call in these cases, or the fact that seriously injured 

victims are less likely to have protective orders. [23] Younger women, those in dating 

relationships, and those with little prior contact with the criminal justice system are less likely to 

call police. [23, 27] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

When a victim reports domestic violence, it probably indicates repeated prior abuse incidents. 

Law enforcement officers should be trained in how to assist victims and encourage them to 

secure protective orders if for no other reason than victims with protective orders are more likely 

than those without such an order to alert police to subsequent victimization incidents. Existence 

of protective orders adds to the body of evidence for future prosecution. (Research basis: Both 

national surveys and multiple local studies conclude that victim reporting is not uniform or 

consistent. Although one might argue that protective orders generate violations by criminalizing 

otherwise legal behavior, both national and multiple local studies found higher reporting rates of 

a variety of domestic violence crimes for victims with protective orders.)

2.4 Does the quality of the law enforcement response influence whether 

domestic violence is reported?

Research indicates that actions of law enforcement, such as follow-up home visits after 

incidents, can encourage victim reports of domestic violence. [37] It appears that victim 

confidence in police response leads to more reports of new violence. [41, 68] This is reinforced 

by a study of a police department domestic violence unit, which documented that repeated 

victim contact with law enforcement officers assigned to a specialized domestic violence unit 

significantly increased the likelihood of victim reports of revictimization. [130]
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On the other hand, research also shows that victims who reported prior victimization and 

thought the criminal justice response was insufficient or endangered them are less likely to 

report subsequent victimizations. [23] However, even if the victim opposed the arrest of her 

abuser, she is generally just as likely to report revictimizations as are victims who did not 

oppose the initial arrest. [23, 130] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officers should not be deterred from arresting abuse suspects for fear of 

prejudicing future victim reporting of revictimization. Law enforcement responses can increase 

victim reports of reabuse (even as they decrease the likelihood of reabuse). Therefore, 

increased reporting of victimization does not necessarily mean that law enforcement efforts are 

failing to reduce actual domestic abuse, and decreased reporting may not indicate successful 

law enforcement efforts. (Research basis: An increase in reported findings, based on three 

experimental studies as well as multiple observational studies from disparate localities.)

2.5 Who else reports domestic violence?

Most domestic violence reports are called in by victims, with victim report rates ranging from 59 

percent [228] to 93 percent. [68] The review of NCVS reassaults between 1992 and 2002 found 

that 72 percent of the reassaults were reported by the victims, and 28 percent by third parties. 

[63] Third parties include family members, relatives and sometimes the suspects themselves. In 

Chicago‟s domestic violence misdemeanor court, 26 percent of the calls were made by third 

parties on their own, and another 7.3 percent called at the direct behest of the victim. [107] Third 

parties are more likely to call police if the incident involved major injuries or a weapon. [23, 27] 

Other family members are significantly more likely to report abuse of elderly women (60 years 

and older) abused by other family members, usually sons, daughters or grandsons. [139]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Tapes of 911 domestic violence calls should be routinely maintained and accessible, as they 

may contain possible excited utterance evidence, because a majority of calls reporting incidents 

are made by victims (some of whom may be reluctant to testify later). In addition, the identities 

and contact information for third-party domestic violence callers should be elicited when 

possible in case they are potential witnesses. Dispatchers should be trained on these matters. 

(Research basis: Multiple national and local observational studies.)

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should ask law enforcement to catalog and maintain 911 tapes of domestic 

violence calls (since they may contain possible excited utterance evidence) because a majority 

of reported incidents are made by victims, some of whom may be reluctant to testify later. In 

addition, the identities and contact information for third-party domestic violence callers should 

be elicited when possible, in case they are potential incident witnesses. Dispatchers should be 

trained toward these ends, and this information should be forwarded to prosecutors. (Research 

basis: Multiple national and local observational studies.)

2.6 Are there other major sources for reports of domestic violence?

Unlike most crime victims, victims reporting domestic violence can use a parallel track, namely, 

civil courts where they can petition for protective/restraining orders. In many jurisdictions, more 

victims report intimate assaults and related crimes to civil courts than to law enforcement. [135] 

Research from both ends of the country, Massachusetts [32, 134] and the state of Washington 
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[121], however, indicates that the abuse reported in this civil setting is not significantly different 

from that reported to law enforcement.

Implications for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors

Civil protective order files offer law enforcement and prosecutors an essential tool in identifying 

domestic violence victims and perpetrators, gauging victim risk, and correctly calibrating 

appropriate charges and sentences. They may also indicate prior uncharged crimes that may be 

prosecuted along with more recent charges, particularly if the same victim and/or witnesses are 

involved in both sets of charges. They may also be used as evidence for violations of 

probationary sentences. Petitioner affidavits of abuse have been upheld as admissible evidence 

for probation violation in Tweedie v. Garvey, 94_CV_30139 (U.S. D. Springfield, MA, 1994). 

(Research basis: Disparate observational studies across the country as well as reported data 

from multiple states.)

Implications for Judges

Notwithstanding the court arena, civil or criminal, the abuse reported is typically as serious in 

one as in the other. The major differences are the responses courts can offer. For this reason, 

judges should inform or ensure that victims are informed that they may file criminal complaints 

in addition to petitioning courts for civil orders. Each process offers victims different benefits 

(and poses different challenges). (Research basis: Disparate observational studies across the 

country as well as reported data from multiple states.)

2.7 What kinds of domestic violence are reported to law enforcement and are 

prosecuted?

Notwithstanding varying numbers and types of crimes that constitute domestic violence in state 

codes and the U.S. Code, almost two-thirds to three-quarters of domestic violence cited in law 

enforcement incident reports are for assaults. [23, 68, 120, 196, 228] Although prosecutors 

screen cases, a study of domestic violence prosecutions in California, Oregon, Nebraska and 

Washington found that assaults constituted 59 to 81 percent of all prosecuted domestic violence 

cases. [196]

The percentage of felony assaults varies widely, reflecting specific state felony enhancement 

statutes. The highest percentage of felony assault domestic violence charges documented (41 

percent) is in California, where injurious domestic assaults are classified as felonies. [228] 

However, most studies find much smaller percentages of felony assault charges — for instance, 

13.7 percent in Charlotte, N.C. [68], and only 5.5 percent in Massachusetts [23] — as most 

physical injuries are minor and most cases do not involve the use of weapons. 

These studies accord with the findings of the NCVS. [27] The NVCS, based on victim selfreports, not police characterizations, found simple assaults against female intimate partners to 

be more than four times greater (4.4) than aggravated assaults in 2005. Most assaults (80.5 

percent) did not involve weapons. [27]

Implications for Law Enforcement

If the ratio of arrest reports for lesser offenses (such as disorderly conduct or breach of the 

peace) is significantly greater than that for assaults, it may indicate that patrol officers are not 

correctly identifying or assessing the underlying criminal behavior. Additional training or 

supervision may be required. (Research basis: Numerous observational studies from across the 

country as well as findings of national victim surveys, 1993-2004.)
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Implications for Prosecutors

If the ratio of arrest reports for lesser offenses (such as disorderly conduct or breach of the 

peace) is significantly greater than that for assaults, it may indicate that local law enforcement is 

not correctly identifying the underlying criminal behavior. Prosecutors must work with officers to 

correctly determine the necessary elements of specific domestic violence crimes, including 

assault, stalking and marital rape. Alternatively, if the majority of domestic assaults are routinely 

pled down to lesser offenses by prosecutors, prosecutors may be endangering victims as well 

as failing to hold abusers fully accountable for their violence. Federal misdemeanor firearm 

prohibitions — 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9), for example — only apply to assault convictions. Where 

enhancement statutes are available, prosecutors should carefully review prior convictions to 

charge defendants as repeat offenders where appropriate. (Research basis: Numerous 

observational studies from across the country as well as findings of national victim surveys, 

1993-2004.)

Implications for Judges

Reducing assault charges to nonassault charges allows convicted abusers to retain firearms 

otherwise prohibited pursuant to federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), which prohibits abusers 

convicted of misdemeanor assaults from possessing firearms or ammunition. Qualifying 

offenses must include the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a 

deadly weapon. Judges can facilitate application of the federal prohibition by making specific 

findings of these necessary elements required in the federal law. (Research basis: Numerous 

observational studies from across the country as well as findings of national victim surveys, 

1993-2004.)

2.8 Do arrest rates correspond to actual rates of domestic violence and 

stalking based on victim surveys?

Domestic violence arrest rates as a percentage of written incident reports vary greatly because 

incident report writing practices vary across jurisdictions. A better, more consistent measure is 

the arrests per capita over the course of a year. At least one study documents that actual per 

capita arrests for domestic violence across an entire (albeit small) state exceeded the national 

estimates of domestic violence as determined by the NCVS. A Rhode Island study found in 

2004 that per capita domestic violence arrests were 10.5 per 1,000 females (including both 

male and female suspects of female victims) and were 2.9 per 1,000 males (including both male 

and female suspects of male victims), higher than the national estimated incidence rates of 8.6 

per 1,000 females and 2.5 per 1,000 males. [136] Other, disparate jurisdictions have similarly 

demonstrated high per capita arrest rates: Wichita, Kan. 12.1/1,000 (2000); Chicago, 6.9/1,000 

(1997); and Nevada, 5.4/1,000 (2001). [135]

Performance Measure for Law Enforcement: If domestic violence is broadly 

defined and if law enforcement agencies mandate and enforce arrest upon 

probable cause, over the course of a year, law enforcement can reach the same 

percentage of victims who identify themselves as abused in national crime victim 

surveys. Departments should establish benchmarks based on the NCVS to 

assess their performance. (Research basis: This performance measure is based 

on actual arrest figures from Rhode Island, a state with mandatory arrest for 

protective order violations and assaults with injuries, and where domestic 

violence includes any crime committed by family or household members, 

cohabitants, current or former intimate partners, and dating partners. 
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Jurisdictions‟ definitions will necessarily vary and are based on state laws as 

documented in Klein, 2004, pp. 90-91.)

2.9 Do stalking arrests correspond to actual stalking rates as reported by 

victims?

Stalking arrests are rare, nowhere near the estimated number of stalkers. [207] A pioneering 

study determined that, although 16.5 percent (in a sample of 1,731) of all domestic violence 

incident reports filed in Colorado Springs, Colo., involved stalking, in all but one incident the 

suspect was charged with a lesser offense — harassment, violation of a protective order, or 

another nonstalking domestic violence offense. [210]

Implications for Law Enforcement

If stalking arrests constitute a negligible proportion of all domestic violence arrests, departments 

should undertake a legal, policy and practice review to determine barriers to the enforcement of 

stalking statutes. Law enforcement officers should receive training on stalking behavior and 

statutes. Not only may charging abusers with stalking more accurately reflect their behavior but 

also stalking charges are more likely to constitute felonies in many jurisdictions than are 

alternative domestic offense charges. (Research basis: National surveys supplemented by 

multiple domestic violence arrest studies from disparate jurisdictions across the country.)

2.10 Is arrest the best response?

A major re-examination of a series of fairly rigorous experiments in multiple jurisdictions finds 

that arrest deters repeat reabuse, whether suspects are employed or not. In none of the sites 

was arrest associated with increased reabuse among intimate partners. [155] Another major 

study, based on 2,564 partner assaults reported in the NCVS (1992-2002), found that whether 

police arrested the suspect or not, their involvement had a strong deterrent effect. The positive 

effects of police involvement and arrest do not depend on whether the victim or a third party 

reported the incident to law enforcement. Neither do they depend on the seriousness of the 

incident assault, whether a misdemeanor or a felony. [63] 

A Berkeley arrest study found similarly that all actions taken by responding officers — including 

arrest, providing victims with information pamphlets, taking down witness statements, and 

helping victims secure protective orders — were associated with reduced reabuse. By contrast, 

the highest reabuse rates were found where the responding officers left it to the victim to make 

a “citizen arrest,” swearing out a complaint herself. [228] Research has also shown that police 

response also significantly increases the likelihood that victims will secure protective orders. 

[130, 151, 152]

Research also finds that, by and large, the vast majority of victims report satisfaction with the 

arrest of their abuser when interviewed after the fact. In Massachusetts, 82 percent were either 

very or somewhat satisfied, and 85.4 percent said they would call police again for a similar 

incident. [23] Similarly, a study of courts in California, Oregon, Nebraska and Washington found 

that 76 percent of the victims said they wanted their abuser arrested. [196] Also important to 

note is that police arrests in spite of victims‟ objections do not reduce the likelihood of victims 

reporting new abuse to police. [5] 
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Implications for Law Enforcement

Arrest should be the default position for law enforcement in all domestic violence incidents. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies in diverse jurisdictions. The police arrest studies were 

combined carefully, and intimate partner abuse cases were separated from family abuse cases.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

One of the best ways prosecutors can encourage law enforcement to arrest abuser suspects is 

to follow through where possible by filing charges against those arrested. Judges encourage the 

arrest of abusers by ensuring that domestic violence cases that reach court are heard and not 

dismissed out of hand. (Research basis: The efficacy of arrests has been widely researched; 

the influence of prosecutors on law enforcement arrest behavior has been found in studies in 

which pro-arrest departmental policies mitigated anti-arrest personal views of individual officers. 

[59])

2.11 What should law enforcement’s response be if the suspect is gone when 

they arrive?

A large percentage of alleged abusers leave the crime scene before law enforcement arrives. 

Where noted, absence rates range from 42 to 66 percent. [23, 50, 117, 196, 227, 228] Pursuing 

alleged abusers, including the issuance of warrants, is associated with reduced revictimization. 

[50] Pursuing absent suspects may be of particular utility because limited research finds that 

suspects who flee the scene before police arrive are significantly more likely to have prior 

criminal histories and to reabuse than those arrested at the scene. [23] Similarly, another study 

finds higher reabuse if the victim is gone when officers arrive. [228] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officers should make the arrest of abusers who flee the scene a priority. 

(Research basis: Numerous studies confirm that a large proportion of abusers flee the scene; 

only one study has looked at differences in records of those who fled the scene and those who 

didn‟t.)

Performance Measure: According to a national survey, 68 percent of police 

departments have specific policies that cover policies and procedures for 

responding law enforcement officers if the perpetrator is gone when they arrive.

[213] In a study of the south shore communities of Massachusetts, researchers 

documented that police arrested 100 percent of abusers present at the scene 

and arrested or issued warrants for a majority (54 percent) who left the scene, for 

a total arrest or warrant rate of about 75 percent. [23] Similarly, a statewide New 

York study found that half of the domestic violence suspects fled the scene, but 

local police ultimately arrested 60 percent of those who fled. [165] (Research 

basis: State law varies regarding the power of police to arrest after the incident. 

Time limits are not restricted in Massachusetts or New York, where these results 

were documented.)

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should encourage law enforcement officers to file warrants for abusers who flee the 

scene and prepare reports for subsequent prosecution when arrests are made. Similarly,

prosecutors should assist victims to file criminal complaints if necessary to allow for the 

prosecution of abusers who have left the scene before police arrived. (Research basis:
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Numerous studies confirm that a large proportion of abusers flee the scene. Only one study has 

looked at differences in records of those who fled the scene and those who didn‟t.)

2.12 Who is the primary/predominant aggressor?

A substantial percentage of victims of domestic violence hit their perpetrators back. [72] In 

Massachusetts, 37.3 percent of the female victims fought back in the incident in which their 

male abuser was arrested. However, most (59.1 percent) of those females who fought back 

found that this made their abuser more violent. [23] A substantial number of victims will not selfdisclose their victimization. [93] Consequently, determination of primary or predominant 

aggressor may not be self-evident. Nonetheless, data on police action in 2,819 jurisdictions in 

19 states reveal that only 1.9 percent of incidents resulted in dual arrests for intimate partner 

violence and intimidation. In other words, less than 4 percent of all intimate partner arrests were 

dual arrests in which law enforcement could not determine a primary or predominant aggressor. 

[117] 

Studies suggest that officers‟ determination of primary or predominant aggressor is particularly 

problematic when the intimate partner violence occurs between same-sex couples. Although 

police are equally likely to make arrests in same-sex as in heterosexual partner abuse cases, a 

study of more than 1,000 same-sex intimate partner violence reports from departments across 

the country found that officers were substantially more likely to arrest both parties in same-sex 

cases. Specifically, 26.1 percent of female same-sex cases and 27.3 percent of male same-sex 

cases resulted in dual arrests, compared to only 0.8 percent with male offenders and female 

victims, and 3 percent with female offenders and male victims. [175]

Research on the impact of primary aggressor policies, either mandated by state statute or by 

individual law enforcement agencies, reveals that such policies significantly reduce the 

percentage of dual arrests from an average of 9 percent to 2 percent of domestic violence 

arrests. [117]

Implications for Law Enforcement

If the rate of dual arrests exceeds that found on average across the country, law enforcement 

departments should develop and implement specific primary aggressor policies and protocols.

(Research basis: The most significant dual-arrest study was based on examination of all assault 

and intimidation cases in the 2000 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) 

database as well as more detailed examination of these data from 25 diverse police 

departments across the country.)

Implications for Prosecutors

If presented with a dual-arrest case, prosecutors should conduct an independent analysis to 

determine the predominant aggressor and proceed against that suspect alone. Determination of 

primary/predominant aggressor is briefly described by the American Prosecutors Research 

Institute on its Web site: http://www.ndaa.org/apri/programs/vawa/dv_101.html. (Research 

basis: The most significant dual-arrest study documenting its rarity was based on examination of 

all assault and intimidation cases in the 2000 NIBRS database as well as more detailed 

examination of these data from 25 diverse police departments across the country.)

Implications for Judges

In dual-arrest cases, judges should insist that prosecutors provide evidence that one of the 

parties was the primary or predominant aggressor and the other the victim. This may be 
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particularly important, as advocates caution that female victims who are arrested along with 

their abusers may nonetheless plead guilty in order to be able to return home to care for minor 

children. Furthermore, it appears that law enforcement finds it particularly challenging to 

determine the primary/predominant aggressor with same-sex couples. (Research basis: The 

most significant dual-arrest study was based on examination of all assault and intimidation 

cases in the 2000 NIBRS database as well as more detailed examination of these data from 25 

diverse police departments across the country.)
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3. Perpetrator Characteristics

3.1 What is their gender?

Although some sociological research [202] based on self-reporting finds equal rates of male and 

female partner conflict (including mostly minor physical assaults), behavior that is likely to 

violate most state and federal criminal and civil (protective order) statutes is typically 

perpetrated by males. [153] 

Perpetrators that come to the attention of the criminal justice system are overwhelmingly male. 

For example, 86 percent of abusers brought to court for restraining orders in Massachusetts 

were male, [2] as were those arrested for domestic violence in California [228] and Charlotte, 

N.C. (as much as 97.4 percent for the most serious cases). [68] In Rhode Island, 92 percent of 

abusers placed on probation for domestic violence were male. [68, 141] A Cincinnati court study 

found 86.5 percent of 2,670 misdemeanor domestic violence court defendants to be male. [11] 

The overwhelming majority of their victims were women: 84 percent in both Charlotte, N.C., [68] 

and Berkeley, Calif. [228] The 2000 NIBRS multistate study found that 81 percent of the 

suspects were male and their victims were female. [117]

Jurisdictions with higher numbers of female suspects and male victims usually include higher 

numbers of non-intimate family violence cases. [139, 196] The latter typically involve older 

victims and their adult children perpetrators. A study of elder abuse across the state of Rhode 

Island, for example, found that two-thirds of elder female victims were abused by family 

members as opposed to intimate partners, including 46.2 percent by adult sons and 26.9 

percent by adult daughters, 8.6 percent by grandsons and 1.6 percent by granddaughters. [139]

Implications for Law Enforcement

If the ratio of male to female suspects and victims differs substantially from those found above, 

departments should be alert to potential gender bias in their response to domestic violence. 

Ongoing training and supervision can address overrepresentation of female versus male 

arrests. (Research basis: Multiple studies of abusers and their victims brought to the attention of 

the criminal justice system [including civil protective orders] confirm the gender ratio as opposed 

to studies focusing on non-intimate and family conflict.) 

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should be alert to gender bias in the response of local law enforcement agencies 

and re-screen cases if the percentage of female suspects accused of abusing male victims 

exceeds that commonly found across the nation. (Research basis: Multiple studies of abusers 

and their victims brought to the attention of the criminal justice system [including civil protective 

orders] confirm the gender ratio as opposed to studies focusing on non-intimate and family 

conflict.)

Implications for Judges

If, upon reviewing domestic violence dockets, judges find much higher rates of female-on-male 

abuse cases than those typically found across the country as a whole, they should be alert to 

potential gender bias on the part of police and/or prosecutors and ensure that they are 

presented with sufficient evidence to confirm the correct designation of victims and their 

abusers. (Research basis: Multiple studies of abusers and their victims brought to the attention 
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of the criminal justice system [including civil protective orders] confirm the gender ratio as 

opposed to studies focusing on non-intimate and family conflict.)

3.2 What age are they?

Most studies find most perpetrators to be between 18 and 35 years old, with a median age of 

about 33 years, although they range in age from 13 to 81. [11, 23, 68, 228] A large U.S. west 

coast study of abusers subject to police incident reports or protective orders found that 33 

percent were between 20 and 29 years old, and slightly more (33.4 percent) were between 30 

and 39 years old. [121]

3.3 Are they likely to be known to law enforcement already?

Most studies agree that the majority of domestic violence perpetrators that come to the attention 

of criminal justice or court authorities have a prior criminal history for a variety of nonviolent and 

violent offenses against males as well as females, and of a domestic or nondomestic nature. 

For example, a study of intimate partner arrests in Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia of more than 

1,000 cases each found that almost 70 percent (69.2) had a prior record and that 41.8 percent 

of those had been convicted of a violent crime, including robbery and rape. [117] 

The percentage of officially identified perpetrators with criminal histories ranges from a low of 49 

percent for prior arrest within five years in an arrest study in Portland, Ore. [130], to 89 percent 

for at least one prior nonviolent misdemeanor arrest for domestic violence defendants arraigned 

in a Toledo, Ohio, Municipal Court. [216] Not only did most of the abusers brought to the Toledo 

Court for domestic violence have a prior arrest history but the average number of prior arrests 

was 14. Similarly, 84.4 percent of men arrested for domestic violence in Massachusetts had 

prior criminal records, averaging a little more than 13 prior charges (resulting from five to six 

arrests) — including four for property offenses, three for offenses against persons, three for 

major motor vehicle offenses, two for alcohol/drug offenses, one for public order violations, and 

0.14 for sex offenses. [23] A study of the Cook County (Chicago) misdemeanor domestic 

violence court found that 57 percent of the men charged with misdemeanor domestic violence 

had prior records for drug offenses, 52.3 percent for theft, 68.2 percent for public order offenses, 

and 61.2 percent for property crimes. On average, they had 13 prior arrests. [107]

Even if abusers have no prior arrest records, they may be known to local police. In North 

Carolina, for example, researchers found from police files that 67.7 percent of the domestic 

violence arrestees had prior contact with the local criminal justice system, 64.5 percent were 

officially known by local police, and 48.3 percent had prior domestic violence incident reports. 

[68] 

Studies of abusers brought to court for protective orders find similarly high rates of criminal 

histories, ranging from slightly more than 70 percent in Texas [26] to 80 percent in 

Massachusetts. [134]

Implications for Law Enforcement, Prosecutors and Judges

Given the large overlap between domestic violence and general criminality, law enforcement 

should carefully check domestic violence suspects‟ status in regard to outstanding warrants, 

pending cases, probationary or parole status, and other concurrent criminal justice involvement, 

including suspect involvement as a confidential informant for ongoing investigations. With 

regard to the latter, in the event the informant is involved in a domestic violence incident, he 

should be precluded from working with the department without the authorization of department 
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supervisors. In prosecuting or sentencing defendants for other crimes, prosecutors and judges 

should look for concurrent domestic violence that was previously prosecuted, is pending, or that 

may be charged. (Research basis: Multiple studies from jurisdictions across the country confirm 

these findings, although the extent of prior records may vary, depending on jurisdictional law 

enforcement, court practices and resources.)

3.4 Are they likely to be drug and/or alcohol abusers?

As with criminality in general, there is a high correlation between alcohol and substance abuse 

and domestic violence for abusers. This is not to say that substance abuse causes domestic 

violence. The Memphis night arrest study found that 92 percent of assailants used drugs or 

alcohol on the day of the assault, and nearly half were described by families as daily substance 

abusers for the prior month. [19] Other studies found a lower but still substantial incidence of 

substance use. For example, a California arrest study found alcohol or drugs, or both, were 

involved in 38 percent of the domestic violence incident arrests. [228] A large Seattle arrest and 

protective order study found that alcohol/drug use was reported in 24.1 percent of incidents 

involving police. [120, 121] It was higher in North Carolina, where 45 percent of suspects were 

identified as being intoxicated. [68] 

A domestic violence fatality review study in New Mexico documented that alcohol and drugs 

were present in 65 percent of 46 domestic violence homicides between 1993 and 1996: 43 

percent abused alcohol and 22 percent abused drugs. [170] Two surveys, one of state 

correctional facilities in 1991 and the other of jails in 1995, found more than half of those jailed 

or imprisoned for domestic violence admitted drinking and/or using drugs at the time of the 

incident. [93] Self-reports from batterers in Chicago revealed that 15 to 19 percent admitted to 

having a drug problem, and 26 to 31 percent scored more than one on the CAGE (Cut down 

drinking, drinking Annoyed others, felt Guilt over drinking, and needed a morning Eye-opener 

drink) test indicating alcohol abuse. [12] Among defendants prosecuted in Chicago‟s domestic 

violence misdemeanor court, 60.7 percent were found to have “ever had an alcohol or drug 

problem.” [107]

Interviews with more than 400 North Carolina female victims who called police for misdemeanor 

domestic assaults found that abuser drunkenness was the most consistent predictor of a call to 

police. According to the victims, almost a quarter (23 percent) of the abusers “very often” or 

“almost always” got drunk when they drank, more than half (55 percent) were binge drinkers, 

29.3 percent used cocaine at least once a month, and more than a third (39 percent) smoked 

marijuana. Furthermore, almost two-thirds of abusers were drinking at the scene of the incident, 

having consumed an average of almost seven drinks, resulting in more than half of them (58 

percent) being drunk. [126] The national crime victims survey found substantial, but lesser rates 

of substance abuse. Between 1993 and 2004, victims reported that 43 percent of all nonfatal 

intimate partner violence involved the presence of alcohol or drugs, another 7 percent involved 

both alcohol and drugs, and 6 percent involved drugs alone. [27]

Both a batterer and an alcohol treatment study similarly reveal a consistent, high correlation 

between alcohol abuse and domestic violence. In one study, for example, for 272 males 

entering treatment for battering or alcoholism, the odds of any male-to-female aggression were 

8 to 11 times higher on days they drank than on days they did not. [56]
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Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officers should note the use of alcohol or drugs in domestic violence incident 

reports, not to mitigate abusive behavior but to indicate heightened abuser risk for continued 

abuse. (Research basis: The correlation is found in multiple studies across the country.) 

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

The presence of drug and/or alcohol abuse makes continued offending more likely. Although 

sobriety may not eliminate the risk for reabuse, research suggests it may be a necessary 

ingredient. When recommending or setting release or sentence conditions, requiring abstinence 

from alcohol and drugs may be appropriate. (Research basis: Correlation is found in multiple 

studies across the country.)

3.5 Are they likely to be mentally ill or have certain personality traits?

Batterers are no more likely to be mentally ill than the general population. [89] Although various 

researchers have attempted to classify abusers — ranging from agitated “pit bulls” and silent 

“cobras” [128] to “dysphoric/borderline” and “generally violent and anti-social” [122] — attempts 

to use these classifications to predict risk of reabuse have proven unhelpful. [112] However, 

researchers agree that batterers may differ markedly from each other. [29, 123, 193] Although 

some batterers may appear to be emotionally overwrought to responding police officers, other 

batterers may appear calm and collected. [128] Other research suggests that batterers can be 

classified as low-, moderate- and high-level abusers and that, contrary to common belief, 

batterers remain within these categories. [28] Similarly, in the treatment literature, the multistate 

study of four batterer intervention programs consistently found that approximately a quarter of 

court-referred batterers are high-level abusers, unlikely to respond to treatment. [84, 85, 88]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Abuser demeanor at the scene, especially compared to overwrought, traumatized victims, can 

be misleading. (Research basis: Multiple studies have failed to validate any classification of 

battering propensity based on personality types or mental illnesses, and multiple observational 

studies reveal different patterns of behaviors among batterers.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Battering does not appear to be a mental aberration and is not responsive to mental health 

counseling. Although batterers may suffer from depression or low self-esteem after being 

arrested or restrained, these conditions have not been found to have caused the abuse. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies have failed to validate any classification of battering 

propensity based on personality types or mental illnesses, and multiple observational studies 

reveal different patterns of behaviors among batterers.)

3.6 Do abusers stick with one victim?

Deprived of their victim, many abusers will go on to abuse another intimate partner or family 

member. Others may abuse multiple intimate partners and family members simultaneously. [32] 

The Rhode Island probation study, for example, found that in a one-year period, more than a 

quarter (28 percent) of those probationers who were rearrested for a new crime of domestic 

violence abused a different partner or family member. [141] The Massachusetts study of 

persons arrested for violating a civil restraining order found that almost half (43 percent) had 

two or more victims over six years. [18] This confirms an earlier state study finding that 25 
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percent of individuals who had protective orders taken out against them in 1992 had up to eight 

new orders taken out against them by as many victims over the subsequent six years. [2]

Studies have generally found that abusers who go on to abuse new partners are not 

substantially different from those who reabuse the same partner, with the exception that they 

tend to be younger and are not married to their partners. [2, 141]

Implications for Law Enforcement, Prosecutors and Judges

If the abuser is no longer with the victim of the last domestic violence incident, new intimate 

partners are vulnerable to becoming new targets of abuse. Whether the batterer remains with 

the same victim or not, battering behavior brought to police and prosecutors‟ attention is likely to 

reflect chronic, patterned, non-isolated behavior that is victim specific. In charging decisions, 

sentencing recommendations, and fashioning protective orders or criminal sanctions, 

prosecutors and judges must be concerned with future intimate-partner victims as well as 

immediate victims, even if the immediate intimate-partner victims are no longer available to the 

abusers. (Research basis: Although longitudinal studies of batterers are few, multiple studies 

that follow batterers for only a year or two also confirm the serial nature of battering for some 

abusers.)

3.7 How many abusers are likely to do it again?

Depending on how reabuse is measured, over what period of time, and what countermeasures 

either the victim (e.g., getting a protective order or going into hiding) or the criminal justice 

system takes (arresting or locking up the abuser), a hard core of approximately one-third of 

abusers will reabuse in the short run, and more will reabuse in the long run.

In Rhode Island, 38.4 percent of abusers were arrested for a new domestic violence offense

within two years of being placed on probation supervision for a misdemeanor domestic violence 

offense. [141] A half-dozen batterer program studies published between 1988 and 2001 and 

conducted across the United States documented reabuse, as reported by victims, ranging from 

26 to 41 percent within five to 30 months. [4, 48, 54, 84, 85, 88, 89, 98] Five studies published 

between 1985 and 1999 of court-restrained abusers in multiple states found reabuse rates, as 

measured by arrest and victim reports for the period of four months to two years after their last 

abuse offense, to range from 24 to 60 percent. [4, 26, 105, 133, 134] 

Where studies have found substantially lower rearrest rates for abuse, it appears the lower rate 

is a result of police behavior, not abuser behavior. In these jurisdictions, victims report 

equivalent reabuse, notwithstanding low rearrest rates. For example, studies of more than 1,000 

female victims in Florida, New York City and Los Angeles found that, whereas only 4 to 6 

percent of their abusers were arrested for reabuse within one year, 31 percent of the victims 

reported being physically abused during the following year (one-half of those reporting being 

burned, strangled, beaten up or seriously injured) and 16 percent reported being stalked or 

threatened. [61, 190] Similarly, in a Bronx domestic court study, whereas only 14 to 15 percent 

of defendants convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or violations were rearrested after 

one year, victims reported reabuse rates of 48 percent during that year. [185]

Reabuse has found to be substantially higher in longer term studies. A Massachusetts study 

tracked 350 male abusers arrested for abusing their female intimate partners over a decade, 

1995 to 2005. The study found that 60 percent were rearrested for a new domestic assault or 

had a protective order taken out against them, even though some went three to four years 
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between arrests. [138, 224] An equivalently high rearrest rate for domestic violence was also 

documented in Colorado between 1994 and 2005. During that time, of 84,431 defendants 

arrested for domestic violence, according to the state bureau of investigation, more than 50,000 

(nearly 60 percent) were arrested for domestic violence charges more than once. In other 

words, the domestic violence rearrest rate was almost 60 percent for arrested abusers over an 

average of five years. [125] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

It is safe to assume that, more often than not, the typical abuser who comes to the attention of 

law enforcement has a high likelihood of continuing to abuse the same or a different victim, both 

in the short term and over the subsequent decade at least. (Research basis: Although 

observational studies vary on reports of reabuse [depending on how it is measured], there is 

widespread consensus that reported reabuse is substantially less than actual reabuse 

experienced by victims, which is typically found to be more than 50 percent. The few 

longitudinal studies of more than a year or two suggest that many abusers continue to abuse, 

notwithstanding gaps of several years between initial and subsequent reported incidents.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

It is safe to assume that, more often than not, the typical abuser who makes it to the 

prosecutor‟s office has a high likelihood of continuing to abuse the same or a different victim, 

both in the short term and over the subsequent decade at least. While prosecuting specific, 

discrete incidents, prosecutors should recommend sentences that address long-term patterns of 

criminal behavior and are based on abuser risk for reabuse. Judges should fashion civil or 

criminal remedies/sanctions that maximize protection of current and/or future victims from the 

abuser. It is inappropriate to consider a repeat abuser as a “first” offender just because several 

years may have passed between abuse offenses. (Research basis: Although observational 

studies vary on reports of reabuse [depending on how it is measured], there is widespread 

consensus that reported reabuse is substantially less than actual reabuse experienced by 

victims, which is typically found to be more than 50 percent. The few longitudinal studies of 

more than a year or two suggest that many abusers continue to abuse, notwithstanding gaps of 

several years between initial and subsequent reported incidents.)

3.8 Are abusers at risk for committing new nondomestic violence crimes?

Given their extensive prior criminal histories, abusers typically do not confine their reoffending to 

domestic violence alone. Studies concur that abusers are also likely to commit new 

nondomestic violence crimes in addition to domestic-violence-related crimes. Two New York 

City studies, one in the Bronx Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Court and the other in the 

Brooklyn Felony Domestic Violence Court, found that 58 percent of those arrested for domestic 

violence were rearrested for any crime within 30 months of the study arrest in the former study 

[164], and 44 percent within two years of arrest in the latter. [183] Most of the new arrests 

(according to official complaints) were for nondomestic-violence-related crimes such as drug 

possession/sale or property offenses. 

Similarly, whereas 51 percent of Massachusetts abuser arrestees were rearrested for new 

domestic violence over the following 10 years, 57 percent were rearrested for nondomestic 

violence, including 15 percent who were not also arrested for new domestic violence. [138] 

Among Cook County domestic violence misdemeanants, 26.1 percent were arrested within 2.4 

years on average for new domestic violence, whereas 46.5 percent were arrested for any 

offense. [12]
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It is not surprising that research from the National Youth Survey found that most men (76 

percent) who engage in domestic violence report also engaging in one or more deviant acts 

concurrently, including illegal behavior such as stealing or illicit drug use. [167] Nor is it 

surprising that abuser violence was not limited to their households. In Cook County (Chicago), 

the majority of prosecuted misdemeanor domestic violence offenders (55.6 percent) were found 

to have been violent with others as well as their partners. [107]

Implications for Law Enforcement, Prosecutors and Judges

Aggressively pursuing, prosecuting and sentencing abusers not only may protect victims and 

their children but also may reduce nondomestic offenses often committed by abusers. 

(Research basis: Although multiple, disparate studies document that abusers identified by the 

criminal justice system are likely to have nondomestic criminal histories, at least one study of 

nonarrested young married or cohabiting men also found that domestic violence and other 

deviant behaviors were associated both concurrently and prospectively.)

3.9 When are abusers likely to reabuse?

Studies agree that for those abusers who reoffend, a majority do so relatively quickly. In states 

where no-contact orders are automatically imposed after an arrest for domestic violence, 

rearrests for order violations begin to occur immediately upon the defendant‟s release from the 

police station or court. For example, in both a Massachusetts misdemeanor arrest study and a 

Brooklyn, N.Y., felony arrest study, the majority of defendants rearrested for new abuse were 

arrested while their initial abuse cases were still pending in court. [23, 164] The latter included a 

16-percent arrest rate for violation of no-contact orders and a 14-percent arrest rate for a new 

felony offense. [164] Similarly, a little more than one-third of the domestic violence probationers 

in Rhode Island who were rearrested for domestic violence were rearrested within two months 

of being placed under probation supervision. More than half (60 percent) were arrested within 

six months. [141] A multistate study of abusers referred to batterer programs found that almost 

half of the men (44 percent) who reassaulted their partners did so within three months of 

batterer program intake, and two-thirds within six months. The men who reassaulted within the 

first three months were more likely to repeatedly reassault their partners than the men who 

committed the first reassault after the first three months. [81, 83, 84] In the Bronx, similarly, 

reoffending happened early among those convicted for misdemeanor or domestic violence 

violations. Of those rearrested for domestic violence, approximately two-thirds reoffended within 

the first six months. [185]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Arrest is only the first step in stopping abuse. Countermeasures must begin immediately, once 

the suspect is released pending trial. Focusing on those already arrested for domestic violence 

provides law enforcement with the means to target a high-risk population of abusers who are 

disproportionately likely to commit new abuse-related and other offenses. (Research basis:

Multiple studies from disparate jurisdictions have all found relatively quick reabuse by abusers 

who reabuse within the first year or two.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Arrest is only the first step in stopping abuse. Once arrested, prosecutors must immediately 

pursue measures to safeguard victims pending trial and thereafter. If abusers are automatically 

released pending trial, the most vulnerable victims will be reabused by the worst abusers. This 

reabuse may also inhibit subsequent victim cooperation with prosecutors, resulting in 

subsequent dismissals for lack of prosecution. This in turn may further encourage abusers to 
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continue their abuse. (Research basis: Multiple studies from disparate jurisdictions have all 

found relatively quick reabuse by those that reabuse within the first year or two.)

3.10 Which abusers are likely to do it again in the short term?

When officers respond to a domestic violence call, they typically do not have a lot of information 

about the parties involved, their psychological profiles, family and child development histories, 

and the like. Fortunately, the research consistently finds that the basic information usually 

available to officers provides as accurate a prediction of abuser risk to the victim as do more 

extensive and time-consuming investigations involving more sources (e.g., clinical 

assessments). [111, 112, 113, 189] As a Bronx study on batterer treatment concluded, intensive 

individual assessments of attitudes or personality are not required to make reasonable 

judgments regarding abusers‟ risk of reabuse. [183] 

3.11 Is gender an important risk factor?

Of course, the most powerful predictor of risk of domestic violence is gender. All of the research 

concurs that males are more likely to reabuse than females. [183] 

3.12 Is age an important risk factor?

Younger defendants are more likely to reabuse and recidivate than older defendants. [23, 141,

183, 185, 216, 228] This has been found to be true in studies of arrested abusers and batterers 

in treatment programs as well as court-restrained abusers. [111, 112, 134, 153, 228]

3.13 Is prior arrest history an important risk factor?

If the abuser has just one prior arrest on his criminal record for any crime (not just domestic 

violence), he is more likely to reabuse than if he has no prior arrest. [23, 39, 85, 172, 185] A 

multistate study of more than 3,000 police arrests found that offenders with a prior arrest record 

for any offense were more than seven times more likely to be rearrested than those without 

prior records. [117] 

The length of prior record is predictive of reabuse as well as general recidivism. [163] In looking 

at all restrained male abusers over two years, Massachusetts research documented that if the 

restrained abuser had just one prior arrest for any offense on his criminal record, his reabuse 

rate of the same victim rose from 15 to 25 percent; if he had five to six prior arrests, it rose to 50 

percent. [134] In the Rhode Island abuser probation study, abusers with one prior arrest for any 

crime were almost twice as likely to reabuse within one year, compared to those with no prior 

arrest (40 percent vs. 22.6 percent). If abusers had more than one prior arrest, reabuse 

increased to 73.3 percent. [141] Of course, prior civil or criminal records specifically for abuse 

also increase the likelihood for reabuse. [23, 68, 216, 228]

Related to the correlation between prior arrest history and reabuse, research also finds similar 

increased risk for reabuse if suspects are on warrants. In the Berkeley study, researchers 

documented that having a pending warrant at the time of a domestic violence incident for a prior 

nondomestic violence offense was a better predictor of reabuse than a prior domestic violence 

record alone. [228] Similarly, in the one study that addressed this issue, suspects who were 

gone when police arrived were twice as likely to reabuse as those found on the scene by police. 

[23]
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Similarly, one large statewide study found that if the suspect before the court for domestic 

violence was already on probation for anything else, or if another domestic violence case was 

also pending at the time of a subsequent arrest for domestic violence, that defendant was more 

likely to be arrested again for domestic violence within one year. [141]

Implications for Law Enforcement

The absence of a prior domestic violence arrest is not as powerful a predictor of no reabuse as 

the absence of a prior arrest for anything. On the other hand, a prior arrest record for any crime 

may be as accurate a predictor for subsequent domestic violence as a prior record for domestic 

violence. Law enforcement officers should attempt to track down the suspect who leaves the 

scene and aggressively serve warrants to protect victims from higher risk abusers. (Research 

basis: Multiple studies in disparate jurisdictions find that both prior criminal history and prior 

domestic violence correlate with reabuse, and vice versa, although the predictive power of prior 

domestic violence history may be less revealing if domestic violence arrest rates are low in that 

specific jurisdiction. Although only the limited studies speak to reabuse in correlation with 

abuser flight, they are consistent with more plentiful arrest studies that find support for the 

efficacy of arresting abuse suspects.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

The absence of a prior domestic violence arrest is not as powerful a predictor of no reabuse as 

the absence of a prior arrest for anything. On the other hand, a prior arrest record for any crime 

is as accurate a predictor of subsequent domestic violence as a prior record for domestic 

violence. Therefore, in making charging decisions and sentencing recommendations, 

prosecutors should understand that if an abuser has a prior record for any crime, the prosecutor 

should assume him to be a high-risk domestic violence offender, not a low-risk “first” offender. 

Prosecutors should carefully review defendants‟ prior arrest records for warrant status and bail 

status at the time of the domestic violence arrest to accurately gauge defendant risk. Judges 

should understand that if an abuser has a prior record for any crime, he is a high-risk domesticviolence offender, not a low-risk “first” offender. Judges should demand access to prior criminal 

and abuse histories before fashioning civil orders, making pretrial release decisions, or 

sentencing abusers. (Research basis: Multiple studies in disparate jurisdictions find both prior 

criminal history and prior domestic violence correlate with reabuse, and vice versa, although the 

predictive power of prior domestic violence history may be less revealing if domestic violence 

arrest rates are low in that specific jurisdiction.)

3.14 Is substance abuse an important risk factor?

Acute and chronic alcohol and drug use are well-established risk factors for reabuse as well as 

domestic violence in general. [118, 221] Prior arrests for drug and alcohol offenses also 

correlate with higher rates of reabuse. [78] Just one prior arrest for any alcohol or drug offense 

(e.g., drunk driving or possession of a controlled substance), for example, doubled the reabuse 

rate from 20 percent (no prior drug/alcohol arrest) to 40 percent (at least one arrest for 

drugs/alcohol) in a restraining order study over two years. [134]

Defendant alcohol and substance abuse, similarly, are predictive of reabuse and recidivism. [23,

134, 141, 228] The multistate batterer program referral study found heavy drinking to be a 

significant predictor for reabuse. For the same reason, it found that abuser participation in drug 

treatment predicted repeated reassaults. [113] Batterers who complete batterer intervention are 

three times more likely to reabuse if they are found to be intoxicated when tested at three-month 

intervals. [83, 84, 85, 88] 
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Many [63, 117, 172], but not all, studies [23] have found abuser or victim abuse of drugs or 

alcohol at the time of the incident to be a consistent risk marker for continued abuse.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Seemingly unrelated nonviolent offenses such as drunk driving or drug possession, which 

suggest substance abuse by the abuser, should be considered as risk markers for continued 

abuse. (Research basis: Multiple, disparate studies suggest that any disagreement regarding 

the relationship between domestic abuse and substance abuse has to do with whether or not 

substance abuse “causes” domestic violence, not with the existence of the correlation.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Seemingly unrelated nonviolent offenses like drunk driving or drug possession, which suggest 

substance abuse by the abuser, should be considered as risk markers for continued abuse. 

Substance and alcohol abuse should be considered when prosecutors make prerelease and 

sentencing recommendations and when judges set bail, pronounce sentences, and fashion civil 

protective orders and conditions of probation supervision. (Research basis: Multiple, disparate 

studies suggest that any disagreement regarding the relationship between domestic abuse and 

substance abuse has to do with whether or not substance abuse “causes” domestic violence, 

not with the existence of the correlation.)

3.15 Are victims accurate predictors of reabuse?

Victim perception of risk has been found to significantly improve the accuracy of prediction over 

other risk factors [44], increasing sensitivity — the proportion of true positives that are correctly 

identified by the test — from 55 to 70 percent. [112] However, the same researchers found that 

women‟s perceptions have to be interpreted. Women who felt very safe were less likely to be 

repeatedly reassaulted than those that felt somewhat safe. However, women who were 

uncertain or felt somewhat unsafe were more likely to be reassaulted repeatedly than those who 

felt they were in great danger. The reason for this apparent contradiction is that women who felt 

in greatest danger took effective countermeasures during the study. In other words, the 

research suggests that if women are not certain they will be safe, they err by giving the benefit 

of the doubt to their abuser. For these reasons, these researchers concluded that the best 

predictions of repeated reassaults were obtained by using risk markers, including women‟s 

perceptions. [44, 112] The researchers‟ concern for victims with regard to assessed risk of 

abuse is borne out by a study of more than 1,000 women who sought protective orders or 

shelter, or whose abusers were arrested in Los Angeles or New York City. Almost a quarter of 

the victims who thought their risk of reassault was low were, in fact, reassaulted within one year. 

[190]

Victims‟ perception of risk also affects their reaction to criminal justice intervention. Arrest 

research finds that victims who were not revictimized for more than two years were twice as 

likely to have opposed arrest, compared to those who were revictimized. Those victims who 

thought police and court intervention did not go far enough were also accurate. Those who said 

police actions were too weak were three times more likely to experience revictimization, and 

those victims who said courts failed them were seven times more likely to experience 

revictimization. [23] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

Asking victims if they fear reassault or severe reassaults provides one of the best ways to 

predict reabuse or potential lethality — and requires the least resources and time commitment 
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— but cannot be relied on exclusively as a predictor. Although women are unlikely to 

exaggerate their risk, they often underestimate it. (Research basis: A national homicide study 

involving hundreds of victims of attempted homicides, as well as the general reabuse studies, 

confirms these findings.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Victim input should be an important part of any risk calculation considered by prosecutors and 

judges. If victims are in doubt as to their safety, prosecutors and judges should assume the 

worst. (Research basis: Extensive examination of multiple domestic violence risk studies shows 

agreement on this point.)

3.16 Are there other common risk factors associated with reabuse?

Several studies have found other consistent risk markers for reabuse, many associated with the 

variables described above. These include increased risk associated with abusers who flee the 

scene of domestic violence [23]; abusers who are unemployed [13, 25, 142, 154, 172], 

economically disadvantaged and living in disadvantaged neighborhoods [153], or living in a 

household with firearms [25, 142]; or abusers who are not the fathers of children in the 

household. [25, 142]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officers recording the status of the above variables in their initial reports will 

provide valuable data for the determination of risk in future bail hearings, charging decisions and 

sentencing reports. (Research basis: These specific risk factors generally have been found in 

multiple studies but may vary in relevance and power across jurisdictions.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Prosecutors and judges should review the status of the above variables for determination of risk 

to be used in bail hearings, charging decisions, sentencing recommendations and decisions, 

and fashioning civil protective orders and conditions of probation supervision. (Research basis:

These specific risk factors generally have been found in multiple studies but may vary in 

relevance and power across jurisdictions.)

3.17 What factors are not associated with reabuse?

Generally, the seriousness of the presenting incident does not predict reabuse, whether felony 

or misdemeanor, including whether there were injuries or not, or what the specific charge is. [23,

39, 134, 141, 145, 172] Abuser personality types have not been found to be associated with 

increased risk of reabuse. [113] Actuarial data offer improvement over clinical data. [189] Victim 

characteristics, including relationship with abuser, marital status, and whether the parties are 

living together or separated, have not been found to predict reabuse. [23] At least one study has 

found that victim cooperation does not predict recidivism. [145]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Criteria for charges should not be confused with criteria for determining future risk. Abusers 

cited for misdemeanors are as likely to be dangerous as those charged with felonies. (Research 

basis: Wide agreement among multiple studies across the nation involving different abuser 

populations.)
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Implications for Prosecutors

Criteria for charges should not be confused with criteria for determining future risk. Abusers 

charged with misdemeanors are as likely to be dangerous as those charged with felonies. If the 

offense against a dangerous defendant is not chargeable as a felony, prosecutors should 

explore the applicability of enhancement statutes for repeat offenses, multiple charges if 

appropriate, or maximum allowable sentencing recommendations. (Research basis: Wide 

agreement among multiple studies across the nation involving different abuser populations.)

Implications for Judges

Criteria for charges should not be confused with criteria for determining future risk. Abusers 

charged with misdemeanors are as likely to be dangerous as those charged with felonies. 

Although constrained by statute, judges should seek to minimize offender risk to the maximum 

extent allowable by law. (Research basis: Wide agreement among multiple studies across the 

nation involving different abuser populations.)

3.18 Do the widely used risk instruments accurately predict reabuse?

All of the common risk instruments in use are insufficient. The best instruments have been 

found to falsely predict 40 to 43 percent of abusers in both directions. [24, 190] For example, a 

study of a risk instrument used by police in Berkeley, Calif., found that those abusers classified 

at highest risk for reoffending did have the highest rate of reoffending but also that the 

instrument generated 43 percent false positives for predicting reabuse. Those abusers gauged 

as having the lowest risk of reoffending had 2 percent false negatives. [228] 

Implications for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors

Given high base rates of reabusing, the default presumption should be that the defendant is 

likely to reoffend until proven otherwise. Risk instruments do not significantly improve upon 

victim perception and basic actuarial data. (Research basis: Not only is there wide agreement 

among multiple studies but it is also agreed that the same instrument may have different results 

in different jurisdictions.)

3.19 Which abusers are most likely to try to kill their victims?

Predicting lethality is much more difficult than predicting reabuse and recidivism because, 

fortunately, it is much rarer. Also, the risk of lethality may increase because of situational 

circumstances and not because of static abuser characteristics. Nonetheless, researchers have 

found some key factors that increase the likelihood of homicide or significant injuries. 

3.20 How critical is the presence of firearms and other weapons?

According to a CDC study, more female intimate partners are killed by firearms than by all other 

means combined. [176] Firearms in the household increase the odds of lethal versus nonlethal 

violence by a factor of 6.1 to 1. Women who were previously threatened or assaulted with a 

firearm or other weapon are 20 times more likely to be murdered by their abuser than are other 

women. [25, 142] Prior firearm use includes threats to shoot the victim; cleaning, holding, or 

loading a gun during an argument; threatening to shoot a pet or a person the victim cares about; 

and firing a gun during an argument. [17, 191]

A significant Massachusetts study of 31 men imprisoned for murdering their female partners 

(and willing to talk to researchers) found that almost two-thirds of the guns used by men who 
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shot their partners were illegal because the suspect had a prior abuse assault conviction or a 

protective order was in effect at the time of the killing. [1]

Implications for Law Enforcement

One of the most crucial steps to prevent lethal violence is to disarm abusers and keep them 

disarmed. Departments should implement a program to identify firearms in abusers‟ possession, 

remove them as soon as legally permissible, and make sure the abuser remains disarmed. If 

police agencies are involved in firearm licensing, they should aggressively screen for domestic 

violence, even if it is not discovered initially by inquiries in the FBI‟s National Instant Criminal 

Background Check System (NICS). (Research basis: Multiple studies — national, state and 

local — support this policy, as do state-by-state correlations between the existence of restrictive 

gun laws for batterers, state registries to enforce them and lower domestic homicide rates. 

[217])

Implications for Prosecutors

One of the most crucial steps to prevent lethal violence is to disarm abusers and keep them 

disarmed. Prosecutors should take all steps possible to have firearms removed by the court as 

soon as abusers are arrested and obtain guilty verdicts so that federal firearm prohibitions apply 

(18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)). Victims should be advised to obtain protective orders, or the prosecutor 

should ask the court to order criminal no-contact orders against defendants so that federal 

firearm prohibitions apply (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)). Prosecutors should collaborate with the U.S. 

Attorney to refer appropriate firearms violators for federal prosecution, especially where federal 

penalties are more substantial than state penalties. (Research basis: Although multiple studies 

document the association between firearms and domestic violence homicides, only one study 

examined the association between each state‟s restrictive gun laws for batterers, state registries 

to enforce them and lower domestic homicide rates. [217])

Implications for Judges

One of the most crucial steps to prevent lethal violence is to disarm abusers and keep them 

disarmed. Judges should take all steps possible to have firearms prohibitions enforced and 

refuse to approve alternative sanctions that preclude federal firearm prohibitions (18 U.S.C. 

§922(g)(9)). Victims in criminal cases should be advised to obtain protective orders if firearms 

cannot be removed through the criminal process (18 U.S.C. §922(g)(8)), and vice versa. In 

2007, in Weissenburger v. Iowa District Court for Warren County (No. 47/05-0279, filed October 

26, 2007), the Iowa Supreme Court reminded judges they are legally obligated to enforce 

federal domestic-violence firearm prohibitions, notwithstanding contrary (or silent) state statutes. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies — national, state and local — support this policy, as do stateby-state correlations between the existence of restrictive gun laws for batterers, state registries 

to enforce them and lower domestic homicide rates. [217])

3.21 What are other lethality risk markers?

In a national study, other lethality markers that multiply the odds of homicide five times or more 

over nonfatal abuse have been found to include: (a) threats to kill, 14.9 times more likely; (b) 

prior attempts to strangle, 9.9 times; (c) forced sex, 7.6 times; (d) escalating physical violence 

severity over time, 5.2 times; and (e) partner control over the victim‟s daily activities, 5.1 times 

more likely. [25, 142] Research has also found that male abusers are more likely to kill if they 

are not the fathers of the children in the household. [17, 25, 142] A Chicago study similarly 

found that death was more likely if the abuser threatened his partner with or used a knife or gun, 

strangled his partner or grabbed her around her neck, or both partners were drunk. [17]
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A series of interviews with 31 men imprisoned for partner murders revealed how quickly abusers 

turned lethal. Relationships with short courtships were much more likely to end in murder or 

attempted murder; these relationships were also likelier to end much sooner than those with 

longer term courtships. Half of the murderers had relationships of no more than three months 

with the partners they murdered, and almost a third had been involved for only one month. [1]

In terms of female murders of male partners, the research suggests that abused women who 

killed their partners had experienced more severe and increasing violence over the prior year. 

They tended to have fewer resources, such as employment or high school education, and were 

in long-term relationships with their partners at the time. [17]

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors must insist that law enforcement investigators provide them with appropriate 

information about prior activities, especially those associated with increased risk for lethality. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies have found similar risk factors for lethality. Although applying 

risk factors can create false positives, their consideration will avoid false negatives that prove 

deadly for victims.)

Implications for Judges

For judges to make safe decisions about bail, sentencing or fashioning civil orders, they must 

insist on appropriate information about abusers‟ prior activities, including those associated with 

increased risk for lethality. (Research basis: Multiple studies have found similar risk factors for 

lethality. Although applying risk factors can create false positives, their consideration will avoid 

false negatives that prove deadly for victims.)

3.22 What are the risk markers for severe injury?

Medical researchers have looked at severe injuries, those causing victims to seek hospital 

emergency room treatment. They have found that alcohol abuse, drug use, intermittent 

employment or recent unemployment, and having less than a high school education distinguish 

partners of women seeking medical treatment from domestic violence injuries from partners of 

women seeking treatment for nondomestic violence injuries. In one study, researchers found 

that 63.7 percent of the abusive partners were alcohol abusers, 36.7 percent abused drugs, a 

slight majority (51.6 percent) were drinking at the time of the assault, and 14.8 percent admitted 

to drug use at the time. [144] A similar hospital study found that cocaine use and prior arrests 

distinguished the violent partners from the nonviolent partners of women admitted to hospitals 

for treatment of injuries. [95]

Implications for Law Enforcement, Prosecutors and Judges

Prior threats to kill, prior strangulation and sexual assaults, as well as drinking and drugging 

histories and current use, should be taken very seriously when considering offender 

dangerousness. (Research basis: Conclusions from repeated studies somewhat overlap, 

indicating the same or similar risk factors for injury and lethality, including hospital studies of 

severe injuries of victims not necessarily involved in the criminal justice system.)
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4. Victim Characteristics

4.1 Are victim characteristics and actions important factors in assessing the 

likelihood of abuse?

Victims come in all shapes, sizes, ages and relationships, but these differences are largely 

irrelevant in terms of their victimization. Victim characteristics — other than gender and age —

have generally not been found to be associated with the likelihood of abuse. [23] For example, 

although many studies have associated pregnancy with increased risk for domestic violence, 

research suggests that the increased risk is related to the youth of women, not their pregnancy. 

[219]

Those victims who leave their abusers have been found to be as likely to be reabused as those 

who remain with them. [141] Those victims who maintain civil restraining orders or criminal nocontact orders against their abusers are as likely to be reabused as those who drop the orders. 

Only one study [120], comparing women with orders and those without, found that women with 

permanent as opposed to temporary orders were less likely to have new police-reported 

domestic violence. However, the researchers in this study excluded violations of the orders 

themselves, including violations of no-contact or stay-away orders.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Victims face a dilemma — staying or leaving, and securing, maintaining or dropping a protective 

order may all result in reabuse. Law enforcement officers should assist victims in safeguarding

themselves and their children while recognizing their limitations in controlling their abusers. 

(Research basis: Multiple protective order studies in different jurisdictions over different time 

periods.)

Performance Measure: A little more than a quarter of both small and large law 

enforcement agencies require officers to review safety plans with victims, and 

almost three-quarters of agencies arrange transport of victims to shelters or 

medical facilities, when needed.

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Victims face a dilemma — staying or leaving, and securing, maintaining or dropping a protective 

order may all result in reabuse. Prosecutors and judges should assist victims in recognizing 

their limitations in controlling their abusers and safeguarding themselves and their children. 

Prosecutors must establish effective collaboration with victim advocacy and service agencies in 

order to refer victims as needed. In addition, prosecutors should advise victims that prosecution, 

along with civil protective orders, may further victim protection. (Research basis: Findings that 

protective orders reduce reabuse don‟t include the order violations themselves, undervaluing 

the detrimental impact of order violations on victims who have secured them. The research on 

prosecution efficacy can be found under the question, “Does prosecuting domestic violence 

offenders deter reabuse?” in the Prosecution Responses section.) 

4.2 To what extent do victims engage in alcohol and drug abuse?

Victim abuse of drugs and alcohol is also associated with domestic violence victimization. [153] 

In the most dramatic findings, victims (or their families) reported in the Memphis night arrest 

study that 42 percent of victims were drinking or drugging the day of their assault. [19] The New 
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Mexico fatality review study documented that a third of the female victims had alcohol in their 

system at the autopsy, with a blood alcohol content of twice the legal limit allowable for driving; 

a little less than a quarter had drugs in their system. [170] Among women treated in emergency 

rooms for injuries caused by their abusers, those who suffered from substance abuse were 

found to have increased risk of violence from partners. However, if the partners‟ use of alcohol 

and drugs are controlled for, victim substance abuse is not associated with increased risk of 

violence. [144] Another hospital study also found that victims who were injured by partners were 

more likely than other injured women in an emergency room to test positive for substance 

abuse. [95] 

Victim substance abuse has also been found to be associated with abuser use. For example, 

whereas one in five North Carolina victims reported either being high or binge drinking at the 

time of abuse, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of these victims were in relationships with 

men who were high or were binge drinking. [126] 

Victim substance abuse has also been identified as a consequence of the ongoing abuse. In 

other words, victims abuse drugs as a form of self-medication to deal with their abuse trauma. 

[153]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Victims‟ abuse of drugs and/or alcohol may make them more vulnerable to continued abuse, 

requiring greater law enforcement scrutiny or surveillance. Information given to victims should 

include substance abuse treatment referral information. (Research basis: Multiple singlejurisdiction observational studies of victims as well as findings from a national victim survey of a 

representative sample of 8,000 women between November 1995 and May 1996.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Victims‟ abuse of drugs and/or alcohol may make them more vulnerable to continued abuse. 

Prosecutors should look at victim vulnerability first and worry about tactical considerations, such 

as what kind of witness they may make, second. Furthermore, prosecutors should be prepared 

to file a motion in limine, and judges should conduct a hearing, to determine whether to exclude 

evidence related to a victim‟s “bad” character (e.g., substance abuse) that does not directly 

relate to the abuse incident prosecuted and/or the victim‟s ability to perceive or remember the 

incident. (Research basis: Multiple single-jurisdiction observational studies of victims as well as 

findings from a national victim survey of a representative sample of 8,000 women between 

November 1995 and May 1996.)

4.3 Why do some victims behave as they do?

A significant proportion of victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault suffer from 

trauma. [3, 153] Studies have found up to 88 percent of battered women in shelters suffer from 

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [6] Other studies have found that as many as 72 percent 

of abuse victims experience depression [212] and 75 percent experience severe anxiety. [76] A 

meta-analysis across multiple samples of battered women found a weighted mean prevalence 

of 48 percent for depression and 64 percent for PTSD. [77] 

Even victims who do not have PTSD have been found to be severely adversely affected by their 

abuse. [153] Victims brought to emergency rooms of hospitals, for example, are more socially 

isolated, have lower self-esteem and have fewer social and financial resources than other 
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women treated for injuries in the same hospital emergency rooms who were not injured by their 

partners. [95, 153]

Research also suggests that some victims of intimate partner abuse have experienced 

multifaceted violence that stretches across their life span, beginning in childhood. [143] Such 

prior victimization is associated with greater risk of more serious (adult) partner violence, 

particularly systemic abuse, which includes physical, sexual and stalking abuse. [153] In short, 

some of the adult victims who suffer the greatest abuse may be the least able to protect 

themselves.

Implications for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officers may find that the most severely traumatized victims behave the least 

as law enforcement officers expect of them. These victims may be among the least able to 

cooperate with law enforcement. (Research basis: Multiple victim studies have documented 

PTSD rates, although many studies obviously seek out samples likely to include the most 

severely abused victims, such as those in shelters.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Prosecutors should be prepared to assist and support traumatized victims and/or make 

appropriate referrals to other service providers. Prosecutors should be prepared to identify, and 

judges should allow appointment of, expert witnesses if they are needed to educate juries and 

judges as necessary if a victim‟s reaction to trauma appears problematic or counterintuitive. 

(Research basis: Multiple victim studies have documented PTSD rates, although many studies 

obviously seek out samples likely to include the most severely abused victims, such as those in 

shelters.)

4.4 Do male domestic violence victims differ from female victims?

Research on domestic violence victims brought to the attention of law enforcement and the 

courts find that male victims differ substantially from female victims. [153] First and foremost,

male victims of any specific domestic violence incident are more likely than female victims to be 

future suspects for domestic violence. In one of the only studies to track abusers and victims 

over time, the Charlotte, N.C., law enforcement study found that 41 percent of males who were 

identified as victims and who were involved in new incidents of domestic violence within two 

years were subsequently identified by police as suspects. This compares with only 26.3 

percent of females with such role reversals. On the other hand, males identified as suspects 

were much less likely to be identified later as victims than were female suspects (26 percent vs. 

44.4 percent). [68]

Similarly, male victims of domestic violence homicides are much more likely than female victims 

to have been identified previously as abusers of their eventual killers. [131, 199, 218] Several 

treatises suggest that the abuse experienced by male victims of female intimates is contextually 

different than that experienced by women victims of male intimates. [177, 198] Just as male 

victims differ, so do females convicted of abusing male partners. [162]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Specific incidents of domestic violence may not reveal longer term domestic violence patterns, 

particularly if the suspect is a female and the victim is a male. Police should acknowledge this 

and encourage suspects who are more typically victims to report future victimization, 

notwithstanding their current suspect status. (Research basis: The North Carolina process 
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evaluation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police specialized domestic violence unit is unique in 

looking at subsequent status of victims and suspects in repeat incidents. The study looked at all 

police complaints involving domestic violence in 2003 that were followed for the next two years, 

totaling 6,892 domestic violence complaints. The findings are analogous to numerous findings 

regarding the prior status of male homicide victims as abusers.)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Specific incidents of domestic violence may not reveal longer term domestic violence patterns, 

particularly if the suspect is a female and the victim is a male. Prosecutors and judges should be 

sensitive to this fact in charging and recommending sentences for such defendants and in 

issuing protective orders or fashioning sentences. Typical batterer intervention programs, for 

example, may not be relevant for abusers engaged in isolated, reactive or defensive behavior. 

(Research basis: The North Carolina process evaluation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police 

specialized domestic violence unit is unique in looking at subsequent status of victims and 

suspects in repeat incidents. The study looked at all police complaints involving domestic 

violence in 2003 followed for the next two years, totaling 6,892 domestic violence complaints in 

all. The findings are analogous to numerous findings regarding the prior status of male homicide 

victims as abusers. The analysis of batterer programs for court-referred female defendants is 

based on limited qualitative research that focused on content relevance based on defendant 

abuse histories.)
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5. Law Enforcement Responses

5.1 Are specialized law enforcement domestic violence units effective in 

responding to domestic violence?

Performance Measure: A total of 11 percent of police departments have 

specialized domestic violence units, according to a national survey of a 

representative sample of 14,000 law enforcement agencies. Most domestic 

violence units work within investigative units and are most common in larger 

departments. A majority of departments (56 percent) with 100 or more officers 

have specialized domestic violence units. Although only 4 percent of 

departments maintain domestic violence information on their Web sites, threequarters of those departments also have specialized domestic violence units. 

[213] (Research basis: A representative sample drawn from 14,000 law 

enforcement agencies across the nation.)

5.2 Do they influence prosecutions and convictions of abuse suspects?

Specialized domestic violence units, emphasizing repeat victim contact and evidence gathering, 

have been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of prosecution, conviction and 

sentencing. [130] Specialized domestic violence units are generally associated with more 

extensive inquiries by police department call takers — asking if weapons are involved, advising 

callers to stay on the line until police arrive, asking if children are present, whether the suspect 

uses drugs/alcohol, whether restraining orders are in effect, and whether the suspect is on 

probation or parole. [213] Domestic violence units are also more likely to amass evidence to 

turn over to prosecutors. The specialized unit in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, N.C., collected 

evidence in 61.8 percent of its cases, compared to only 12.5 percent of cases collected by 

patrol officers. In addition, whereas 30 percent of victims handled by regular patrols declined to 

prosecute, only 8 percent of victims handled by the specialized unit declined to prosecute. [68]

5.3 Do they influence victim behavior?

Specialized police response is more likely to see victims leave their abusers sooner — within 

four months, compared to an average of 14 months for victims not receiving specialized police 

response. Specialized police response also results in higher victim reporting of reabuse. Finally, 

victims handled by specialized police response are more likely to secure protective orders 

against their abusers. [130] Specialized police services such as serving protective orders and 

assisting in safety planning also influence victim behavior. By contrast, victim services alone 

have not been found to be associated with victims leaving abusers, although this may also be 

due to the quality of the victim services studied. [172, 220] 

5.4 Do they reduce reabuse?

An early study of a specialized detective unit in Dade County, Fla., found that it did not affect 

reabuse rates. [174] However, the detective unit focused on referring parties to counseling. 

Subsequently, specialized units have been found to be more effective: Victims self-report 

significantly less reabuse but are more likely to report the reabuse they do suffer. [130] Another 

study found that specialized responses reduce “personal harm” but not nonpersonal harm, such 

as property damage. The positive effect may be tied to the safety planning offered to victims. 

[68] By contrast, research found that victim services alone are not associated with increased 
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victim safety. [172, 220] Research in New York City among victims in public housing suggest 

that specific crime prevention training, as opposed to general victim counseling, may be 

associated more closely with reduced subsequent victimization. [37]

In North Carolina, 29 percent of the abusers handled by the specialized domestic violence unit 

had at least one subsequent domestic violence offense during a two-year follow-up period, 

compared to 37 percent of abusers handled solely by patrol units. This reduced rate was 

obtained even though the specialized unit handled more serious cases and offenders with more 

prior offenses. The odds ratio on reoffending for suspects handled by domestic violence units 

was nearly half that for suspects not handled by these units. Domestic violence suspects who 

reabused also reabused less often, averaging 0.46 new assaults compared to 0.62. The 

difference is statistically significant but, because fewer units‟ abusers reabused, the actual 

difference in the number of new incidents for just those abusers who reabused was less (1.59 

vs. 1.67), not reaching statistical significance. [68]

5.5 Do they increase victim satisfaction?

Victim satisfaction with the criminal justice system is not associated with whether the victim 

received advocacy per se, but rather with concrete law enforcement activities such as issuance 

of a warrant against absent abusers or assistance in obtaining protective orders. [220] Similarly, 

the NVAWS found that stalking victims whose stalkers were arrested were significantly more 

likely to be satisfied with the police response than those in situations where no arrest was made 

(76 percent vs. 42 percent). [208] 

Studies of victim dissatisfaction generally focus on four major themes: (1) adverse personal 

outcomes (victim arrested, child protection agency called), (2) the police “made assumptions or 

did not listen,” (3) the police took sides (against her), and (4) nothing happened (a strong court 

sanction was absent). [151] 

Implications for Law Enforcement

The single, most appreciated service that officers can deliver to the greatest number of victims 

is the arrest of their abusers. Specialized domestic violence law enforcement units that focus on 

arrests can enhance the likelihood of successful prosecution and increase victim satisfaction 

and safety. (Research basis: Although specific studies of specialized domestic violence law 

enforcement units are few, the activities conducted by these units have been more widely 

studied and supported by extensive research.)

5.6 Should law enforcement agencies participate in coordinated community 

responses?

A number of jurisdictions have endeavored to create what have been called coordinated 

community responses, composed of multiple criminal justice and social service agencies that 

respond to domestic violence. This approach may exert a positive impact on both case 

processing and reabuse, according to initial research. [118] For example, both arrests and 

successful prosecutions increased in several Minnesota jurisdictions with the creation of 

coordinated community responses involving law enforcement. [69] Other studies have found 

similar promising results [118], although more is required than participation in multidisciplinary 

task forces for communities to create effective coordinated responses. [227] Personnel of 

relatively autonomous organizations (both public and private) cannot be presumed to have the 

organizational capacity or the willingness among their personnel to truly collaborate. [73]
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Performance Measure: A total of 65 percent of police departments have 

established partnerships with community-based victim advocacy groups, 

according to a national survey of 14,000 police departments. [213] (Research

basis: A representative sample drawn from 14,000 law enforcement agencies 

across the nation.)

5.7 Does domestic violence training improve law enforcement responses to 

victims?

Several studies suggest that general domestic violence training for law enforcement officers 

does not necessarily change attitudes toward domestic violence or, more important, change 

police behavior in terms of arrests of abusers or responses to domestic violence incidents. 

Although knowing a department‟s policy regarding domestic violence arrest preference 

increases the likelihood that officers will arrest alleged domestic violence suspects, the amount 

of domestic violence training received does not. [59, 65, 197] Research suggests that domestic 

violence arrest decisions are influenced more by an officer‟s assessment of the legal variables 

involved than by his or her attitudes. [117] At least one study suggests that failure of police 

managers to hold police officers accountable for failure to arrest in contravention of statutory 

requirements is responsible for their poor performance, not their lack of training. [187]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Clear policy pronouncements from the top administration may be more likely to change officer 

responses to domestic violence than is general domestic violence training aimed at education 

and attitude change. (Research basis: There is limited research in this area.)

Performance Measure: A survey of a sample of law enforcement departments 

across the nation finds that three-quarters have written domestic violence 

policies in place. Most have been in place for six years or longer. A large majority 

of departments (88 percent) require officers to complete incident reports for all 

domestic violence calls they are dispatched to, regardless of outcome. Almost 

two-thirds of departments (63 percent) require officers to fill out a supplemental 

form for domestic violence, and most require written justification when no arrest 

is made (68 percent) or when there is a dual arrest (86 percent). [213] (Research 

basis: A representative sample drawn from 14,000 law enforcement agencies 

across the nation.)
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6. Prosecution Responses

6.1 What is the current level of domestic violence prosecution across the 

country?

Although there remain wide disparities in the prosecution of domestic violence cases from one 

jurisdiction to another, routine prosecution of domestic violence arrests is no longer exceptional 

or rare. In fact, prosecutors who automatically dismiss or nolle prosse almost all domestic 

violence cases may be increasingly rare and exceptional.

A total of 120 studies from over 170 mostly urban jurisdictions in 44 states and the District of 

Columbia (and a few foreign countries) of intimate-partner prosecutions between 1973 and 2006 

[71] found the average arrest prosecution rate was 63.8 percent, ranging from a low of 4.6 

percent of 802 arrests in Milwaukee in 1988-1989 to 94 percent of 3,662 arrests in Cincinnati in 

1993-1996. The rate of offense prosecution was lower, with an average of 27.4 percent, ranging 

from a low of 2.6 percent for more than 5,000 offenses in Detroit in 1983 to 72.5 percent for 

more than 5,000 offenses reported in Boulder County, Colo., in 2003-2005. 

Several studies demonstrate that domestic violence prosecutions can be routine across entire 

states, notwithstanding demographic, prosecution and law enforcement variations across 

counties and localities. A study of 15,000 protective order violations across Massachusetts 

between 1992 and 1995 found that 60 percent were prosecuted in total. [10] A study of 4,351 

felony domestic violence prosecutions in South Carolina between 1996 and 2000 found a 46 

percent prosecution rate. [21] Similarly, a study of 238,000 misdemeanor domestic violence 

charges between 1997 and 2002 in North Carolina found a prosecution rate of 47 percent. [16]

Jurisdictions with specialized domestic violence prosecution programs generally boast higher 

rates. A study of San Diego‟s City Attorney‟s Office documented that prosecutors prosecuted 70 

percent of cases brought by police. Similarly, specialized prosecutors in Omaha, Neb., 

prosecuted 88 percent of all police domestic violence arrests. In several of these sites, 

comparisons before and after implementation of the specialized prosecution program found 

marked increases in prosecutions. In Everett, Wash., dismissals dropped from 79 percent to 29 

percent, and in Klamath Falls, Ore., they dropped from 47 percent to 14 percent. [196]

On the other hand, not all domestic violence cases are equally likely to be prosecuted. The 

research indicates that prosecutions of intimate-partner stalking [160] and intimate-partner 

sexual assault [161] are rare. The research also reflects very low arrest rates for these offenses.

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors who fail to prosecute the majority of domestic violence arrests made by police 

should examine their practices, policies and priorities to determine why they are prosecuting 

fewer domestic violence arrests than their peers around the country. (Research basis: Multiple 

studies, including at least three statewide studies.)

6.2 Can most domestic violence arrest cases be successfully prosecuted in 

court?

Not all cases filed by prosecutors go to trial. As with most offenses, most domestic violence 

prosecutions are disposed of as a result of plea and sentencing negotiations. Of those that go to 

trial, not all prosecutions result in convictions. However, studies indicate that, in general, 
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domestic violence prosecutions that go to trial routinely result in court convictions. “Not guilty” 

findings are rare. Studies document findings that range from a high of only 5.0 percent in Ohio 

[11], to 2.7 percent in Massachusetts [23], to a low of 1.6 percent in North Carolina. [68] A study 

of felony domestic violence prosecutions in Brooklyn, N.Y., found a similarly low “not guilty” rate 

of only 2 percent. [164]

For most domestic violence cases that do not go to trial, an analysis of 85 domestic violence 

prosecution studies found an overall conviction rate of 35 percent, ranging from a low of 8.1 

percent of 37 cases prosecuted in Milwaukee between 1988 and 1989 to a high of 90.1 percent 

of 229 cases in Brooklyn, N.Y., prosecuted in 1997. If one very large study of 123,507 Maryland 

prosecutions from 1993 to 2003 is removed, the average conviction rate increases to almost 

half, 47.7 percent. [71] In three statewide prosecution studies of tens of thousands of domestic 

violence cases, similar conviction rates ranged from one-third in North Carolina to more than

one-half in South Carolina. [16, 21] 

Jurisdictions with specialized domestic violence prosecution programs boast higher rates: 96 

percent in San Diego, 85 percent in Omaha, Neb., 78 percent in Klamath Falls, Ore., and 55 

percent in Everett, Wash. The latter rate was the lowest because prosecutors maintained a 

diversion program that siphoned off 22 percent of the cases prosecuted. [196]

As important, multiple studies also find that convictions can be consistently obtained that include 

the most intrusive disposition, sentences of incarceration. For example, in the three statewide 

domestic violence prosecution studies, 12.6 percent of the Massachusetts [10] and 20 percent 

of the North Carolina [16] misdemeanant domestic violence defendants prosecuted were 

sentenced to incarceration. In South Carolina, almost half (45 percent) of felony domestic 

violence defendants prosecuted were sentenced to prison. [21] In Brooklyn Felony Domestic 

Violence Court, 80 to 85 percent of all convicted offenders were sentenced to incarceration 

consistently during the study period of 1996 through 2000. [164] Although the latter single court 

incarceration rate may have been the result of a singular effort on the part of prosecutors and 

others, the statewide rates include multiple prosecutors across each state.

Many other disparate court studies document incarceration rates ranging from 76 percent to 21 

percent: 76 percent in Klamath Falls, Ore. [196]; 70 percent in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the largest 

number incarcerated between 150 and 180 days [11]; 56 percent in Everett, Wash. [196]; 52 

percent in Omaha, Neb. [196]; 39 percent in the Bronx, N.Y. [185]; 35 percent in Brooklyn, N.Y. 

[31]; 30 percent in Milwaukee [39]; 23 percent in Chicago (including time jailed pending 

prosecution) [107]; 22.5 percent in Quincy, Mass. [23]; and 21 percent in San Diego, Calif. [196] 

A study of intimate-partner arrests across three states — Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia —

found similarly intrusive dispositions, with three-quarters of those convicted, incarcerated, 

sentenced to probation or fined. [117] 

Implications for Prosecutors

The research suggests that domestic violence cases can be successfully prosecuted at trial, 

and a large proportion of cases (and most cases in some jurisdictions) can be disposed of 

before trial, even without removing incarceration as an outcome. (Research basis: Multiple 

studies in disparate jurisdictions for both felony and misdemeanor domestic violence 

prosecutions.)

Performance Measure: Norfolk County, Mass., prosecutors brought 505 

charges arising out of 342 domestic violence incidents studied, compared to 531 
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charges initially filed by arresting police departments, a dropoff of only 5 percent. 

Prosecutors enhanced charges of felony assault from 14.1 percent filed by police 

to 23.8 percent. Prosecutors proceeded to nolle prosequi in 18.5 percent of the 

cases and asked that an additional 10 percent be dismissed in court. With the 

exception of 2.5 percent of arrests that resulted in not-guilty findings, the 

remaining defendants were either found guilty after trial or admitted to sufficient 

facts for a finding of guilty (although judges initially allowed 25 percent of the 

cases to be conditionally continued without imposition of a guilty finding). 

(Research basis: The studies followed 342 arrests that occurred within Eastern 

Norfolk County and followed them as long as 10 years. [23, 138])

6.3 Will aggressive prosecutions or sentences increase the demand for trials?

A study of four prosecution programs in four states where prosecutors specifically adopted 

(what they claimed to be) “no drop” prosecution policies (and in fact proceeded with the majority 

of all cases brought by law enforcement) found that trial rates ranged from a high of 13 percent 

to just 1 percent. Further research has suggested that the highest rates would recede once the 

aggressive prosecution programs were more established. In San Diego, which had adopted a 

no-drop policy a decade earlier, only 2 percent of the cases subsequently went to trial. [196] 

Furthermore, in these no-drop jurisdictions, sentencing included incarceration in 21 to 76 

percent of the four jurisdictions. [196]

Implications for Prosecutors

Increased domestic violence prosecutions may not result in a dramatically increased proportion 

of trials, although there may be a transitory increase as defenders test prosecution resolve. 

(Research basis: Although implications are based on only one study, the study looked at four 

different no-drop prosecution programs in four states.)

Implications for Judges

Judicial administrators can rest assured that aggressive domestic violence prosecution will not

result in dramatically increased and sustained demand for jury or bench trials. (Research basis:

Although implications are based on one study, the study looked at four different no-drop 

prosecution programs in four states.)

6.4 Do victims want their abusers prosecuted?

If asked to declare publicly in court in front of their abusers, victims may express ambivalence 

about the prosecution and/or sentencing of their abusers. However, in interviews with 

researchers, often a majority of victims support domestic violence prosecutions and sentencing, 

especially mandatory referral to batterer programs. In a Chicago misdemeanor court study, 

approximately two-thirds of victims (67.6 percent) reported that they wanted their abusers to be 

prosecuted and jailed. [107] A study of four prosecution programs in California, Washington, 

Oregon and Nebraska, found that three-quarters (76 percent) of the victims interviewed wanted 

their abusers arrested, and 55 percent want them prosecuted. Furthermore, 59 percent 

expressed satisfaction with the outcome, and 67 percent expressed satisfaction with the judge, 

once the cases were prosecuted. [196] 

Even when the majority of victims oppose prosecution, after trial they may change their minds. 

In the Quincy arrest study, only 46.8 percent wanted their abusers to be prosecuted as charged 

or wanted more serious charges filed. However, after trial, 53.4 percent said the court 
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experience gave them a “sense of control,” 36.9 percent said it motivated them to end the 

relationship with their abuser, and 38.8 percent said it “made them safer.” Most victims (71

percent) who did not want the case to go to court expressed satisfaction after the trial. [23] 

Similarly, a study of four specialized prosecution programs in four different states found that 

although 45 percent did not want their cases prosecuted, once they were prosecuted, only 14 

percent tried to stop the prosecutors and only 4 percent said they wanted the court to let the 

defendant go. About three-quarters (72.1 percent) reported that they wanted the defendant 

jailed and/or ordered into treatment (79 percent). Sixty-four percent (64 percent) expressed 

satisfaction with the prosecution, another 9 percent were neutral, and only 27 percent were 

dissatisfied. Most (85 percent) reported that they felt the prosecution was helpful. [196] 

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should not allow victim opposition to automatically stop them from prosecuting 

cases. If prosecutors find that the overwhelming majority of victims consistently oppose 

prosecution, they should examine both their and law enforcement‟s interaction with victims to 

increase support of prosecution from victims that is more in line with that found across the rest 

of the country. (Research basis: Numerous studies from disparate jurisdictions.)

Implications for Judges

Judges should not assume that allowing cases to proceed over victim objections will necessarily 

embitter victims or jeopardize their safety. (Research basis: Numerous studies from disparate 

jurisdictions on victim attitudes toward prosecution, and several studies on court sentencing.)

6.5 Why do a minority of victims oppose prosecution?

Although studies have found multiple reasons for victim opposition to prosecution, fear is among 

the leading reasons expressed by victims. Fear of the abuser is first and foremost, followed by 

fear of testifying in court.

A study of five jurisdictions in three states found that victims across all sites reported that fear of 

defendant retaliation was their most common barrier to participation with prosecutors. [103]

Even in a Chicago study where the majority of Chicago victims wanted their abusers 

prosecuted, fear was the biggest factor for those who opposed prosecution. A quarter of victims 

opposing prosecution reported being specifically threatened by their abusers against 

prosecution. Others expressed fear that their abusers would become more violent. In addition to 

fear, almost half who wanted the prosecution to be dropped thought it wouldn‟t make any 

difference. About a third of the victims opposed prosecution because they depended on their 

abusers for housing. [107]

In addition to fear of the abuser, an Ohio study found that more victims were actually more 

afraid of testifying in court than they were of the defendant or compromising their relationship 

with the defendant. Specifically, victims expressed fear that the prosecutors would not prepare 

them adequately to testify. They were also concerned that the defendant might not be found 

guilty. [11] 

Implications for Prosecutors

To increase victim cooperation and participation in prosecution, prosecutors must address 

victim fears of reabuse and of testifying in court. (Research basis: Several victim studies in 

different jurisdictions.)
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6.6 Is victim fear of prosecution well founded?

Victim fear of their abusers appears to be well founded. Multiple prosecution and arrest studies 

broadly concur that abusers who come to the attention of the criminal justice system who 

reabuse are likely to do so sooner rather than later. In the Quincy court study, about 40 percent 

of the arrested abusers reabused their victims within one year. Forty-four percent did so before

the study arrest was prosecuted in court. The average case took about six months from 

arraignment to prosecution. [23] Similarly, in a Cook County study, 30 percent of the defendants 

were rearrested within six months of their study arrest, and half of the arrests were for a new 

domestic violence offense. The average rearrest time was only 29 days after initial arrest. In 

addition, in almost half of the cases (45.9 percent), the defendants tried to talk the female 

victims out of testifying. Moreover, 29.1 percent of these defendants stalked their victims before 

the trial, and 8.7 percent specifically threatened them. [107] An Indianapolis prosecution study 

found that almost a quarter of the defendants reabused their victims before the pending trial. 

[67]

In the Brooklyn Specialized Felony Domestic Violence Court — where cases took 6.5 to 7.0 

months, on average, to be disposed — 51 percent of defendants charged with domestic felonies 

(other than violation of protective orders) were rearrested before disposition; 14 percent were 

arrested for a crime of violence; and 16 percent were arrested for violation of a protection order. 

Among those charged with order violations — a felony in New York — the rearrest rate was 47 

percent, including 37 percent for violating the protective order again. [164]

Although these studies do not demonstrate that prosecution causes reabuse, they indicate that 

pending prosecution by itself may not deter recidivist abusers. 

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Prosecutors must gauge defendant risk pending trial and take appropriate measures to address 

it in order to protect victims and to successfully prosecute the case. Judges should insist that 

police and prosecutors document and inform the court if defendants reabuse, threaten or 

intimate victims while cases are pending so that possible additional charges can be filed and 

subsequent absences of victims who are too fearful to testify in court can be justified, allowing 

for substitute hearsay testimony. The equitable doctrine of forfeiture, affirmed in Davis v.

Washington, 126 S. Ct. 2266, 2280 (2006), precludes a defendant from using his right to 

confrontation to bar the admission of a victim‟s statements when his wrongdoing caused her 

unavailability at trial. (Research basis: Rapid reabuse rates are documented in multiple studies 

from disparate jurisdictions. Research on the impact of specific prosecution practices is rare. 

Victim fear is documented in several victim studies in different jurisdictions.)

6.7 Can prosecutors increase victim cooperation?

Although victims most commonly reported fear of retaliation as a barrier to their participation in 

prosecution, a three-state study found that the fear was reduced at sites with specialized 

prosecution programs, increased victim advocacy and specialized domestic violence courts. 

[103] These specialized response programs generally include fast-track scheduling, reducing 

victim vulnerability pending trial, increased victim contact pending trial, and victim-friendly 

proceedings that remove, as much as possible, victim involvement to proceed with prosecution. 

These measures contrast with those used in some jurisdictions, in which studies indicate some 

prosecutors treat victims like civil claimants. In a large 45-county study of upstate New York 

domestic violence prosecutions, researchers found that half of the prosecutors required victims 
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to sign complaints in order to file charges. (On the other hand, two-thirds required victims to sign 

affidavits to confirm their interest in having charges withdrawn.) [227] 

There is more research on what not to do than on what works. Specific studies suggest that the 

more prosecution-related burdens are placed on victims, the less likely they are to cooperate. In 

Milwaukee, a study found the majority of cases were dismissed when victims were required to 

attend a charging conference within days of the arrest of their abusers. However, absolved of 

this responsibility, Milwaukee prosecution rates increased from 20 percent to 60 percent. [38] In 

a similar vein, a comparison of protective order violation prosecutions across Massachusetts 

found a 66 percent dismissal rate when prosecutors routinely provided and encouraged victims 

to sign waivers of prosecution forms (often in front of defendants), compared to a 33-percent 

dismissal rate in an adjacent county in which victims were not provided this alternative. [10]

Some prosecutors are better at maintaining contact with victims than others. The Ohio court 

study found that the majority of victims never received rudimentary information from prosecutors 

before trial, including court dates. In almost 90 percent of the court cases, prosecutors never 

spoke with the victim on the phone and, in more than half of the cases (52 percent), never met 

with them before the trial date. When they did meet, it typically was for no more than a few 

minutes. [11] The importance of prosecutor-victim contact is underscored by a Toronto study 

that found if the victim met with a victim/witness representative, victim cooperation increased by 

a factor of 3.3. [43] In the Ohio court study, the strongest predictor of a guilty verdict in domestic 

violence misdemeanor cases was how many times the prosecutors met with the victim before 

trial. [11]

A limited number of studies that looked at the role of court-based victim advocates suggest that 

they may help in this regard. The studies found that victims appreciated contact with victim 

advocates/liaisons and reported a high degree of satisfaction. In the Quincy study, 81 percent of 

the victims reported satisfaction with the time they spent with victim advocates, and threequarters (77 percent) said they would talk to the advocate again if a similar incident recurred. 

[23] Chicago domestic violence victims who had contact with victim advocates reported more 

satisfaction with the proceedings than those who had no contact. However, the same study 

reported that advocates‟ contact with victims did not make the victims more likely to come to 

court. [107]

The seeds for victim contact may be planted before the case even reaches prosecutors. A 

Portland, Ore., police study found that the following police activities significantly correlated with 

increased prosecution: (1) police contacted victims, (2) victim accepted services, (3) police 

provided victims with prosecution information, (4) police helped set up victim appointments with 

prosecutors, and (5) police helped victims obtain restraining orders and served the orders. [130]

Implications for Prosecutors

Victim cooperation can be enhanced if prosecutors can address victim fear of their abusers as 

well as their fear around being involved in subsequent legal proceedings. Pretrial conditions or 

detention and/or speedy trial dates may address victim fear and minimize actions required of 

victims, and sensitivity to victim needs may address their fear of court proceedings. The quality 

of police contact with victims may also be important for subsequent successful prosecution. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies and victim interviews in multiple studies.)

Performance Measure: Over 80 percent of victims were contacted by a prosecutor advocate in the Quincy court arrest and prosecution study; 42 percent of 
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the victims had 45 minutes or more with an advocate, and the remainder had 

less time with one. [23]

6.8 Should prosecutors follow victim preferences when prosecuting 

offenders?

Although victim perceptions of the dangerousness of suspects have been found to be good 

predictors of subsequent revictimization [23, 112, 113], victim preferences on how the case 

should be prosecuted are not good predictors. The victims in the Quincy study who wanted the 

charges dropped were as likely to be revictimized (51 vs. 48 percent after one year) as those 

who did not want the charges dropped. [23] Similarly, studies in New York found that victim 

cooperation with prosecutors did not predict recidivism. In other words, if prosecutors proceeded 

with uncooperative victims, these victims were no more or less likely to be revictimized than 

victims who cooperated with prosecutors. [145]

Implications for Prosecutors

Although prosecutors should listen to victims, they should explain to victims (and, as important, 

to defendants) that the decision to prosecute cannot be based solely on victims‟ preferences.

6.9 What evidence is typically available to prosecute domestic violence cases?

One of the challenges domestic violence prosecutors face is the lack of evidence accompanying 

their cases. A study of domestic violence across Rhode Island in 2002, based on 6,200 police 

incident reports involving adult victims under 50 years of age, found the following evidence 

reported in cases: victim photos (17 percent), crime scene photos (16 percent), suspect photos 

(3 percent), physical evidence (8 percent) and weapons collected (11 percent), medical reports 

(9.4 percent), witnesses‟ interviews (37 percent: adults 24 percent, children 12 percent), suspect 

statements (18 percent) and signed victim statements (53 percent). [138] The Rhode Island 

data are not unique. 

In the Mecklenburg County, N.C., study, researchers found that presentation of physical 

evidence to the special domestic violence prosecution unit was rare. Photos were available in 

only 15 percent of the cases submitted by patrol officers and only 30.5 percent of cases 

submitted by the police department‟s specialized domestic violence unit. Medical evidence was 

available in less than 10 percent of the patrol cases and 34 percent of the special-unit cases, 

which selected out the more serious cases such as those involving injuries. Given the fact that 

most domestic violence incidents occur in private, it is not surprising that witnesses were 

available in only 16 percent of the patrol cases and 19 percent of the special-unit cases. [68] 

Similarly, the Ohio court study found that photos of injuries and damages were available in only 

14.3 percent of the cases, 911 tapes in only 2.2 percent, medical records in 1.7 percent, 

eyewitness testimony in only 1.6 percent, and police officer testimony in only 6.7 percent of the 

cases. [11] 

One reason medical evidence may be limited is because of medical staff‟s poor handwriting. A 

study found that in records of medical visits containing indications of abuse or injury, one-third of 

the notes written by the doctors or nurses contained vital information that was illegible. [127]

Implications for Prosecutors

Especially in light of Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), prosecutors must work with 

law enforcement to gather as much evidence as possible and accurately identify all potential 
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witnesses and ways to contact them, or identify third parties who will remain in touch with them. 

Vital witnesses may include third parties whom victims spoke to at the time of the incident. 

Statements that victims make to third parties are generally nontestimonial and therefore 

admissible at trial. Children may also be potential witnesses. The presence of children may also 

allow prosecutors to file additional charges against abusers for endangering the welfare of the 

child or allow them to file a similar charge that can go forward, even if the original charges 

cannot. (Research basis: Few studies review domestic violence evidence as a separate issue; 

these studies suggest that evidence collection can be dramatically improved.)

Consequently, prosecutors must rely on victims. In the Ohio court study, victim testimony was 

the evidence most frequently relied upon by prosecutors, available in 48 percent of the 2,952 

domestic violence cases studied. [11] In Rhode Island, victims provided signed statements in 53 

percent of the incident reports. [139] A Canadian study of a Toronto Domestic Violence Court 

found that, although having witnesses or corroborating evidence does not increase the 

likelihood of prosecution, if the victim cooperates, the odds of prosecution increase by a factor 

of 8, compared to cases in which the victim does not cooperate. [43] In Chicago, prosecutors 

achieved a 73-percent conviction rate for domestic violence cases when the victim showed up in 

court, and significantly less (only 23 percent) when they did not show. [107]

Generally, lack of cooperative or available victims is cited as the prime reason prosecutors drop 

or dismiss domestic violence cases. In the Quincy, Mass., arrest study, a quarter of the arrested 

abusers were not prosecuted by the district attorney‟s office. When indicated in the court file, the 

most common reason given was “victim denies abuse” (18.8 percent), married victims invoked 

their marital privilege not to testify against their husband suspects (12.9 percent), or the victim 

could not be located (10.6 percent). [23] In the large Ohio study, 70.5 percent of cases were 

dismissed because of victim “unavailability/failure to attend.” [11] In another Ohio study, in 

Toledo, analysis of a sample derived from 1,982 misdemeanor domestic violence cases before 

the municipal court found that 70 percent of dismissed cases were dismissed because the 

“victim failed to appear.” [216] In North Carolina, victim opposition was reported as the key 

factor in reducing the likelihood of prosecution. [119]

Implications for Law Enforcement

Prosecutors must work with local law enforcement to identify and obtain critical evidence 

whenever it is available, including information on how to locate and contact victims and other 

potential witnesses. (Research basis: Several large court and statewide studies in disparate 

jurisdictions indicate law enforcement‟s failure to provide available evidence.)

6.10 Can cases be successfully prosecuted without the victim?

Despite the fact that most prosecutors see the lack of victim cooperation as the reason why 

domestic violence prosecutions cannot proceed, both individual-jurisdiction and comparative 

studies clearly suggest that either lack of victim cooperation is exaggerated or victims are not 

the key variable in successful prosecution programs.

A study of almost 100 domestic violence trials in San Diego found that uniformly high conviction 

rates were obtained independent of victim or defendant statements, witness testimony and 

corroborating evidence. In fact, outcomes were also independent of whether the victim testified 

for the prosecution or for the defense. [196] 
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Other comparative studies consistently found that the determination of prosecutors rather than 

the availability of victims or other evidence accounted for varying rates of prosecution. For 

example, in the three statewide examinations of tens of thousands of domestic violence 

prosecutions, researchers documented widely varying rates of prosecution across equivalent 

counties. In Massachusetts, county prosecution rates ranged from 82 percent to 25 percent. [10] 

In South Carolina, prosecution rates varied from 69 percent to 22 percent from one prosecution 

district to another. [21] Similarly, in North Carolina, prosecution rates ranged from 57 percent to 

21 percent in specific prosecution districts. [16] Although some of the counties or prosecutorial 

districts differed in terms of demographics and population density, even among those that did 

not, prosecution rates varied greatly. In fact, in South Carolina, after the study was published in 

the newspaper and the state‟s attorney general ordered prosecutors to prosecute all cases, the 

statewide dismissal rate dropped by 29 percent the next month. [20]

Studies confirm that jurisdictions with specialized domestic violence prosecution programs 

generally support the highest rates of successful prosecution. [196] These specialized programs 

apparently create their own momentum. For example, they either help create or are associated 

with courts that create expedited domestic violence dockets. As a result of the specialized 

prosecution in San Diego, processing time for domestic violence cases decreased to 32 days, 

with almost half of the defendants (46 percent) pleading at the arraignment. Similarly, in Everett, 

Wash., time to trial was 80 days, and in Omaha, Neb., it was 43 days. Shortened trial times 

reduce both victim vulnerability to threats and chances of reconciling with the abuser pending 

trial. In both San Diego and Everett, bails were regularly set at $10,000 per domestic violence 

charge (with no cash alternative in the latter location). As a result, for defendants unable to raise 

bail, the incentive is to plead guilty to get out of jail.

In these jurisdictions, researchers found that evidence (eyewitnesses, photos, admissions, 

excited utterances, medical evidence and physical evidence) was not uniformly the most 

powerful predictor of prosecutors‟ decisions to proceed without victims and was not significantly 

associated with the decision to prosecute at all in Klamath Falls, Ore. [196]

Supporting the contention that prosecutorial determination is a powerful predictor of 

prosecutorial success, the Ohio court study found that increased time the prosecutor spent with 

victims while preparing the case was positively associated with successful prosecution, and 

large prosecution caseloads were negatively associated with successful outcomes. The 

availability of evidence (911 tapes, photographs, medical records and police testimony) was not

associated with the likelihood of a conviction. Researchers did not suggest that only victims with 

strong cases self-selected to approach prosecutors. [11]

Implications for Prosecutors

Lack of evidence may be more likely to deter prosecutors from going forward than deterring 

juries from convicting defendants or deterring defendants from pleading guilty. (Research basis:

Multiple studies have found prosecutors able to consistently achieve high conviction rates, 

notwithstanding consistently limited evidence. The analysis of San Diego trials specifically 

suggests that convictions may be obtained with varying types of evidence, notwithstanding 

absence of types of other evidence, including that from victims.)

Implications for Prosecutors

Parity should exist between prosecutors and defenders as well as between prosecutors and 

crimes to be prosecuted. In the Ohio study, where large prosecution caseloads were associated 
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with unsuccessful domestic violence prosecution, the court had 31 public defenders but only 18 

prosecutors. (Research basis: Only one study.)

6.11 Can successful prosecutions be increased?

There have been multiple studies of specific prosecution efforts to significantly increase 

prosecution by adopting no-drop policies. Although the concept of a no-drop policy has proven 

elastic, the success of these programs in significantly increasing prosecution has been 

demonstrated in multiple jurisdictions. In the Queens Borough of New York City, prosecutors 

increased convictions from 24 to 60 percent. Research suggests that much of the increase was 

the result of increased follow-up with victims, and prosecutor‟s improved linkage with police 

(e.g., monitoring the same case log, and asking whether each of eight evidentiary items were 

covered in police incident reports, including photos and witness, victim and suspect statements). 

[159] A study of domestic violence prosecutions in two other states similarly found greatly 

increased conviction rates as a result of adopting no-drop policies accompanied by increased 

coordination with police. [196]

A study of specialized prosecution programs in Oregon and Washington that instituted no-drop 

policies found that increased use of evidence-based prosecution dramatically increased 

conviction rates, reduced processing time and initially increased trials. Dismissal rates more 

than halved in Everett, Wash., from 79 to 29 percent, and guilty findings increased from 10 to 53 

percent (although diversion increased from 2 to 22 percent), whereas processing time declined 

from 109 days to 80 days. Trials increased from 1 percent to 10 percent. Conviction rates at trial 

were 80 percent. In Klamath Falls, Ore., only 10 to 20 percent of cases were screened out by 

prosecutors. Dismissals dropped from 47 to 14 percent, and convictions rose from 47 to 86 

percent after introduction of evidence-based prosecution. Unlike in Everett, diverted cases 

dropped from 6 percent to none. Trials rose from 1 percent to 13 percent, and prosecutors won 

63 percent of them. [196] 

6.12 What does adoption of no-drop policies actually mean?

The most comprehensive study of model no-drop prosecution programs, including several that 

received large Justice Department grants, found that no-drop policies meant that approximately 

30 percent of cases brought by police were screened out, but most of the remaining cases 

proceeded. Even when victims were not present at the time of trial, prosecutors typically were 

still able to proceed with 60 to 70 percent of the cases. [196]

Implications for Prosecutors

Although Crawford v. Washington further inhibits domestic violence prosecutors, the dramatic 

increase in successful prosecutions, with implementation of specialized domestic violence 

prosecution programs, suggests that most prosecutors should be able to significantly increase 

successful prosecutions but perhaps not as much as documented in these pre-Crawford

studies. (Research basis: Multiple studies in disparate jurisdictions before the U.S. Supreme 

Court decided Crawford.)

6.13 What kind of dispositions do most suspects receive?

Just as prosecution rates vary widely, so does sentencing of domestic violence perpetrators, 

even though the vast majority of domestic violence defendants are prosecuted for misdemeanor 

assaults. Disparate studies from various jurisdictions illustrate some of the variety of sentences 

imposed.
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In Quincy, where almost three-quarters of the suspects were charged with some form of assault 

and/or battery, about one-quarter of the defendants were diverted after a plea to sufficient facts, 

another quarter were sentenced to probation, and a little over one-tenth were imprisoned. The 

remainder defaulted or had their cases filed. [23] In Ohio, of those found guilty, almost 70 

percent were incarcerated. The largest number were incarcerated between 30 and 45 days, but 

18.8 percent were incarcerated for 150 to 180 days. A little more than 60 percent of those found 

guilty were placed under probation supervision. The largest number of defendants (30.8 

percent) were incarcerated between 360 and 499 days. [11] In the Brooklyn misdemeanor 

domestic violence court study of 9,157 cases in 2002, of those defendants pleading or found 

guilty, 51 percent received a conditional discharge, 35 percent received a jail sentence, 7 

percent received probation, 5 percent were ordered to complete community service and 1 

percent were fined. [31] In Milwaukee, in the mid-1990s, out of 669 sample cases prosecutors 

accepted for prosecution, 30 percent were convicted with a jail sentence, and a little less than 

one-quarter were sentenced to probation. [39] In Chicago, a little less than one-third of the 

defendants were given conditional discharges, 24 percent were placed on probation or under 

court supervision and 23 percent received a jail sentence (including time served pending trial). 

[107] A study of more than 1,000 domestic violence arrests across three states (Connecticut, 

Idaho and Virginia) found that, of those convicted, three-quarters were incarcerated, sentenced 

to probation and/or fined. A little less than half (46.7 percent) were ordered into either anger 

management or batterer programs. [117]

A study of three domestic violence courts with specialized prosecutors in three different states 

found augmented probation conditions as compared to jurisdictions without domestic violence 

specialization. Augmented conditions included drug and alcohol abstinence and testing, batterer 

intervention programs that lasted longer and were more expensive, more no-contact protective 

orders, attendance at fatherhood programs or women‟s groups for female offenders, more 

mental health evaluations, mandatory employment and restrictions on weapons. [103] 

Studies of four jurisdictions with specialized prosecution programs in as many states document 

that incarceration rates ranged from 20 to 76 percent. Most offenders were placed on probation 

and had to agree to no victim contact and attendance in a batterer treatment program. [196]

In at least one state, imprisonment of domestic violence felons has mushroomed over the last 

decade and a half. The number of domestic violence offenders sent to Ohio prisons increased 

nine-fold between 1991 and 2005. [225]

Performance Measure: By statute, Calif. Penal Code §1203.097, California 

batterers must be sentenced to three years probation; criminal protective orders 

must be incorporated to protect victims from further violence, threats, stalking, 

sexual abuse and harassment; the defendant must complete a batterer program 

of no less than one year, make a minimum $200 payment, perform a specified 

amount of community service, attend a substance abuse treatment program as 

needed, pay restitution and, in lieu of a fine, pay up to $5,000 to a battered 

women‟s shelter.

6.14 Does prosecuting domestic violence offenders deter reabuse?

The research is fairly consistent. Simply prosecuting offenders without regard to the specific risk 

they pose, unlike arresting domestic violence defendants, does not deter further criminal abuse. 

[11, 39, 55, 68, 96] The minority of abusers arrested who are low risk are unlikely to reabuse in 
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the short run, whether prosecuted or not. Alternatively, without the imposition of significant 

sanctions including incarceration, the majority of arrested abusers who are high risk will reabuse 

regardless of prosecution — many while the case against them is pending.

A study of a large number of arrests in three states (Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia) found that 

those who were prosecuted and convicted for domestic violence were more likely to be 

rearrested than offenders who were not convicted. However, in this study, those prosecuted and 

convicted were significantly more likely to be higher risk offenders as measured by prior criminal 

history. [117] 

A number of studies have found that prosecution can reduce subsequent arrests and violence. 

[66, 91, 130, 211, 225, 226] The key to reducing reabuse may depend not on whether the case 

is prosecuted but on the dispositions imposed. For example, a Toledo, Ohio, misdemeanor 

court study found that conviction was significantly associated with reduced rearrests for 

domestic violence one year following court disposition, even when controlling for batterers‟ prior 

history of domestic violence arrests, age, gender, education, employment, and marital status. 

However, the details of the specific disposition mattered. The more intrusive sentences —

including jail, work release, electronic monitoring and/or probation — significantly reduced 

rearrest for domestic violence as compared to the less intrusive sentences of fines or 

suspended sentences without probation. The difference was statistically significant: Rearrests 

were 23.3 percent for defendants with more intrusive dispositions and 66 percent for those with 

less intrusive dispositions. [216] 

Another study of 683 defendants in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, who were arrested for 

misdemeanor domestic violence also confirmed that sentence severity was significantly 

associated with reduced recidivism, especially for unmarried defendants, although in this study 

the actual sentence length (number of days in jail) was not found to be significant. [206] Similar 

research looking at the cumulative effects of arrest followed by prosecution and court 

dispositions (including those receiving batterer treatment) has found modest reductions in 

reabuse to be associated with greater post-arrest criminal justice involvement. [163, 204] 

Research of almost 2,000 domestic violence defendants in Alexandria, Va., found that, over a

period of three and one-half years, repeat offenders were associating with those who had a prior 

criminal history and were not sentenced to incarceration for the study arrest during that period. 

This led researchers to recommend jail sentences for domestic violence defendants with any 

prior criminal history. [172]

The Ohio felony study, however, found mixed results between jail sentences and prison 

sentences. Although jail sentences were significantly related to lower odds of subsequent 

misdemeanor or felony intimate-partner assaults after two years, prison sentences were not 

significantly related. Although the likelihood of new charges was 9 percent less for those jailed 

(compared to those sentenced to probation), the likelihood was only 2 percent lower for those 

imprisoned, compared to those placed on probation. [225] This may simply reflect that the 

sample size in the study was too small to produce a statistically significant effect.

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecution deters domestic violence if it adequately addresses abuser risk by imposing 

appropriately intrusive sentences, including supervised probation and incarceration. (Research 

basis: Although studies conflict with each other on the subject of abuse prosecution, those 

studies that researched prosecutions, and the resulting dispositions that addressed defendant 

risk, suggest that domestic violence prosecution can significantly deter reabuse.)
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6.15 When does sentencing of domestic violence defendants not necessarily 

prevent reabuse?

Some dispositional studies suggest that domestic violence sentencing patterns differ from 

standard sentencing patterns. Surprisingly, domestic violence sentences often do not reflect 

defendants‟ prior criminal history, suggesting that prosecutors and/or judges may disregard prior 

records that are not domestic-violence-related. In the Ohio study, for example, researchers 

found no correlation between offenders‟ prior criminal histories and sentence severity. [11] 

Similarly, the Toledo, Ohio, study found that defendants with prior felony convictions were the 

least likely to be prosecuted and sentenced. [216] In contrast, in both Quincy, Mass., and 

Rhode Island, prior criminal history was significantly associated with severity of sentences. [23,

141] Sentences that do not reflect a defendant‟s prior criminal history (and prior sentences) may 

suggest to the defendant that domestic violence offenses are not taken as seriously as other 

offenses.

Implications for Prosecutors

Domestic violence sentencing should reflect defendants‟ prior criminal histories as well as 

abuse histories, as both indicate risk of reabuse as well as general criminality. (Research basis: 

Disparate sentencing studies found inconsistent variables, including consideration of prior 

records.)

6.16 Are defendants who don’t show up in court more at risk for reabusing than 

those who do?

A Chicago study found that no-show defendants prosecuted by a specialized prosecution team 

had a significantly greater number of post-arrests than those that showed up in court (0.78 vs. 

0.46). [107] Although this has not been examined elsewhere, in a Berkeley arrest study, 

researchers similarly documented that having a pending warrant at the time of the domestic 

violence incident was a significant predictor of reabuse. [228] The Quincy, Mass., arrest study 

also found that suspects who fled the scene before the police arrived were significantly more 

likely to reabuse than those suspects arrested at the scene. [23]

Implications for Prosecutors

If defendants default in court before their sentencing, prosecutors should consider them at 

higher risk for reabusing. (Research basis: Although only one study looked at this issue directly, 

several others found the same association between defendant conduct — not showing up in 

court — and risk of reabusing their victim before being prosecuted for the original abuse.)

6.17 Can “first” offenders be safely diverted or discharged?

In many jurisdictions, a substantial proportion of domestic violence defendants are diverted or 

given dispositions without having guilty findings imposed. Often, these dispositions are given to 

“first” offenders. Notwithstanding this trend, a trio of studies has found that a minimum of a 

quarter of defendants so sentenced reabuse or violate the terms of their conditional release.

In the Quincy, Mass., arrest study, a quarter of the arrested defendants were continued, without 

a finding to be dismissed, if they remained arrest free for six months to one year. These 

dispositions were reserved for defendants with less serious prior criminal and domestic abuse 

histories. These defendants were half as likely to have had prior records for domestic violence 

or crimes against persons or to have been sentenced to probation previously. Unlike those 
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sentenced to probation or jailed who began their criminal careers as teenagers, these 

defendants began theirs at an average age of 25. Nonetheless, a quarter of those continued 

without a finding were arrested or had new protective orders taken out against them within two 

years of their study arrest. Although this reabuse rate was still half that of defendants with more 

substantial prior criminal histories, it was substantially higher than prosecutors and judges had 

anticipated. [138] Similarly, a little more than a quarter of the abusers (27.5 percent) who were 

given a conditional discharge in Cook County violated the conditions. [107]

In Rhode Island, probationary sentences for domestic violence cases without underlying 

suspended sentences constitute an in-court diversion much like cases continued without a 

finding in Massachusetts. (A probationary sentence in Rhode Island does not constitute a 

conviction under state law and therefore does not count as a sentence enhancement to a former 

or subsequent conviction. In the study, those sentenced to probationary sentences were most 

likely to be “first” domestic violence offenders.) Although the average defendant given a 

suspended or split sentence had 1.1 and 1.9 prior domestic violence arrests, respectively, those 

sentenced to probation had 0.5 prior arrests. Nevertheless, the rearrest rate for domestic 

violence for probated defendants was 34.8 percent, compared to 43.6 percent for those given 

suspended sentences and 48.1 percent given split sentences. [141] 

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors must exercise caution in recommending case diversion or conditional discharges, 

even if abusers have minimal prior criminal histories. (Research basis: Limited site studies and 

broader research on offender risk previously cited.)

6.18 Do specialized prosecution units work?

There are a limited number of studies specifically devoted to specialized domestic violence 

prosecution programs. Because specific programs vary, including the resources expended, it is 

difficult to pinpoint what works and what does not. Also, in many instances, these programs 

coexist with specialized domestic violence courts and other programs that may affect outcomes 

independent of the prosecution programs. However, in general, the research suggests that 

these programs work well on a number of levels. 

First, research indicates that victims generally report satisfaction with domestic violence 

prosecutions conducted by specialized prosecution teams. Increased satisfaction may translate 

into increased victim cooperation. For example, in Alexandria, Va., a study revealed that 90.2 

percent of victims found prosecutors either very or somewhat helpful, a higher rating than that 

given to the police or a victim support service agency. The 90.2 percent satisfaction rate 

reported by Alexandria victims compares to only 67.3 percent for victims in Virginia Beach, a 

jurisdiction that did not have a specialized domestic violence response program by police, 

prosecutors or victim advocates. [172] 

Similarly, in Cook County (Chicago), victims reported higher satisfaction with the specialized 

domestic violence prosecution unit than with the prosecutors who handled domestic violence 

outside the unit. The unit featured specially trained prosecutors and vertical prosecution, where 

one prosecutor handles the case from arraignment through final disposition. This unit also had 

its own victim advocates. The victims were also more likely to appear in court: 75 percent 

compared to 25 percent in domestic violence cases in jurisdictions with no specialized domestic 

violence unit. [107]
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The latter finding was not unique. Although victims most commonly reported fear of retaliation 

as a barrier to their participation in prosecution, a three-state study found that the fear was 

reduced in sites with specialized domestic violence courts that also contained specialized 

prosecution programs and increased victim advocacy. [103] However, the same study found 

equal satisfaction with prosecutors in both demonstration sites and comparison sites that had no 

specialized court domestic violence programs. [103]

Second, specialized prosecution programs have significantly increased prosecution and 

conviction rates. The specialized prosecution unit in Cook County (Chicago) obtained a 

conviction rate of 71 percent compared to 50 percent obtained by the rest of the office for 

domestic violence cases. [107] In Milwaukee, the specialized domestic violence prosecution unit 

increased felony convictions five times over, once the unit was established. [104] 

Implementation of a specialized domestic violence prosecution unit in Champaign County, Ill., 

increased prosecutions by 18 percent, and overall domestic violence case dismissals decreased 

by 54 percent. Convictions increased by 22 percent. [109]

However, other studies suggest that specialized prosecution units must be adequately staffed to 

make a difference. The specialized prosecution unit in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), N.C., 

obtained a much lower conviction rate (38 percent), akin to that obtained without specialized 

units. However, researchers noted that the unit was significantly understaffed, with only two 

prosecutors assigned to hundreds of cases annually. [68] Brooklyn‟s specialized felony 

prosecution program within the Borough‟s special felony domestic violence court increased 

convictions from 87 percent to 94 percent for felonies other than protection order violations and 

to 93 percent for violations. Although the rate was higher than before, the difference was not 

statistically significant. [164]

Third, specialized prosecution programs appear to be associated with more robust dispositions 

that also appear to be better monitored and enforced. A study of three domestic violence courts 

with specialized prosecutors in three different states found augmented probation conditions as 

compared to jurisdictions without domestic violence specialization. Augmented conditions 

included drug and alcohol abstinence and testing, batterer intervention programs that lasted 

longer and were more expensive, more no-contact protective orders, attendance at fatherhood 

programs or women‟s groups for female offenders, more mental health evaluations, mandatory 

employment and restrictions on weapons. [103]

Implications for Prosecutors

If adequately funded, specialized domestic violence prosecution units, especially if associated 

with specialized domestic violence law enforcement units and courts, should increase domestic 

violence prosecutions and convictions, victim cooperation and satisfaction and, if dispositions 

are geared to defendant risk of reabuse, more victim safety. (Research basis: Multiple studies in 

disparate jurisdictions.)

6.19 What characterizes specialized prosecution units?

An analysis of dozens of responses of prosecutors‟ offices to domestic violence found that the 

following dimensions characterized their responses: (1) responsiveness to victims (treating them 

as if they were civil plaintiffs as opposed to treating them dispassionately as witnesses to a 

crime), (2) treatment of suspects, (3) expectations for victim participation in prosecution, (4) 

specialization, and (5) information utilization. [227] The specialized units in upstate New York, 

unlike in other prosecutors‟ offices, were more likely to track: (1) cases for specialized 
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prosecution, (2) data to inform the pressing of charges for recidivists, (3) data to inform 

sentencing recommendations, and (4) routinely received police incident reports as well as police 

arrest reports. In addition, specialized domestic violence units were more likely to participate in 

task forces or coalitions involving other criminal justice and community agencies involved in 

responding to domestic violence. [227]

Performance Measure: Most large prosecutors‟ offices have special domestic 

violence units, allowing for innovations such as vertical prosecution for 

misdemeanors, improved case preparation, greater contact with victims, reduced 

caseloads and more malleable court scheduling. [160] One-third of prosecutors 

in small and medium-sized cities across upstate New York also had specialized 

domestic violence prosecution programs, half of which made victim advocates 

available to victims. [227] (Research basis: A 2000 mail survey of 200 of the 

largest jurisdictions in 45 counties of upstate New York.)
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7. Judicial Responses

7.1 Does sentencing domestic violence offenders deter reabuse?

The research is fairly consistent. Simply prosecuting offenders without regard to the specific risk 

they pose, unlike arresting domestic violence defendants, does not deter further criminal abuse. 

[11, 39, 55, 68, 96] The minority of abusers arrested who are low risk are unlikely to reabuse in 

the short run, whether prosecuted or not. Alternatively, without the imposition of significant 

sanctions including incarceration, the majority of arrested abusers who are high risk will reabuse 

regardless of prosecution — many while the case against them is pending.

A study of a large number of arrests in three states (Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia) found that 

those who were prosecuted and convicted for domestic violence were more likely to be 

rearrested than offenders who were not convicted. However, in this study, those prosecuted and 

convicted were significantly more likely to be higher risk offenders as measured by prior criminal 

history. [117] 

A number of studies have found that prosecution can reduce subsequent arrests and violence. 

[66, 91, 130, 211, 225, 226] The key to reducing reabuse may not depend on whether or not the 

case is prosecuted but on the dispositions imposed. For example, a Toledo, Ohio, misdemeanor 

court study found that conviction was significantly associated with reduced rearrests for 

domestic violence one year following court disposition, even when controlling for batterers‟ prior 

history of domestic violence arrests, age, gender, education, employment and marital status. 

However, the details of the specific disposition mattered. The more intrusive sentences —

including jail, work release, electronic monitoring and/or probation — significantly reduced 

rearrest for domestic violence as compared to the less intrusive sentences of fines or 

suspended sentences without probation. The difference was statistically significant: rearrests 

were 23.3 percent for defendants with more intrusive dispositions and 66 percent for those with 

less intrusive dispositions. [216] 

Another study of 683 defendants in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, who were arrested for 

misdemeanor domestic violence also confirmed that sentence severity was significantly 

associated with reduced recidivism, especially for unmarried defendants, although in this study 

the actual sentence length (number of days in jail) was not found to be significant. [206] Similar 

research looking at the cumulative effects of arrest followed by prosecution and court 

dispositions (including those receiving batterer treatment) has found modest reductions in 

reabuse to be associated with greater post-arrest criminal justice involvement. [163, 204] 

Research of almost 2,000 domestic violence defendants in Alexandria, Va., found that, over a 

period of three and one-half years, repeat offenders were associating with those who had a prior 

criminal history and were not sentenced to incarceration for the study arrest during that period. 

This led researchers to recommend jail sentences for domestic violence defendants with any 

prior criminal history. [172]

The Ohio felony study, however, found mixed results between jail sentences and prison 

sentences. Although jail sentences were significantly related to lower odds of subsequent 

misdemeanor or felony intimate-partner assaults after two years, prison sentences were not 

significantly related. Although the likelihood of new charges was 9 percent less for those jailed 

(compared to those sentenced to probation), the likelihood was only 2 percent lower for those 

imprisoned, compared to those placed on probation. [225] This may simply reflect that the 

sample size in the study was too small to produce a statistically significant effect.
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Implications for Judges

Simply imposing guilty findings may not reduce the risk of reabuse. Judges should consider 

more intrusive sentences, including incarceration, for repeat abusers and those with prior 

criminal histories. (Research basis: Although studies conflict with each other on the subject of 

abuse prosecution, several sentencing studies suggest that more intrusive sentences may 

significantly deter reabuse.)

7.2 Should judges follow victim preferences when determining sentences?

Although victim perceptions of the dangerousness of suspects have been found to be good 

predictors of subsequent revictimization [23, 112, 113], victim preferences on how the case 

should be disposed are not good predictors. The victims in the Quincy, Mass., study who 

wanted the charges dropped were as likely to be revictimized (51 percent vs. 48 percent after 

one year) as those who did not want the charges dropped. [23] Similarly, studies in New York 

found that victim cooperation with prosecutors did not predict recidivism. In other words, when 

judges imposed sentences to which victims objected, these victims were no more or less likely 

to be revictimized than victims who wanted their abusers to be prosecuted and sentenced. [145]

Implications for Judges

Although judges should be open to victims‟ views, they should explain to victims (and, as 

important, to defendants) that the court is obligated to determine sentences as it deems best, 

with or without victims‟ agreement. (Research basis: Only one study directly compared victim 

prosecution wishes and subsequent reabuse.)

7.3 What should the response be when the suspect is brought in on an arrest 

or court-default warrant?

A large percentage of alleged abusers leave the crime scene before law enforcement arrives. 

Where noted, absence rates range from 42 to 66 percent. [23, 50, 117, 227, 228] Pursuing 

them, including the issuance of warrants, is associated with reduced revictimization. [50] 

Pursuing absent suspects may be of particular utility because limited research finds that 

suspects who flee the scene before police arrive are significantly more likely to have prior 

criminal histories and higher reabuse rates than those arrested at the scene. [23] Similarly, 

another study also finds higher reabuse if the victim is gone when officers arrive. [228] 

Similarly, decreasing defendant defaults may also be associated with reduced reabuse. A study 

of Cook County‟s four misdemeanor domestic violence courts found that no-show defendants 

had a significantly greater number of new arrests than those who showed up in court (0.78 vs. 

0.46). [107] 

Implications for Judges

Judges should treat alleged abusers who are brought to court on warrants at least as seriously 

as those arrested at the scene, even if the defendant appeared “voluntarily” to clear up the 

warrant. (Research basis: Numerous studies confirm that a large proportion of abusers flee the 

scene; only one study has looked at differences in records of those who fled the scene and 

those who didn‟t.)
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7.4 What are current abuser sentencing practices?

Just as prosecution rates vary widely, so does sentencing of domestic violence perpetrators,

even though the vast majority of domestic violence defendants are prosecuted for misdemeanor 

assaults. Although the United States Civil Rights Commission and National Council of Juvenile 

and Family Court Judges have opposed the practice [57, 214], many jurisdictions routinely divert 

abuse cases. In the Brooklyn Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Court study of 9,157 cases in 

2002, of those pleading or found guilty, 51 percent received a conditional discharge, 35 percent 

received jail, 7 percent received probation, 5 percent were ordered to complete community 

service and 1 percent were fined. [31] 

In Chicago, a little less than a third were given conditional discharges, 24 percent received 

probation or court supervision, and 23 percent were sent to jail (including time served pending 

trial). [107] While in Massachusetts, where three-quarters of the suspects (74.1 percent) were 

charged with some form of assault and/or battery, a quarter of the defendants were diverted, a 

quarter placed on probation and 13.5 percent imprisoned. [23] In Ohio, of those found guilty, 

almost 70 percent were incarcerated, with the largest number incarcerated between 30 and 45 

days, although 18.8 percent were incarcerated 150 to 180 days. [11] The number of domestic 

violence offenders sent to Ohio prisons increased nine-fold between 1991 and 2005. [225] In 

three different states with specialized prosecution programs, 52 percent to 76 percent of 

convicted abusers were incarcerated. [196]

If placed on probation, supervision ranges from unsupervised to intensive, with a variety of 

special conditions. Most defendants in the specialized prosecution courts along with jail were 

placed on probation with a condition of no victim contact, undergoing batterer treatment, drug 

and alcohol abstinence and testing, attendance at fatherhood programs or women‟s groups for 

female offenders, mental health evaluations, mandatory employment and restrictions on 

weapons. [103] A study of over a thousand domestic violence arrests across three states, 

Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia, found that, of those convicted, a little less than half (46.7 

percent) were ordered into either anger management or batterer programs. [117]

By statute, Cal. Penal Code §1203.097, California batterers must be sentenced to three years 

probation; criminal protective orders must be incorporated to protect victims from further 

violence, threats, stalking, sexual abuse and harassment; the defendant must complete a 

batterer program of no less than a year, make a minimum $200 payment, and perform a 

specified amount of community service as well as attending substance abuse treatment as 

needed, pay restitution and, in lieu of a fine, pay up to $5,000 to a battered women‟s shelter. 

However, a 2005 study revealed widespread variance with the law in practice by allowing 

defendants to plead guilty to nondomestic violence crimes such as assault or trespass. [149] 

7.5 What accounts for dispositions?

The research suggests that domestic violence dispositions do not always follow standard 

sentencing patterns, often not reflecting defendants‟ prior criminal histories, suggesting that 

prosecutors and judges disregard prior records that are not related to domestic violence 

charges. In a large Ohio court study, for example, researchers found no correlation between 

offenders‟ prior criminal histories and sentence severity. [11] Similarly and surprisingly, the 

Toledo, Ohio, study found defendants with prior felony convictions were the least likely to be 

prosecuted and sentenced. [216] In contrast, in both Quincy, Mass., and Rhode Island, prior 

criminal history was significantly associated with the severity of sentences. [23, 141]
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Victim preference was not found to be a significant factor in sentencing in Quincy, Mass., 

Everett, Wash., Klamath Falls, Ore., Omaha, Neb., San Diego, Calif., or Ohio. [11, 23, 196] In 

these jurisdictions, factors associated with more severe sentences varied considerably and 

included whether there was strangulation, the gender of the defendant, whether the defendant 

and victim were living together, the size of the prosecutor‟s caseload, and so on. No consistent 

patterns were noted from study to study.

Implications for Judges

Sentences should reflect defendants‟ prior criminal histories as well as abuse histories, as both 

indicate risk of reabuse as well as general criminality. It is a mistake for judges to consider 

abusers with prior criminal histories as “first offenders” simply because they have no prior record 

specifically for domestic violence. (Research basis: Disparate sentencing studies find 

inconsistent variables including consideration of prior records.)

7.6 Are defendants who don’t show up in court more at risk for reabuse than 

those who do?

The Chicago study found that no-show defendants prosecuted by a specialized prosecution 

team had a significantly greater number of post-arrests than those that showed (0.78 vs. 0.46). 

[107] While this has not been examined elsewhere, in a Berkeley arrest study, researchers 

similarly documented that having a pending warrant at the time of the domestic violence incident 

was a significant predictor of reabuse. [228] The Quincy, Mass., arrest study also found that 

suspects who flee the scene before police arrived were significantly more likely to reabuse than 

those arrested at the scene. [23]

Implications for Judges

If defendants default in court prior to sentencing, judges should consider them higher risk for 

reabuse for purposes of bail, fashioning civil orders and sentencing. (Research basis: Although 

only one study looked at this issue directly, several others found the same association between 

defendant conduct and reabuse pre-prosecution.)

7.7 Can “first” offenders be safely diverted or discharged?

The few studies that have examined reabuse among diverted or discharged abusers have 

consistently found that a steady minority continued to reabuse, notwithstanding no or minimal 

prior records. In the Quincy arrest study, for example, a quarter of the arrested defendants were 

continued, without a finding to be dismissed, if they remained arrest free for six months to a 

year, a disposition reserved for first or lesser defendants. A quarter were arrested or had new 

protective orders taken out against them within two years of their study arrest. Although this 

reabuse rate was still half that of defendants with more substantial prior criminal histories, it was 

substantially higher than prosecutors and judges had anticipated. [138] Similarly, a little over a 

quarter of the abusers (27.5 percent) given a conditional discharge in Cook County violated the 

conditional discharge. [107] While those placed on probation in Rhode Island with guilty findings 

was higher than those placed on probation without guilty findings, the rearrest rate for domestic 

violence over one year was still 35 percent. [141] 

Implications for Judges

Judges cannot assume that defendants with no or limited prior records for domestic violence 

can be diverted pre-adjudication or given conditional discharges without consistently 
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compromising safety for at least a quarter of their victims. (Research basis: Limited site studies 

as well as broader research on offender risk previously cited.)

7.8 Who obtains civil protective orders?

The research suggests that abusers brought to court for civil protective orders differ little from 

their peers arrested by police for domestic abuse. Studies have found that they have equivalent 

criminal histories, ranging from 65 percent in a study of respondents in Denver, Delaware and 

the District of Columbia [133] to a little more than 70 percent in a Texas study [26] and 80

percent in a Massachusetts study. [134] Another Massachusetts study of protective order 

violators found that 80 percent had a prior record, including 69 percent who were charged for a 

prior nondomestic but violent offense. [2] 

One of the reasons for the substantial overlap between abusers brought to court for civil orders 

and those arrested for abuse by police is that many petitioners come to civil court as a result of 

police encouragement following an abuse incident involving police. In a multicourt study, 43 

percent of victims who obtained civil protective orders said they either learned of the orders or 

were encouraged to apply for them by police responding to a domestic violence incident. [182]

Implications for Judges

Victims seeking civil remedies for abuse are at the same level of risk for reabuse as victims of 

abusers arrested for abusing them. (Research basis: Extensive research of civil petitioners that 

was conducted in disparate jurisdictions.)

7.9 When and why do victims ask for orders?

Researchers agree that most victims do not request civil orders after the first abuse incident or 

assault. According to the NVAW survey, only 16.4 percent of rape victims, 17.1 percent of 

assault victims, and 36.6 percent of stalking victims petitioned for protective orders following an 

abuse incident. [209] A survey of victims in battered women‟s shelters found that only 40 

percent had obtained protective orders before fleeing their homes and entering the shelter. [178] 

Finally, several studies based on samples of women who reported abuse to police found that 

only 12 to 22 percent had secured protective orders. [120, 220]

Often, victims petition courts for orders after failing to stem the abuse through other means. In a 

multicourt study involving both an inner city minority jurisdiction and a suburban nonminority city 

south of Boston, female victims had tried to protect themselves in a variety of other ways before 

petitioning court for an order. Perhaps most significantly, 68 percent had left their abuser at 

least once, and 15 percent had kicked their abuser out of the home at least once before 

petitioning the courts for orders. In addition, 78 percent had called police at least once before, 

30 percent had obtained counseling, and 25 percent had called a hotline or had gone to a 

shelter. [182] In a Colorado study, half of the petitioners had left their abusers at the time of the 

incident that provoked the protective order petition. [105] Studies have found that between 27 

and 50 percent of victims are living with their abuser at the time of the incident that prompted 

the order request [106, 133, 182], whereas between 37 and 46 percent file for orders after they 

have left. [74, 75]

As a result, most victims who petition courts for protection orders have suffered several years of 

abuse with the same abuser before coming to court for the first time. In a multistate (and District 

of Columbia) study, researchers found that only 10 percent sought protection orders after a 

week of abuse, 15 percent experienced abuse for one to two years, and nearly 25 percent had 
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endured abuse for more than five years. [133] In a Colorado study, the average female 

petitioner suffered 12.74 abusive behaviors in the year before requesting their orders (e.g., 

being threatened to being raped). About 20 percent reported that their prior abuse included the 

more serious behaviors, including strangling, forced sex and beating. The duration ranged from 

once to 31 years, with a median of 2.4 years. [105]

The specific incident that prompted victims to petition for protective orders generally involved

physical abuse. In the multistate (and District of Columbia) study, more than a third had been 

threatened or injured with a weapon (36.8 percent), more than half (54.4 percent) had 

experienced severe physical abuse, 83.9 percent experienced mild physical abuse, and almost 

all (98.9 percent) had been intimidated through threats, stalking and harassment. [133] In 

Quincy, Mass., almost two-thirds (64.4 percent) of the victims were physically assaulted, and 

another third had been threatened with death or harm to them, their children or a relative. [134] 

Similarly, in a Colorado study, 56 percent of the female petitioners had sustained physical 

injuries during the incident that led to the protective order requests. [105] In the two courts 

studied in Massachusetts (one located in a minority neighborhood of Boston, the other a south 

shore mid-sized city), 92 percent of the petitions filed by female victims described incidents that 

constituted criminal acts, and 70 percent of them constituted assault and battery. Breaking 

down the affidavits further, the researcher found that 48 percent described separation violence; 

22 percent described punishment, coercion and retaliation concerning children; and 12 percent 

described retaliation for calling police. A total of 65 percent of the female petitioners told the 

researcher that the abuser had threatened them with death, 35 percent had visited hospitals as 

a result of prior violence in the past, 30 percent suffered sexual abuse and, of those who were 

mothers, 51 percent reported threats to take children from them or report them as unfit to child 

protective services. [182]

On the other hand, the incident that prompts victims to seek orders may not be the most serious 

incident they experienced at the hand of their abusers. Research has found that the seriousness 

of the incident itself is not predictive of a future risk of reabuse. [23, 39, 134, 141, 145, 172]

Implications for Judges

Although petitions focus on the most recent, discrete incident, the incident rarely reveals fully 

the nature of the abuse suffered by the petitioner or the risk for future abuse. Post-separation 

abuse frequently involves stalking behavior, a risk factor for further abuse, and even lethality. To 

obtain more information, judges need to further question victims and review respondents‟ prior 

criminal and civil history. (Research basis: Extensive studies of petitioners in disparate 

jurisdictions as well as many abuser studies.)

7.10 How many abusers violate court protective orders?

Research varies, but violation rates have been found to range from 23 percent over two years 

[26], 35 percent within six months [133], to 60 percent within twelve months [105], and in 

between at 48.8 percent within two years. [134] A Rhode Island study found consistent violation 

of criminal no-contact orders imposed after domestic violence arrests, resulting in subsequent 

concurrent sentences for both the initial domestic violence offense and the no-contact violation. 

Furthermore, the study also found that the majority (51 percent) of abusers sentenced 

concurrently for abuse-related offenses and no-contact violations reabused their victims. The 

rearrest rate for new abuse for abusers specifically convicted of civil protection order violations 

was 44 percent, and for criminal no-contact orders it was 48 percent, higher than all other 

domestic violence offenses, which ranged from 25 to 39 percent. [141]
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The actual rates of violation of protective orders are higher if reabuse is measured by new 

domestic violence arrests or victim self-reports. In addition, order violation rates may not 

accurately reflect reabuse over a specific period of time because many victims do not retain or 

decide to drop orders. Although “permanent orders” in Massachusetts are for one year, almost 

half of the female victims subsequently returned to court to drop their orders before the year 

ended. [134] A review of disparate jurisdictions revealed that retention rates varied from 16 

percent in Omaha, Neb., in 2003 [135] to 69 percent in the District of Columbia in 2000 [200]

and 80 percent in East Norfolk, Mass., in 1995. [134]

Implications for Judges

As with the arrest of abusers, the issuance of protective orders alone does not assure victims‟ 

safety. Judges should advise victims of their protective order limitations. (Research basis: 

Multiple studies in disparate jurisdictions.)

7.11 Do protective orders work?

The research has not been able to answer this question definitively, mainly because it is not 

ethically permissible to randomly grant or deny protective orders to compare results. 

Furthermore, these orders may “work” at different levels. 

First, in terms of their effectiveness in deterring repeat abuse, before and after studies suggest 

that protective orders may deter certain abusers. In Travis County, Texas, over a period of two 

years before and after order issuance, physical abuse dropped from 68 percent to 23 percent 

after the orders were obtained, if victims maintained the order. If the abusers were also arrested 

at the time of the order issuance, the physical abuse diminished further; if they had children, it 

diminished less. [26] These studies cannot reveal whether or not the abuse would have 

naturally declined overtime without the orders because, for example, the victims are more likely 

to have left their abusers when they obtained the orders.

Several Seattle studies compared women who obtained orders to women who were abused (as 

indicated by a police incident report) but did not obtain orders. They found that women with 

permanent orders were less likely to be physically abused than women without them. However, 

women who had temporary orders that lasted only two weeks were more likely to be 

psychologically abused than women who did not obtain any orders. The women who did not 

obtain orders appeared at higher risk for abuse, involvement with alcohol and drugs, more likely 

to have been assaulted and injured as a result of the study incident, and less likely to have been 

married to their abuser. The study did not look at violations of protective orders that did not 

involve physical assaults. [120] The second Seattle study found that the orders were more 

effective nine months after they were obtained than during the first five-month period, 

significantly reducing the likelihood of contact, threats with weapons, injuries and the need for 

medical care. [121] 

Finally, several other studies that compared women who maintained orders and those who 

dropped them, or did not return for permanent orders, found that order retention made no 

difference in reabuse rates. [105, 134] A Rhode Island study involving criminal no-contact 

orders, issued automatically during a domestic violence arrest, also found that whether victims 

allowed the orders to be continued for the length of the criminal case and probationary 

sentences that followed (usually one year) or not, the reabuse rates did not vary. [141]
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At least one study suggests that the specific stipulations of the protective orders may make a 

difference. Specifically, victims are more likely to be reabused if their orders bar abusive contact 

but not all contact. Compared to women whose orders barred all contact, those that barred only 

abusive contact were significantly more likely to suffer psychological violence, physical violence, 

sexual coercion and injuries within one year. [150]

Nonetheless, the research consistently finds that victims largely express satisfaction with civil 

orders, even if they are violated by their abusers. [134] In the multisite study in Massachusetts, 

86 percent of the women who obtained a permanent order said that the order either stopped or 

reduced the abuse, notwithstanding the fact that 59 percent called police to report an order 

violation. Upon further questioning, the women expressed the feeling that the order 

demonstrated to the abuser that the “law was on her side.” [182] In a multistate study, victims 

who obtained orders reported that the orders improved their overall well-being, especially if the 

abuser had a prior criminal history and were more likely to reabuse. [133] It may be that, even 

though orders do not stop abuse, they reduce the severity of the reabuse. Alternatively, 

although they may not affect the extent of reabuse, protective orders make victims feel 

vindicated and empowered.

Although not studied directly, it appears to be significantly easier for law enforcement to monitor 

and enforce protective and no-contact orders than to monitor and interrupt abuse in general. 

This may explain why abusers are significantly more likely to be arrested for protective order 

violations than other common domestic violence offenses. The rearrest rate for abusers in 

Rhode Island initially arrested for violation of protection or no-contact orders was 45.6 percent 

over one year, compared to 37.6 percent for domestic assaults, disorderly conduct or 

vandalism. [141] Of course, it may also be the case that abusers with orders are generally at 

higher risk for reabusing than abusers without orders.

Implications for Judges

Victims should be encouraged to take out protective orders and retain them but should also be 

advised that the orders do not deter all abusers and may be more effective when accompanied 

by criminal prosecution of the abuser. (Research basis: Numerous studies indicating consistent 

victim satisfaction with orders, complemented by studies that have consistently found that 

orders do not appear to significantly increase the risk of reabuse and may deter some abusers.)

7.12 Does judicial demeanor make a difference?

Although few studies have looked at judicial conduct specifically, a multisite study in 

Massachusetts found that judges issuing orders fell into three categories: (1) those with “goodnatured demeanors,” who were supportive and informative with victims and firm with abusers; 

(2) those with “bureaucratic demeanors,” who were firm and formal with all parties; and (3) 

those with “condescending, harsh and demeaning demeanors” but who were often goodnatured with abusers. The research found that victims felt more empowered, listened to, and 

were more likely to retain orders issued by the first category of judges rather than the two other 

groups. The first group was also more likely to cooperate with prosecutors on concurrent 

criminal charges against the abusers. Most of the judges were found to be in the first group. 

[182]

Another study compared two Massachusetts courts within 10 miles of each other. One court 

was characterized as “user friendly” for victims, with a special office for victims to complete 

forms as well as special court sessions so petitioners did not have to wait to see judges. The 
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other court was more bureaucratic, with no special offices or sessions for victims. Victims in the 

first court had an 80 percent retention rate (i.e., they returned to obtain permanent orders after 

the temporary orders expired), whereas those in the other court had a 20 percent return rate. 

[101] Similarly and perhaps for the same reason, specialized domestic violence courts have 

also been found to increase victim order retention rates. A study of a District of Columbia 

domestic violence court found that it increased retention from 40 to 55 percent after imposition 

of the specialized domestic violence sessions. [200] 

In a related study of upstate New York courts, a study across multiple jurisdictions found that 

the demeanor of the judge also reverberated across the criminal justice system. It found that, 

even compared to a “rights-oriented” judge who held police and prosecutors to a high 

evidentiary standard (which they often met), a judge who strongly believed that domestic 

violence cases did not belong in court stifled and discouraged both domestic violence arrests in 

the community and prosecutions in court. [227]

Implications for Judges

Judges should strive to create user-friendly, safe court environments for petitioners, be 

sympathetic to the parties before them, but firm with respondents once abuse has been 

determined. Thus, victim concerns are validated, and respondents‟ abusive behaviors are 

clearly condemned. (Research basis: Limited studies confined to three different court 

jurisdictions in Massachusetts.)

7.13 Do specialized domestic violence courts work?

Although relatively new, some research shows that specialized domestic violence courts are 

associated with decreased reoffending and reabuse. The reduction may be due to reforms of 

court processes or a corresponding specialization of domestic violence prosecution and/or 

probation supervision, or all three. A study of Milwaukee‟s federally funded domestic violence 

court found that the number of arrests were halved for domestic violence defendants sentenced 

to probation, compared to those sentenced to probation before court reform. The rearrest rate 

dropped from 8 percent to 4.2 percent. The average number of new arrests also dropped 

significantly. Researchers posited that one of the prime explanations for the drop was a 

corresponding rise in the use of incarceration as a sentence. As a result of tight judicial 

monitoring and enforcement of release conditions, the post-reform probationers spent 13,902 

days confined, compared to the 1,059 days probationers spent jailed in the days before court 

reform. In other words, those sentenced by the special domestic violence court had less time on 

the streets to reabuse and reoffend. [104]

Studies also found reduced reabuse rates at one other federally funded domestic violence court,

in Dorchester, Mass., over a period of 11 months, but not in a third model domestic violence 

court examined in Michigan. In all three sites, researchers found that the courts were most 

effective with 18- to 29-year-old defendants, and offenders with seven or more prior arrests 

whose victims had moderate to high support, did not have children with their abusers, and 

whose relationship with them was less than three years. Although reabuse declined in two of the 

courts, overall new arrests for any offense were not statistically different, although they were in 

the expected direction: 22 percent for the domestic violence courts, and 28 percent for the 

nondomestic violence courts. [103]

Three other studies of specialized domestic violence courts have found small but significant 

reductions in reoffending [79, 91], including a study of the San Diego superior court, in which 
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rearrests dropped from 21 to 14 percent in one year. [180] An evaluation of Cook County‟s four 

domestic violence courts, on the other hand, found no differences in rearrest rates over six 

months. [107] 

Apart from reduced reabuse rates, domestic violence courts are associated with increased 

convictions and decreased dismissals. [40, 104, 115, 164] In Cook County, the four 

misdemeanor domestic violence courts significantly increased the likelihood of victims 

appearing in court when compared with their appearance in general courts (73 vs. 40 percent). 

This, in turn, correlated with increased conviction rates of 73 percent in domestic violence courts 

compared to 22.9 percent in general courts. [107] 

Although domestic violence victims generally rate their court experiences highly, they rate 

domestic violence courts even more highly. [52, 91, 124] One study found that if victims were 

aware that there was a domestic violence court, three-quarters of the victims were more likely to 

report future violence. [196] One of the reasons that victims may prefer domestic violence courts 

may be the court contacts providing increased victim services and referrals to victim advocates, 

documented in several of the studies. [103, 115, 164] This may be why the District of Columbia 

domestic violence court was able to report an increased rate of civil protective order retention 

from 40 to 55 percent. [200] Domestic violence courts are also associated with more efficient 

processing of cases. The study of Manhattan‟s domestic violence misdemeanor court 

experienced faster case processing as well as improved identification of domestic violence 

cases. [179] 

The research also finds that domestic violence courts increase offender compliance by imposing 

court-ordered conditions and by increasing in the penalties for noncompliance. [104, 164] The 

study of Manhattan‟s domestic violence misdemeanor court documented enhanced monitoring 

of offenders after their convictions. [179] Defendants in Milwaukee were required to attend postdisposition court reviews 60 to 90 days after disposition. In 2002, the court conducted 1,347 

such reviews, and probation revocations increased dramatically. [104]

Implications for Judges

Specialized domestic violence courts are associated with beneficial reforms in several areas, 

including victim safety and satisfaction, offender accountability, and more efficient case-flow 

processing. (Research basis: The research is based mainly on disparate process evaluations of 

specialized domestic violence courts. The research does not suggest, however, that judges 

presiding over general trial courts cannot adopt similar practices and thereby achieve the same 

results in each case.)

7.14 What makes specialized domestic violence courts different?

A 2004 study found 160 jurisdictions across the country with specialized domestic violence 

courts. The majority of these courts had the following traits in common: (1) effective 

management of domestic violence cases, coordinating all of the cases involving the relevant 

parties and integrating requisite information for the court; (2) specialized intake and court 

staffing for domestic violence cases; (3) improved victim access, expedited hearings, and 

assistance for victims by court staff, often assisted by related specialized, vertical domestic 

violence prosecution units; (4) court processes to ensure victims‟ safety (e.g., court metal 

detectors, separate waiting rooms, specialized orders and victim referrals; (5) increased court 

monitoring and enforcement of batterer compliance with court orders, often exercised by 
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specialized probation supervision units; (6) consideration of any children involved in the 

domestic violence; and (7) enhanced domestic violence training for judges. [132]

Pretrial Monitoring of Defendants

In the specialized domestic violence court in San Diego, Calif., a bail amount of $10,000 surety 

or $1,000 cash is standard for each misdemeanor domestic violence charge. In Everett, Wash., 

$10,000 is the typical bail, without a cash alternative. Increases in the holding of defendants 

pretrial has been shown to increase plea bargains at arraignment. In San Diego, 46 percent of 

defendants were found to plead at arraignment. [196] After establishment of a specialized 

domestic violence court in Milwaukee, 20 percent plead guilty before they were assigned a trial 

date. [103, 104] Increased restrictions on defendant-victim contact have also been found to 

increase the likelihood of conviction. [103, 104] 

Decreasing defendant defaults may also be associated with reduced reabuse. A study of Cook 

County‟s four misdemeanor domestic violence courts found that no-show defendants had a 

significantly greater number of new arrests than those who showed in court (0.78 vs. 0.46). 

[107] This is consistent with research that found that defendants who flee the abuse incident 

before police arrive are twice as likely to reabuse than those who remain at the scene of the 

incident. [23]

As a result of enhanced pretrial processing after the establishment of the specialized court, 

convictions through guilty pleas increased and trials decreased in the Brooklyn (Kings County), 

N.Y., felony domestic violence court, while the conviction rate remained the same. [164] 

Implications for Judges. Judicial attention before trial to address the risk to victims posed by 

alleged abusers will result in quicker case resolution and decrease reabuse by defendants who 

fail to show for trial. (Research basis: Multiple studies from multiple jurisdictions.)

Enhanced Court Dispositions

Court dispositions in specialized domestic violence courts tend to be more substantial than 

elsewhere and more rigorously enforced. In Everett, Wash., and Klamath Falls, Ore., 

defendants were more likely to be ordered to attend batterer intervention programs and drug 

counseling and to be ordered to abstain from drugs and submit to testing. Furthermore, the 

batterer intervention programs increased in length and cost. At these and other sites with 

specialized court programs, defendants were more likely to be ordered to have no contact with 

their victims. [196] In terms of enforcement, in Milwaukee, a study revealed that after 

implementation of the specialized domestic violence court system, there was a dramatic 

increase in probation revocations (27 percent compared to the previous 2 percent). Most 

revocations (70 percent) were for technical violations such as failure to attend batterer 

intervention programs. [104] 

In Massachusetts and Cook County, Ill., specialized domestic violence courts reduced deferred 

prosecutions and increased the percentage of defendants who were sentenced to jail time. 

Court conviction rates in the latter rose from 50 percent to 71.4 percent; the likelihood of jail 

increased significantly from 6.7 percent to 31.3 percent. [107]

Implications for Judges. Judges presiding over specialized domestic violence courts appear 

more likely to impose more intrusive sanctions against convicted abusers. (Research basis: 

Disparate studies demonstrate a correlation, although specialized domestic violence courts may 

offer judges enhanced dispositional options, including specialized probationary supervision 
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programs for abusers. These specialized courts may also have judges who are better informed 

about domestic violence than other judges.)

7.15 Do enhanced domestic violence dispositions require enhanced 

postdisposition court time and resources?

Studies have found that enhanced sentencing of abusers involving probation with relevant 

conditions (e.g., batterer programs, abstinence or no-contact orders) requires enhanced 

monitoring because many abuser probationers typically fail to comply.

Studies have documented that noncompliance rates prompting formal revocations of probation 

ranged from 12 percent in the Dorchester, Mass., courts to 27 percent in Milwaukee 

misdemeanor domestic violence courts. [103] In Cook County‟s four misdemeanor domestic 

violence courts, the revocation rate was 27.5 percent. [107] Higher rates were found in a series 

of other studies of domestic violence supervision programs across Illinois: 38.5 percent in 

Sangamond (Springfield) County, 33 percent in Peoria, and 22.8 percent in Tazewell County. 

The revocation rate was more than 50 percent in Quincy, Mass. [108, 109, 138] In Brooklyn‟s 

felony domestic violence court, the rate was 33 percent. [164]

Revocation rates may reflect probation resources and policies as much as they reflect 

probationers‟ conduct. For example, an evaluation of Rhode Island‟s specialized domestic 

violence probation supervision unit found that the unit‟s probation revocation rate was 44 

percent, whereas the rate for comparable abuse probationers supervised in larger mixed 

caseloads during the same period was only 24.7 percent. Almost all of the violations were for 

noncompliance with the state‟s mandated batterer intervention program. [141] 

Implications for Judges

Enhanced dispositions increase the likelihood of technical violations, which require additional 

judicial time if defendants are to be held accountable. (Research basis: Multiple studies in 

disparate jurisdictions.)

7.16 Does the type of postdispositional monitoring matter?

Studies are mixed concerning the impact of postdisposition judicial monitoring, which probably 

should not be surprising because the quality of judicial monitoring is undoubtedly mixed as well. 

For example, a quasi-experimental study involving the Bronx domestic violence court found that 

judicial monitoring did not reduce recidivism, although there was a modest but transitory oneyear reduction in domestic violence arrests. However, the same study found the quality of the 

monitoring program to be problematic. [185] A study of the San Diego court system attributed a 

decrease in rearrests, from 21 to 14 percent in one year, to judicial monitoring. [180] Other 

studies also suggest that a longer period of court control is associated with reduced reabuse. 

[42] Increased pretrial court appearances have also been associated with decreased reabuse. 

[179]

Studies have also found that probation supervision increases the number of offenders who 

complete batterer intervention programs. A multiyear study across Massachusetts found that the 

batterer program completion rate was 62 percent for those offenders whose cases were 

supervised but was only 30 percent for those whose cases were unsupervised. [18]
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Implications for Judges

Postdispositional patterns of compliance and enforcement should be reviewed periodically to 

ensure that the crucial role of judges‟ postdisposition is being fulfilled. (Research basis: Several 

studies in disparate jurisdictions are suggestive but, given the variety of court contexts, no 

specific model of a postdispositional monitoring program has emerged, or is likely to emerge, as 

better than any other.)

7.17 Does probation supervision of abusers reduce likelihood of reabuse?

A few studies of probation supervision of abusers have been conducted. A quasi-experimental 

study across the state of Rhode Island found that those abusers who were supervised in a 

specialized domestic violence probation program — featuring victim contact, slightly more 

intensive supervision of abusers (twice a month), intensive monitoring of mandated batterer 

intervention programs, and probation officers who volunteered to supervise these caseloads —

were significantly less likely to commit new offenses and abuse within one year, but this applied 

only to those probationers who had not been on probation previously. [137, 141] 

Although specialized domestic violence courts often involve specialized probation supervision 

programs, probation‟s contribution to these courts‟ successes (and failures) has not been 

studied separately. The cumulative effect of probation monitoring and counseling completion 

has been found to significantly lower recidivism. [163] Another researcher has found that 

enhanced domestic-violence supervision programs have reduced reoffending compared to 

nonenhanced supervision. [108]

Implications for Judges

Specialized supervision of abusers may help reduce reabuse. (Research basis: Tentative 

findings based on only limited studies.)
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8. Intervention Programs

8.1 Do batterer intervention programs prevent reabuse?

Commonly, whether diverted, probated or jailed, many domestic violence offenders are required 

to attend batterer intervention programs. These programs have increased dramatically over the 

past several decades. [110]

During this time, there have been more than 35 evaluations of batterer intervention programs, 

but they have yielded inconsistent results. Two meta-analyses of the more rigorous studies find 

the programs have, at best, a “modest” treatment effect, producing a minimal reduction in rearrests for domestic violence. [8, 62] In one of the meta-analyses, the treatment effect translated 

to a 5-percent improvement rate in cessation of reassaults due to the treatment. [8] In the other, 

it ranged from none to 0.26, roughly representing a reduction in recidivism from 13 to 20 

percent. [62]

On the other hand, a few studies have found that batterer intervention programs make abusers 

more likely to reabuse [90, 102] or have found no reduction in abuse at all. [36, 42, 61] 

The multistate study of four batterer programs concludes that approximately a quarter of 

batterers appear unresponsive and resistant to batterer intervention. In this long-term study, 

based on victim and/or abuser interviews and/or police arrests, approximately half of the 

batterers reassaulted their initial or new partners sometime during the study‟s 30-month followup. Most of the reassaults occurred within the first six months of program intake. Nearly a 

quarter of the batterers repeatedly assaulted their partners during the follow-up and accounted 

for nearly all of the severe assaults and injuries. [84, 85, 88] 

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Batterer programs, in and of themselves, are not likely to protect most victims or new intimate 

partners of referred abusers from further harm from higher risk abusers. Consequently, if 

mandated or utilized, batterer intervention programs should be supplemented by other 

measures to assure victim safety from these abusers. (Research basis: Multiple single studies 

as well as two meta-analyses of studies from disparate jurisdictions in different contexts across 

the country.)

8.2 Does the type or length of batterer intervention program make a 

difference?

Several studies have found that the type of batterer intervention program, whether feminist, 

psycho-educational, or cognitive-behavioral, does not affect reabuse. [8, 51, 88] One study also 

found that a “culturally focused” program specifically designed for black male abusers did no 

better than the program offered to all abusers. In fact, those assigned to a conventional, racially 

mixed group were half as likely to be arrested for reassaults compared to those assigned to a 

black culturally focused counseling group or a conventional group of all blacks. [87] 

However, a rigorous study based in New York City found the length of the program (26 weeks 

compared to 8 weeks) may make a difference, with the longer program proving more effective at 

deterring reabuse. The researchers suggest that the longer program‟s increased effectiveness 

was due to its longer suppression effect while abusers were mandated to attend, whether or not 
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they actually attended. [42] On the other hand, a multistate study of four programs ranging in 

length from 3 to 9 months found no difference in subsequent reabuse. [84, 85, 88]

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

As long as the batterer intervention program is focused on preventing reabuse, the type of 

program makes no difference. However, longer batterer programs may be better than shorter 

programs. (Research basis: Although only one study speaks to the suppression effects of 

batterer programs, the finding that batterer programs provide little treatment effect suggests that 

programs‟ effectiveness may result from their suppression effect and/or the context in which 

they operate, including probation supervision or periodic court compliance hearings. These 

findings argue for longer programs.)

Performance Measure: By statute, batterer intervention programs mandated for 

convicted abusers in California Penal Code §1203.097(A)(6) must be conducted 

for two hours each week and for a minimum of 52 consecutive weeks.

8.3 Do couples counseling or anger management treatment programs prevent 

reabuse?

There has been little recent research on the application of couples counseling involving 

batterers and their victims [201] as most batterer treatment standards prohibit couples 

counseling. [7] While an early study in 1985 found it ineffective, with half of the couples 

reporting new violence within six weeks of couples counseling [148], other studies found lower 

reabuse rates. [47] A small study suggests that couples counseling after separate counseling 

for batterers and victims may be safe and beneficial for couples who want to remain together. 

[129]

Although anger management is often part of batterer intervention programs based on cognitive 

psychology, most state batterer treatment standards prohibit generic anger management 

programs or couples counseling as alternative forms of treatment on their own. [7] 

In one of the largest studies to date, the Office of the Commissioner of Probation in 

Massachusetts studied a sample of 945 defendants arraigned for violating a protective order. As 

part of their subsequent disposition, they were ordered into a certified batterer intervention 

program, anger management program, and/or a mental health treatment or substance abuse 

treatment program; 13 percent were sent to multiple programs. The study found that those 

referred to 12- to 20-week anger management programs had a higher completion rate than 

those referred to the much longer 40-week batterer intervention programs. Higher completion 

rates notwithstanding, there was no difference in rearrest rates for those who completed anger 

management programs and those who failed to complete one. Furthermore, those who 

completed anger management programs recidivated at higher rates than those who completed 

batterer intervention programs, even though those referred to batterer intervention programs 

had significantly more criminal history, including more past order violations, more long-standing 

substance abuse histories, and less education than those referred to anger management 

programs. [18]

An earlier study of a program in Pittsburgh found that abusers who relied on anger management 

control techniques were more likely to reabuse their partners than those who relied on 

increased empathy, a redefinition of their manhood, and more cooperative decisionmaking as a 

means to ending their abuse. [80]
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Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

There is no evidence that couples counseling or anger management programs effectively 

prevent court-referred batterers from reabusing or committing new offenses after treatment. 

(Research basis: The limited research conducted thus far has been, at best, inconclusive 

regarding the effectiveness of these programs. One large state study found that court-referred 

batterers are less apt to commit new offenses [including both domestic and nondomestic 

violence offenses] if they completed batterer programs rather than anger management 

programs. The difference, however, may be because the batterer programs were twice as long 

as the anger control programs.)

8.4 Does alcohol and drug treatment prevent reabuse?

The correlation between alcohol and drug treatment has been confirmed in numerous studies 

cited previously (also see question referring to perpetrators, “Are they likely to be drug and/or 

alcohol abusers?”). These studies find substance abuse treatment can be effective in reducing 

domestic violence. [203] In one such study, for example, researchers found that among 301 

alcoholic male partner abusers, of whom 56 percent had physically abused their partners the 

year before treatment, partner violence significantly decreased for half a year after alcohol 

treatments but still was not as low as the nonalcoholic control group. Among those patients who 

remained sober, reabuse dropped to 15 percent, the same as the nonalcoholic control group 

and half that of treated alcoholics who failed to maintain sobriety. [169] As this study suggests, 

however, alcohol and drug treatment, in and of itself, may not be sufficient for all abusers. 

Supporting this is a Massachusetts treatment study of 945 defendants convicted of violating 

protective orders and subsequently ordered into a program. The study found that those who 

completed a variety of alcohol and drug treatment programs had higher rates of rearraignment 

over six years, for any crime or for violations of protective orders, than those who completed 

batterer intervention programs (57.9 vs. 47.7 percent for any crime, and 21.1 vs. 17.4 percent 

for violation of protective orders). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in 

rearraignment rates between those who completed the substance abuse treatment and those 

who did not. [18] 

On the other hand, studies suggest alcohol and drug treatment may be a necessary component 

of successful intervention to prevent reabuse. The multistate study of four batterer programs 

found that, among those who completed the program, those who became intoxicated within a 

three-month period were three times more likely to reassault their partners than those who did 

not. [84, 85, 88]

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Incorporating alcohol and/or drug treatment as a standard component of batterer intervention 

programs adds to the likelihood of reductions in reabuse among batterers, many of whom abuse 

alcohol and drugs. Effective treatment should include abstinence testing to assure sobriety and 

no drug use. (Research basis: Extensive research in both clinical and court settings confirms 

the correlation between substance abuse and the increased likelihood of reabuse as well as the 

reduction in reabuse among offenders successfully treated for drug abuse.)

8.5 Are court-referred batterers likely to complete batterer programs?

Multiple studies of disparate programs around the country have found high noncompletion rates 

ranging from 25 percent to 89 percent, with most at around 50 percent. [36, 87, 183] Rates vary 

because different programs have different standards for monitoring attendance as well as 
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different policies regarding re-enrollment, missed meetings, and so on. A study in California 

found that, of 10 counties examined, only one maintained a database to track offender 

participation in the mandated batterer intervention program; it reported that 89 percent did not 

complete the program. [149] 

Not surprisingly, adding on additional treatment programs increases noncompletion. For 

example, although 42 percent of the referred batterers in the Bronx court study failed to 

complete the batterer intervention program, that number increased to 67 percent for those also 

required to complete drug treatment. For those required to complete drug treatment alone, the 

noncompletion rate was 60 percent. [183]

High rates of technical violations are common for probationers sentenced for domestic violence, 

including violations of no-contact orders and drug abstinence, and failure to attend batterer 

intervention programs. Various probation studies found technical violation (noncrime) rates 

ranging from 34 percent of those sentenced in the Brooklyn felony domestic violence court 

[164], 41 percent in Colorado [125], 61 percent in Champaign County, Ill. [109], and 25 to 44 

percent in Rhode Island (regular vs. specialized domestic violence supervision). [141] 

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should be reluctant to recommend court-ordered conditions including batterer 

intervention programs unless the violators are closely monitored and enforced. If prosecutors 

are involved in the enforcement process, and bringing violators back to court, they must commit 

the time and resources required to enforce compliance and hold violators accountable. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies from disparate jurisdictions across the country.)

Implications for Judges

Judges should take all appropriate steps to ensure that court conditions are enforced, violators 

are returned to court promptly, and violation cases (i.e., revocation hearings) are heard 

expeditiously. (Research basis: Multiple studies from disparate jurisdictions across the country.)

8.6 Do those who complete batterer programs do better than those who fail?

Abusers who complete batterer programs are less likely to reabuse than those who fail to 

attend, are noncompliant, or drop out. [9, 30, 48, 54, 87, 90, 183] The differences can be 

substantial.

A Chicago study of more than 500 court-referred batterers referred to 30 different programs 

found that recidivism after an average of 2.4 years was 14.3 percent for those who completed 

the program, whereas recidivism for those who did not complete the programs was more than 

twice that (34.6 percent). [12] Those who did not complete their program mandate in the Bronx 

court study were four times more likely to recidivate than those who completed their program. 

[183]

The multistate study of four programs found that abusers who completed the programs reduced 

their risk of reassault in a range of 46 to 66 percent. [86] A Florida study found that the odds that 

abusers who completed the program would be rearrested were half those of a control group not 

assigned to the program, whereas the odds of rearrest for those who failed to attend were two 

and one-half times higher than the control group. [60] 
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A Massachusetts study found that, over a six-year period, those who completed a certified 

batterer intervention program were significantly less likely to be rearraigned for any type of 

offense, a violent offense or a protection order violation. (Massachusetts does not have a 

domestic violence statute, so researchers could not differentiate domestic from nondomestic 

violence offenses.) The rate differences for these offenses, between those who completed a 

program and those who did not, was as follows: 47.7 vs. 83.6 percent for any crime, 33.7 vs. 

64.2 percent for a violent crime, and 17.4 vs. 41.8 percent for violation of a protective order. [18] 

The Dallas study found that twice as many program dropouts as program completers were 

rearrested within 13 months: 39.7 vs. 17.9 percent for any charge, and 8.1 vs. 2.8 percent for 

assault arrests. [53] An Alexandria, Va., study of almost 2,000 domestic violence defendants 

found that noncompliance with court-ordered treatment was associated significantly with being a 

repeat offender. [172]

While some studies have found reduced reabuse for abusers who completed treatment 

programs, a few studies have found less dramatic reductions, for example, in Broward County, 

where the difference was only 4 percent vs. 5 percent [61], and in Brooklyn, where it was 16 

percent vs. 26 percent. [205] 

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Compliance with mandated batterer intervention programs provides prosecutors and judges with 

a dynamic risk instrument based on a defendant‟s ongoing current behavior. Reabuse can be 

prevented if prosecutors and courts respond appropriately and expeditiously to batterers who 

fail to attend or to comply with court-referred batterer intervention programs. (Research basis: 

Multiple studies of batterer intervention programs in diverse jurisdictions across the country.)

8.7 Can court monitoring enhance batterer intervention program attendance?

Court monitoring can increase batterer intervention program attendance rates, specifically 

through periodic court compliance hearings. In the multistate evaluation of four different 

programs, researchers found that batterer intervention program completion rates rose from 

under 50 percent to 65 percent after a court introduced a mandatory appearance 30 days 

following imposition of a batterer intervention program mandate. [82] Similarly, implementation 

of a specialized domestic violence court in San Diego significantly increased attendance. 

Among other changes, the court instituted postdispositional compliance hearings. [180] Other 

domestic violence courts across the country have demonstrated completion rates of more than 

50 percent, including the Brooklyn misdemeanor domestic violence court, where completion 

rates for batterers referred to two different batterer programs was documented at 68 and 77 

percent. [31]

In a related finding, a large Massachusetts study found that those defendants ordered to attend 

programs as a condition of probation had a completion rate of 62 percent, whereas those 

ordered to attend without probation supervision had a completion rate of only 30 percent. [18] A 

Rhode Island study found that a specialized probation domestic violence supervision program 

more aggressively monitored and enforced program compliance, as measured by the number of 

violation hearings brought to court, than the state‟s regular probation program involving officers 

with mixed caseloads. [141] A study of three domestic violence courts in Michigan, Wisconsin 

and Massachusetts found significantly increased offender compliance with batterer intervention 

programs, both in showing up and staying enrolled. All three courts featured postdispositional 

review hearings. [103]
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Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

To increase program participation, prosecutors should recommend and judges should hold postdispositional compliance hearings as well as placing abusers on supervised probation, even if 

their convictions were for misdemeanors or ordinance violations. (Research basis: Limited 

research has been conducted on this issue, but no research suggests that increased judicial 

monitoring does anything besides increasing batterers‟ attendance in the programs.

Performance Measure: A 75-percent completion rate has been documented for 

batterers referred from the Circuit Court of Cook County (Chicago) to 30 area 

batterer intervention programs. (Research basis: A single study of 549 male 

domestic violence probationers who were referred to 30 area batterer intervention programs and completed them or were terminated at the time of the 

study. [12])

8.8 Which batterers are likely to fail to attend mandated batterer intervention 

treatment?

Researchers generally agree that there are a number of variables associated with failure to 

complete programs. They include being younger, having less education, having greater criminal 

histories and violence in their family of origin, being less often employed and less motivated to 

change, having substance abuse problems, having children, and lacking court sanctions for 

noncompliance. [15, 45, 46, 61, 86, 97, 98, 181, 194] A number of studies emphasize the 

positive correlation between program completion and “stakes in conformity,” including the 

variables of age (being older), marital status (being married) and employment (being employed). 

[12, 61] 

Studies also find that many of the same variables that predict noncompletion also predict 

reabuse or general recidivism. In the Florida probation study, an examination of court-referred 

batterers found that the same characteristics that predicted rearrest (including prior criminal 

history and stakes in conformity) also predicted missing at least one court-mandated program 

session. [61] Other studies, including a study of two Brooklyn batterer intervention programs, 

also found that employment correlated both positively with completion and negatively with 

rearrest. [31]

However, prior criminal history remains the strongest and most consistent predictor of 

noncompletion and new arrests. In the Brooklyn study, defendants with a prior arrest history 

were found to be four times more likely to fail to complete programs than defendants without 

prior arrests. [31] The Bronx court study similarly found that prior arrests as well as a history of 

drug abuse predicted both noncompletion and recidivism and found background demographics 

to be less important. [183] 

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Screening referrals based on the common variables found to correlate with successful 

completion — age, prior criminal history and substance abuse — can reduce program failure. 

Alternatively, supplemental conditions targeting abusers with these characteristics may be 

necessary to assure successful program participation. (Research basis: Although not all studies 

find the same array of variables that predict program completion, reabuse and/or general 

recidivism, almost all of them find overlapping variables of age, prior criminal history and 

substance abuse.)
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8.9 When are noncompliant abusers likely to drop out of batterer programs?

Several studies have found that batterers who do not complete batterer intervention programs 

are likely to be noncompliant from the start. Furthermore, these studies found that 

noncompliance at the first court monitoring predicted both program failure and recidivism. In the 

Brooklyn study, the strongest predictor of program failure was early noncompliance. Defendants 

who had not enrolled in a program by the time of their first compliance hearing were significantly 

less likely to complete the program than those enrolled by the first hearing. [31] These findings 

are similar to those found in the Bronx study. Defendants who were not in compliance at their 

first monitoring appearance were six times more likely to fail to complete the program than those 

in compliance at that time. [183]

These findings are consistent with extensive research indicating that the largest proportion of 

court-identified abusers who reabuse are likely to reabuse sooner rather than later. (See 

question, “When are abusers likely to reabuse?”)

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

To safeguard victims and/or new partners, prosecutors and courts should respond immediately 

to an abuser‟s first failure to enroll in or attend a court-mandated batterer intervention program. 

(Research basis: Although most studies do not report when noncompliant abusers failed their 

programs, the consistent findings among abusers referred to multiple programs, utilized by two 

different courts in New York, strongly support their findings.)

8.10 What should the prosecutor’s response be if court-referred abusers are 

noncompliant with programs?

The Rhode Island probation study that compared probationers in specialized probation 

supervision caseloads with those in less stringent general caseloads found that the former 

committed significantly less reabuse over one year. The difference, however, applied only to 

what researchers called “lower risk” probationers, those without prior arrest histories. Although 

there were several differences in how the two caseloads were supervised, enforcement of 

batterer intervention program attendance was one of the major differences. The specialized 

group‟s program was more rigidly enforced, as measured by significantly more violations for 

nonattendance. As a result of the court violation hearings, most of the noncompliant 

probationers were required to attend weekly compliance court sessions until they completed the 

program. [141] 

An evaluation of two model domestic violence courts found that victims in the court with 

significantly more probation revocations for noncompliance (12 percent vs. only 1 percent in the 

other court) reported significantly less reabuse than in the comparison court. In the court with 

more revocations, victims reported a lower frequency of physical assaults for up to 11 months 

after the study incident. The defendants in the court with the higher revocation rates had a 

significantly higher number of prior arrests than the defendants in the comparison court (8.3 vs. 

3.7 percent). Researchers posited that lower domestic violence arrests were obtained primarily 

through early detection and incarceration of probationers who either continued to reabuse or 

failed to comply with conditions. [103]

Broward County probation study researchers concluded the following correlation between 

program noncompliance and reabuse: If abusers are not afraid of violating their court orders, 

they are also not afraid of the consequences of committing new offenses. [60]
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Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should recommend increased sanctions for noncompliant abusers. Incarceration 

will assure immediate victim protection at least for the length of the incarceration. Short of this, 

increased surveillance may be effective at reducing risk of reabuse for lower risk abusers. 

(Research basis: Multiple studies have found that doing nothing in regard to noncompliant, 

court-referred abusers results in significantly higher rates of reabuse. Two studies involving 

jurisdictions across four states suggest that vigorous enforcement of conditions is the key in 

deterring reabuse.)

8.11 What should the judge’s response be if court-referred abusers are 

noncompliant with programs?

Among lower risk abusers on probation for domestic violence, one study cited increased 

enforcement of batterer program compliance (as indicated by significantly more violators 

brought into court by probation officers for noncompliance) as one major factor correlating with 

reduced reabuse over a two-year period. This was compared to a control group of probationers 

who were also referred to batterer intervention programs but were not monitored as rigorously 

or brought back to court because of noncompliance. As a result of court violation hearings, most 

noncompliant probationers were required to attend weekly compliance court sessions until they 

completed the program. Lower risk abusers included those who had not previously been 

probated for domestic violence. In addition to attending more revocation hearings, these 

probationers had slightly more contact with probation officers, officers attempted to contact 

victims at least once, and the probation officers supervised specialized domestic violence 

caseloads. [141] 

An evaluation of two model domestic violence courts found that victims in the court with 

significantly more probation revocations for noncompliance (12 percent vs. only 1 percent in the 

other court) reported significantly less reabuse than in a comparison court. Victims from the 

other model court reported no difference with victims in a comparison court. In the court with 

more revocations, victims reported a lower frequency of physical assaults up to 11 months after 

the study incident. The defendants in the court with the high revocation rate had a significantly 

higher number of prior arrests than defendants in the comparison court (8.3 percent vs. 3.7 

percent). Researchers posited that lower domestic violence arrests were obtained primarily 

through the early detection and incarceration of probationers who either continued to reabuse or 

failed to comply with conditions. [103]

Broward County probation study researchers concluded the following correlation between 

program noncompliance and reabuse: If abusers are not afraid of violating their court orders, 

they are also not afraid of the consequences of committing new offenses. [60]

Implications for Judges

Judges should respond to noncompliant abusers immediately to safeguard victims. (Research 

basis: Multiple studies have found that doing nothing with regard to noncompliant, court-referred 

abusers results in significantly higher rates of reabuse. Two studies involving jurisdictions 

across four states suggest that vigorous enforcement of conditions is the key in deterring 

reabuse.)
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8.12 What should the prosecutor’s or judge’s response be to abusers who 

reoffend while enrolled or after completing a batterer intervention 

program?

Batterers rearrested while enrolled or after completing a batterer intervention program are at 

high risk for reabusing (also see question, “How many abusers are likely to do it again?”). The 

multistate batterer intervention program study found that the majority of court-referred batterers 

who reassaulted did so more than once. [84] Similarly, a Rhode Island probation study found 

that batterers who were arrested for domestic violence while their prior arrest was still pending, 

or while they were still on probation for an earlier offense (domestic or nondomestic), had the 

highest reabuse rates of any probated abuser, averaging over 50 percent. [141] 

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Prosecutors should recommend incarceration, and judges should incarcerate, any offenders 

who reabuse while enrolled in batterer programs or after having completed the programs. Due 

to their limited “treatment effect,” simply re-enrolling high-risk abusers in these programs 

endangers victims. Those abusers who reabuse are likely to continue doing so if left on their 

own. (Research basis: Both batterer program studies and general studies of court-identified 

batterers have found that repeatedly arrested abusers are chronic in their abusive behavior.)

8.13 What effect do batterer intervention program referrals have on victims?

Studies find that most victims are satisfied with their abuser‟s referral to a batterer intervention 

program. In the Bronx study, 77 percent of victims were satisfied with the case outcome if the 

abuser was ordered to attend a program, compared to only 55 percent of victims who were 

satisfied when the abuser was not required to attend a program. [145] A survey of victims of 

men attending batterer intervention programs throughout Rhode Island found most female 

victims enthusiastic about the batterer programs. Some victims who were enthusiastic were 

reassaulted but still felt that the program improved their situation. [140] Program enrollment may 

also influence victims to remain with their abusers. Victims are more likely to remain with their 

abusers if their abusers are in treatment programs and are hopeful that the abusers will “get 

better.” [58, 81]

Implications for Prosecutors and Judges

Prosecutors, judges, other court personnel and batterer intervention programs should warn 

victims that batterers‟ attendance at these programs does not ensure the cessation of abuse 

during or after the program. (Research basis: Consistent findings of victim surveys in multiple 

settings across the country as well as a control study of victims whose abusers were not sent to 

a batterer program.)

Bottom Line: On the whole, unless batterer intervention programs are closely 

monitored and program compliance is rigorously enforced, batterer intervention 

programs may be ineffective and give false hope to victims.
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