U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov

D o m e s t i c V i o l e n c e

by Rana Sampson

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides Series

No. 45
www.PopCenter.org

Got a Problem? We’ve got answers!

Log onto the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing web site 

at www.popcenter.org for a wealth of information to help 

you deal more effectively with crime and disorder in your 

community, including:

• Web-enhanced versions of all currently available Guides

• Interactive training exercises

• Online access to research and police practices

• Online problem analysis module.

Designed for police and those who work with them to 

address community problems, www.popcenter.org is a great 

resource in problem-oriented policing.

Supported by the Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services, U.S. Department of Justice.

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
Domestic Violence

Rana Sampson

This project was supported by cooperative agreement 

#2005CKWXK001 by the Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein 

are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the 

official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to 

specific companies, products, or services should not be considered an 

endorsement of the product by the author or the U.S. Department 

of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement 

discussion of the issues.

www.cops.usdoj.gov

ISBN: 1-932582-74-6

January 2007

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides Series

Guide No. 45

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series i

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series

The Problem-Specific Guides summarize knowledge about 

how police can reduce the harm caused by specific crime 

and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention 

and to improving the overall response to incidents, not to 

investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. Neither 

do they cover all of the technical details about how to 

implement specific responses. The guides are written for 

police—of whatever rank or assignment—who must address 

the specific problem the guides cover. The guides will be 

most useful to officers who:

• Understand basic problem-oriented policing principles 

and methods. The guides are not primers in problemoriented policing. They deal only briefly with the initial 

decision to focus on a particular problem, methods to analyze 

the problem, and means to assess the results of a problemoriented policing project. They are designed to help police 

decide how best to analyze and address a problem they have 

already identified. (A companion series of Problem-Solving Tools

guides has been produced to aid in various aspects of problem 

analysis and assessment.)

• Can look at a problem in depth. Depending on the 

complexity of the problem, you should be prepared to spend 

perhaps weeks, or even months, analyzing and responding to 

it. Carefully studying a problem before responding helps you 

design the right strategy, one that is most likely to work in your 

community. You should not blindly adopt the responses others 

have used; you must decide whether they are appropriate to 

your local situation. What is true in one place may not be true 

elsewhere; what works in one place may not work everywhere.

• Are willing to consider new ways of doing police 

business. The guides describe responses that other police 

departments have used or that researchers have tested. While 
ii Domestic Violence

not all of these responses will be appropriate to your 

particular problem, they should help give a broader view 

of the kinds of things you could do. You may think 

you cannot implement some of these responses in your 

jurisdiction, but perhaps you can. In many places, when 

police have discovered a more effective response, they have 

succeeded in having laws and policies changed, improving 

the response to the problem. (A companion series of 

Response Guides has been produced to help you understand 

how commonly-used police responses work on a variety of 

problems.) 

• Understand the value and the limits of research 

knowledge. For some types of problems, a lot of useful 

research is available to the police; for other problems, 

little is available. Accordingly, some guides in this series 

summarize existing research whereas other guides illustrate 

the need for more research on that particular problem. 

Regardless, research has not provided definitive answers to 

all the questions you might have about the problem. The 

research may help get you started in designing your own 

responses, but it cannot tell you exactly what to do. This 

will depend greatly on the particular nature of your local 

problem. In the interest of keeping the guides readable, 

not every piece of relevant research has been cited, nor has 

every point been attributed to its sources. To have done so 

would have overwhelmed and distracted the reader. The 

references listed at the end of each guide are those drawn 

on most heavily; they are not a complete bibliography of 

research on the subject. 

• Are willing to work with others to find effective 

solutions to the problem. The police alone cannot 

implement many of the responses discussed in the guides. 

They must frequently implement them in partnership with 

other responsible private and public bodies including other 
About the Problem-Specific Guides Series iii

government agencies, non-governmental organizations, 

private businesses, public utilities, community groups, 

and individual citizens. An effective problem-solver must 

know how to forge genuine partnerships with others 

and be prepared to invest considerable effort in making 

these partnerships work. Each guide identifies particular 

individuals or groups in the community with whom 

police might work to improve the overall response to that 

problem. Thorough analysis of problems often reveals 

that individuals and groups other than the police are in 

a stronger position to address problems and that police 

ought to shift some greater responsibility to them to do 

so. Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and Sharing Responsibility 

for Public Safety Problems, provides further discussion of this 

topic.

The COPS Office defines community policing as 

“a policing philosophy that promotes and supports 

organizational strategies to address the causes and reduce 

the fear of crime and social disorder through problemsolving tactics and police-community partnerships.” These 

guides emphasize problem-solving and police-community 

partnerships in the context of addressing specific public 

safety problems. For the most part, the organizational 

strategies that can facilitate problem-solving and policecommunity partnerships vary considerably and discussion of 

them is beyond the scope of these guides.

These guides have drawn on research findings and police 

practices in the United States, the United Kingdom, 

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and 

Scandinavia. Even though laws, customs and police 

practices vary from country to country, it is apparent that 

the police everywhere experience common problems. In 
iv Domestic Violence

a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, it is 

important that police be aware of research and successful 

practices beyond the borders of their own countries.

Each guide is informed by a thorough review of the 

research literature and reported police practice and is 

anonymously peer-reviewed by line police officers, police 

executives and researchers prior to publication. 

The COPS Office and the authors encourage you to 

provide feedback on this guide and to report on your 

own agency’s experiences dealing with a similar problem. 

Your agency may have effectively addressed a problem 

using responses not considered in these guides and your 

experiences and knowledge could benefit others. This 

information will be used to update the guides. If you wish 

to provide feedback and share your experiences it should 

be sent via e-mail to cops_pubs@usdoj.gov.

For more information about problem-oriented policing, 

visit the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing online at 

www.popcenter.org. This website offers free online access 

to:

• the Problem-Specific Guides series

• the companion Response Guides and Problem-Solving Tools series

• instructional information about problem-oriented policing 

and related topics

• an interactive problem-oriented policing training exercise

• an interactive Problem Analysis Module

• a manual for crime analysts

• online access to important police research and practices

• information about problem-oriented policing conferences 

and award programs. 
Acknowledgments v

Acknowledgments

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police are produced by the 

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, whose officers are 

Michael S. Scott (Director), Ronald V. Clarke (Associate 

Director) and Graeme R. Newman (Associate Director). 

While each guide has a primary author, other project 

team members, COPS Office staff and anonymous peer 

reviewers contributed to each guide by proposing text, 

recommending research and offering suggestions on 

matters of format and style. 

The project team that developed the guide series 

comprised Herman Goldstein (University of Wisconsin 

Law School), Ronald V. Clarke (Rutgers University), 

John E. Eck (University of Cincinnati), Michael S. Scott 

(University of Wisconsin Law School), Rana Sampson 

(Police Consultant), and Deborah Lamm Weisel (North 

Carolina State University.) 

Members of the San Diego; National City, California; 

and Savannah, Georgia police departments provided 

feedback on the guides’ format and style in the early 

stages of the project.

Cynthia E. Pappas oversaw the project for the COPS 

Office. Research for the guide was conducted at the 

Criminal Justice Library at Rutgers University under the 

direction of Phyllis Schultze. Katharine Willis edited this 

guide.

Contents

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

The Problem of Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

General Description of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Women as Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Harms Caused by Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Theories About Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Why Some Men Batter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Why Some Women Batter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Why Some Women are Reluctant to End Abusive Relationships . . . . . . . . . . 9

Factors Contributing to Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Socioeconomic Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Repeat Victimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Incarceration of Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Termination of the Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Multiple Risk Factors for Women and Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Other Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Understanding Your Local Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Asking the Right Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Incidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Locations/Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Current Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Measuring Your Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Impact Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Process Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Contents vii
viii Domestic Violence

Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Specific Responses to Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Responses with Limited Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Appendix: Summary of Responses to Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Problem of Domestic Violence 1

The Problem of Domestic Violence

This guide begins by describing the problem of domestic 

violence and reviewing factors that increase its risks.§ It 

then identifies a series of questions to help you analyze 

your local domestic violence problem. Finally, it reviews 

responses to the problem and what is known about these 

from evaluative research and police practice.

Domestic disputes are some of the most common calls 

for police service. Many domestic disputes do not involve 

violence; this guide discusses those that do, as well as the 

measures that can be used to reduce them. In the United 

States, domestic violence accounts for about 20 percent 

of the nonfatal violent crime women experience and three 

percent of the nonfatal violent crime men experience.1 

Harm levels vary from simple assault to homicide, with 

secondary harms to child witnesses. Domestic violence 

calls can be quite challenging for police as they are likely to 

observe repetitive abuse against the same victims, who may 

not be able to or may not want to part from their abusers. 

Police typically view these calls as dangerous, partly 

because old research exaggerated the risks to police.§§ 

Domestic violence is but one aspect of the larger set of 

problems related to family violence. Related problems not 

directly addressed in this guide, each of which requires 

separate analysis, include:

parent abuse

child abuse

child sexual abuse

elder abuse

sibling violence

domestic violence by police officers.

•

•

•

•

•

•

§ Much of the recent research 

about domestic violence refers to 

the problem as “intimate partner 

violence.” Mostly this guide keeps 

to the term domestic violence, not 

because it is more accurate, but 

simply because it is still so widely 

used by police. Also in this guide, the 

term domestic violence is intended 

to include violence perpetrated by 

current and former intimates or 

dating partners, including those of 

the opposite or same sex.

§§ Originally researchers failed to 

separate domestic disputes from 

other types of “disturbance” calls 

and raw percentages stretched 

the findings beyond what they 

reasonably meant (Fridell and 

Pate, 1997). Of the 713 officers 

feloniously slain in the United States 

between 1983 and 1992, 33 percent 

(235 officers) were slain while 

intervening in a crime. Of those, 

24 percent (56 officers) were slain 

during a domestic disturbance. In 

other words, about five officers a 

year in the United States over that 

10-year period were killed during 

domestic disturbance calls. The 

frequency of the call likely makes 

claims of dangerousness in terms of 

injury to officers overblown as well. 
2 Domestic Violence

In addition, police must address a range of disputes 

among intimates, former intimates, and family members 

that may or may not involve violence, including 

domestic disputes

child custody disputes

stalking

runaway juveniles.

Some of these related problems are covered in other 

guides in this series, all of which are listed at the end of 

this guide. For the most up-to-date list of current and 

future guides, visit www.popcenter.org. 

General Description of the Problem

Domestic violence involves a current or former intimate 

(and in many states, a current or former dating partner). 

Domestic violence tends to be underreported: women 

report only one-quarter to one-half of their assaults to 

police, men perhaps less.2 The vast majority of physical 

assaults are not life threatening; rather, they involve 

pushing, slapping, and hitting.3 Most women victims of 

domestic violence do not seek medical treatment, even for 

injuries deserving of it.4 

Surveys provide us with estimates of the level of 

domestic violence in the United States, but there are wide 

differences among them depending on the definitions 

of domestic violence used and populations surveyed.5 

Two large surveys provide some insight into the level 

of domestic violence in the United States. The first, the 

National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS),§ 

•

•

•

•

§ NVAWS is a telephone survey of a 

representative sample of 8,000 U.S. 

men and 8,000 U.S. women.
The Problem of Domestic Violence 3

conducted in 1995 and1996, found that nearly one 

in four women and nearly one in 13 men surveyed 

experienced rape and/or physical assault by a current 

or former spouse/partner/dating partner at some time 

in their lifetime, with about one and one-half percent 

of women and about one percent of men having been 

so victimized in the 12 months before the survey.6 The 

National Crime Victimization Survey’s (NCVS) estimates, 

however, are about one-third lower for women and more 

than two-thirds lower for men.§ Differences in survey 

administration and methodology may account for the large 

differences in the numbers.§§ 

Even the lower numbers of the NCVS suggest that 

intimate partner violence in the United States is extensive. 

However, NCVS trend data through 2001 shows that 

partner violence between current and former intimates 

has declined significantly. From 1993 through 2001, the 

rate of reported intimate violence dropped by about 

50 percent in the United States.7 From 1994 through 

2001, the rate of every major violent and property crime 

declined by similar percentages.8,§§§ It is unknown whether 

domestic violence is paralleling these declines for the same 

or different reasons. 

Domestic violence homicides have declined in similar 

proportions as well. In the United States, there were about 

half the number of intimate partner homicides (spouses, 

ex-spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends) in 2002 as there 

were in 1976 with the largest portion of the decline in 

male victims (see Figure 1).9 

§ The National Crime Victimization 

Survey (NCVS) collects data about 

criminal victimization from an 

ongoing nationally representative 

sample of U.S. households. The 

survey is administered every six 

months to about 100,000 individuals 

in approximately 50,000 households. 

Interviewers ask questions about 

crime victimization of all household 

members age 12 and older. The 

survey attempts to capture two 

types of crime, victimization that 

was reported to the police and 

victimization that was not reported 

to the police. (Rennison and 

Welchans, 2000).

§§ The NCVS, administered by 

census workers as part of a crime 

survey, does not conduct all of 

its interviews in private because 

all members of the household are 

interviewed for different portions 

of the survey; also in contrast, the 

NVAWS survey uses more questions 

to screen for intimate violence, 

perhaps drawing out more from 

those interviewed. 

§§§ From 1994 through 2001, the 

rate of every major violent and 

property crime also steeply declined: 

homicide/manslaughter (down 40 

percent); rape/sexual assault (down 

56 percent); robbery (down 53 

percent); aggravated assault (down 

56 percent); simple assault (down 46 

percent); household burglary (down 

51 percent); motor vehicle theft 

(down 52 percent); theft (down 47 

percent). (Rennison, 2001).
4 Domestic Violence

Some commentators suggest that the decline in homicides 

may be evidence that abused women have developed 

legitimate ways to leave their relationships (e.g., divorce, 

shelters, police, and courts). The reasons for the decline 

may be even more complex because there is wide variation 

by race, not just by gender. Between 1976 and 2002, 

the number of black male victims of intimate partner 

homicide fell by 81 percent as compared to 56 percent 

for white males. The number of black female victims of 

intimate partner homicide fell 49 percent as compared to 

9 percent for white females.10 

Female

Male

500

0

2,000

1,500

1,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Figure 1

Homicides of intimates by gender

of victim, 1976-2002

Number of victims

Fox and Zawitz (2002)
The Problem of Domestic Violence 5

Women as Offenders

There is a robust debate among researchers about the level 

of relationship violence women are responsible for and 

the extent to which it is in self-defense or fighting back.11 

The NCVS and other studies have found that women are 

the victims in as much as 85 percent of domestic violence 

incidents.12 However, there are also research findings 

that women in heterosexual relationships have the same, 

if not higher, rates of relationship violence as men.13 

Generally, studies about domestic violence fall into two 

categories: family conflict studies and crime victimization 

studies. Those that tend to show high rates of violence 

by women (or rates higher than men) are family conflict 

studies and contain questions about family conflicts 

and disputes and responses to these, including physical 

responses. These studies use a family conflict assessment 

tool. Those studies that show that male assaultive 

behavior predominates in domestic violence are criminal 

victimization surveys and/or studies that rely on the 

counting of crime reports.14 

Critics suggest that studies finding about equal rates of 

violence by women in relationships are misleading because 

they fail to place the violence in context (Dekeseredy et 

al. 1997); in other words, there is a difference between 

someone who uses violence to fight back or defend 

oneself and someone who initiates an unprovoked assault. 

Also, the physical differences between some women 

and their male partners may make comparisons between 

equivalent types of violence (slapping, kicking, punching, 

hitting) less meaningful, particularly because many studies 

show that violence by women is less likely to result in 

injury. Researchers agree that women suffer the lion’s 

share of injuries from domestic violence.15
6 Domestic Violence

Women living as partners with other women report lower 

rates of violence (11 percent) compared to women who 

live with or were married to men (30 percent).16 About 8 

percent of men living with or married to women report 

that they were physically abused by the women. About 

15 percent of men cohabitating with men reported 

victimization by a male partner. These data suggest that 

men are engaged in more relationship violence.

Harms Caused by Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can include murder, rape, sexual 

assault, robbery, and aggravated or simple assault. In 

addition to the physical harm victims suffer, domestic 

violence results in emotional harm to victims, their 

children, other family members, friends, neighbors, and 

co-workers. Victims and their children experience the 

brunt of the psychological trauma of abuse, suffering 

anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, loss of confidence, social 

isolation, and fear.17 Batterers frequently also subject their 

victims to harassment (such as annoying or threatening 

phone calls), vandalism, trespassing, stalking, criminal 

mischief, theft, and burglary.18 

Domestic violence also has economic costs. Victims may 

lose their jobs because of absenteeism related to the 

violence, and may even lose their homes because of loss 

of income. Some domestic violence victims must rely on 

shelters or depend on others to house them, and others 

become part of a community’s homeless population, 

increasing their risk for other types of victimization.§ 

Medical expenses to treat injuries, particularly of 

uninsured victims, create additional financial burdens, 

either for the victims or for the public.

§ In the United States estimates of 

the percentage of homelessness 

among women resulting from 

domestic violence vary, but it may 

be upwards of 20 percent (National 

Coalition for the Homeless, 2004). 

In the United Kingdom, about 16 

percent of the homeless to whom 

local authorities provided housing 

were victims of domestic violence 

(Office of the Deputy Prime 

Minister, n.d.). A recent report 

from Australia found that domestic 

violence is a major contributing 

factor to homelessness. The study 

also found that more than one-third 

of those accessing government 

housing assistance for homelessness 

were women escaping domestic 

violence, and two-thirds of the 

children in the housing program 

were those who accompanied a 

female parent or guardian escaping 

domestic violence (Australian 

Institute of Health and Welfare, 

2005).
The Problem of Domestic Violence 7

Theories About Domestic Violence

Theories about why men or women batter and why some 

people are reluctant to end abusive relationships may 

seem abstract to police practitioners, but the theories have 

important implications for how police might effectively 

respond to the problem.

Why Some Men Batter

Generally, four theories explain battering in intimate 

relationships.19 

Psychological theory. Battering is the result of childhood 

abuse, a personality trait (such as the need to control), a 

personality disturbance (such as borderline personality), 

psychopathology (such as anti-social personality), or a 

psychological disorder or problem (such as post traumatic 

stress, poor impulse control, low self-esteem, or substance 

abuse). 

Sociological theory. Sociological theories vary but 

usually contain some suggestion that intimate violence is 

the result of learned behavior. One sociological theory 

suggests that violence is learned within a family, and a 

partner-victim stays caught up in a cycle of violence and 

forgiveness. If the victim does not leave, the batterer 

views the violence as a way to produce positive results. 

Children of these family members may learn the behavior 

from their parents (boys may develop into batterers 

and girls may become battering victims). A different 

sociological theory suggests that lower income subcultures 

will show higher rates of intimate abuse, as violence may 

be a more acceptable form of settling disputes in such 

subcultures. A variant on this theory is that violence is 
8 Domestic Violence

inherent in all social systems and people with resources 

(financial, social contacts, prestige) use these to control 

family members, while those without resort to violence 

and threats to accomplish this goal.

Feminist or societal-structural theory. According to 

this theory, male intimates who use violence do so to 

control and limit the independence of women partners. 

Societal traditions of male dominance support and sustain 

inequities in relationships. 

Violent individuals theory. For many years it was 

assumed that domestic batterers were a special group, that 

while they assaulted their current or former intimates they 

were not violent in the outside world. There is cause to 

question how fully this describes batterers. Although the 

full extent of violence batterers perpetrate is unknown, 

there is evidence that many batterers are violent beyond 

domestic violence, and many have prior criminal records 

for violent and non-violent behavior.20 This suggests 

that domestic violence batterers are less unique and are 

more accurately viewed as violent criminals, not solely as 

domestic batterers. There may be a group of batterers 

who are violent only to their current or former intimates 

and engage in no other violent and non-violent criminal 

behavior, but this group may be small compared to the 

more common type of batterer.21 

Why Some Women Batter

Some women batter their current or former intimates. 

Less is known about women who use violence in 

relationships, particularly the extent to which it may be 

in self-defense, to fight back, or to ward off anticipated 

violence. When asked in a national survey if they used 

violence in their relationships, many Canadian college 
The Problem of Domestic Violence 9

women said they did. However, the majority of these 

women said it was in self-defense or to fight back and 

that the more they were victimized the more they fought 

back.22 One researcher suggests that women should be 

discouraged from engaging in minor violence because it 

places them at risk for retaliation from men and men are 

more likely to be able to inflict injury.23 

Clearly, there are women who use violence in relationships 

provocatively outside the context of fighting back or selfdefense. The extent of this problem, as we noted earlier, 

remains unknown but is ripe for additional study.

The theories explaining male violence cited earlier may 

also have some relevance for women, although the picture 

is not clear. 

Why Some Women are Reluctant to

End Abusive Relationships

Police commonly express frustration that many of the 

battered women they deal with do not leave their batterers. 

Although many women do leave physically abusive 

relationships, others remain even after police intervene. 

There is no reliable information about the percentage 

of women who stay in physically abusive relationships. 

Researchers offer a number of explanations for the 

resistance by some to leave an abuser.24 

Cycle of violence. Three cyclical phases in physically 

abusive intimate relationships keep a woman in the 

relationship: 1) a tension-building phase that includes 

minor physical and verbal abuse, 2) an acute battering 

phase, and 3) a makeup or honeymoon phase. The 

honeymoon phase lulls an abused woman into staying and 

the cycle repeats itself.
10 Domestic Violence

Battered woman syndrome. A woman is so fearful from 

experiencing cycles of violence that she no longer believes 

escape is possible.

Stockholm syndrome. A battered woman is essentially 

a hostage to her batterer. She develops a bond with and 

shows support for and kindness to her captor, perhaps 

because of her isolation from and deprivation of more 

normal relationships.

Traumatic bonding theory. A battered woman 

experienced unhealthy or anxious attachments to her 

parents who abused or neglected her. The woman 

develops unhealthy attachments in her adult relationships 

and accepts intermittent violence from her intimate 

partner. She believes the affection and claims of remorse 

that follow because she needs positive acceptance from 

and bonding with the batterer.

Psychological entrapment theory. A woman feels she 

has invested so much in the relationship, she is willing to 

tolerate the battering to save it.

Multifactor ecological perspective. Staying in physically 

abusive relationships is the result of a combination of 

factors, including family history, personal relationships, 

societal norms, and social and cultural factors.

Factors Contributing to Domestic Violence

Understanding the risk factors associated with domestic 

violence will help you frame some of your own local 

analysis questions, determine good effectiveness measures, 

recognize key intervention points, and select appropriate 

responses. Risk factors do not automatically mean that 

a person will become a domestic violence victim or an 
The Problem of Domestic Violence 11

offender. Also, although some risk factors are stronger 

than others, it is difficult to compare risk factor findings 

across studies because of methodological differences 

between studies. 

Age

The female age group at highest risk for domestic violence 

victimization is 16 to 24.25 Among one segment of this 

high-risk age group—undergraduate college students—22 

percent of female respondents in a Canadian study 

reported domestic violence victimization, and 14 percent 

of male respondents reported physically assaulting their 

dating partners in the year before the survey.26 And 

although the victimization of teen girls is estimated to 

be high, it is difficult to “...untangle defensive responses 

from acts of initial violence against a dating partner.”27 

Socioeconomic Status

Although domestic violence occurs across income 

brackets, it is most frequently reported by the poor who 

more often rely on the police for dispute resolution. 

Victimization surveys indicate that lower-income women 

are, in fact, more frequently victims of domestic violence 

than wealthier women. Women with family incomes less 

than $7,500 are five times more likely to be victims of 

violence by an intimate than women with family annual 

incomes between $50,000 and $74,000.28 

Although the poorest women are the most victimized by 

domestic violence,29 one study also found that women 

receiving government income support payments through 

Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were 

three times more likely to have experienced physical 

aggression by a current or former partner during the 

previous year than non-AFDC supported women.30
12 Domestic Violence

Race

Overall, in the United States, blacks experience higher 

rates of victimization than other groups: black females 

experience intimate violence at a rate 35 percent higher 

than that of white females, and black males experience 

intimate violence at a rate about 62 percent higher than 

that of white males and about two and a half times the 

rate of men of other races.31 Other survey research, more 

inclusive of additional racial groups, finds that American 

Indian/Alaskan Native women experience significantly 

higher rates of physical abuse as well.32,§ 

Repeat Victimization

Domestic violence, generally, has high levels of repeat 

calls for police service.33 For instance, police data in West 

Yorkshire (United Kingdom) showed that 42 percent of 

domestic violence incidents within one year were repeat 

offenses, and one-third of domestic violence offenders 

were responsible for two-thirds of all domestic violence 

incidents reported to the police. It is likely that some 

victims of domestic violence experience physical assault 

only once and others experience it repeatedly34 over a 

period as short as 12 months.35 British research suggests 

that the highest risk period for further assault is within the 

first four weeks of the last assault.36

Incarceration of Offenders

Offenders convicted of domestic violence account for 

about 25 percent of violent offenders in local jails and 

7 percent of violent offenders in state prisons.37 Many 

of those convicted of domestic violence have a prior 

conviction history: more than 70 percent of offenders in 

jail for domestic violence have prior convictions for other 

crimes, not necessarily domestic violence.38

§ It is unclear how much of the 

differences in victimization rates 

by race is the result of willingness 

to reveal victimization to survey 

interviewers (Tjaden and Thoennes, 

2000). 
Termination of the Relationship 

Although there is a popular conception that the risk of 

domestic violence increases when a couple separates, 

in fact, most assaults occur during a relationship rather 

than after it is over.39 However, still unknown is whether 

the severity (as opposed to the frequency) of violence 

increases once a battered woman leaves.

Pregnancy

Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women are no 

more likely than non-pregnant women to be victims of 

domestic violence.40 In fact, some women get a reprieve 

from violence during pregnancy. The risk of abuse during 

pregnancy is greatest for women who experienced physical 

abuse before the pregnancy.41 Some additional factors 

increase the risk during pregnancy: being young and poor 

and if the pregnancy was unintended.42 Physical abuse 

during the pregnancy can result in pre-term delivery, low 

birth weight, birth defects, miscarriage, and fetal death.43 

Multiple Risk Factors for Women and Men

Being young, black, low-income, divorced or separated, 

a resident of rental housing, and a resident of an urban 

area have all been associated with higher rates of domestic 

violence victimization among women.44 For male victims, 

the patterns were nearly identical: being young, black, 

divorced or separated, or a resident of rental housing.45 

In New Zealand, a highly respected study found that 

the strongest predictor for committing partner violence 

among the many risk factors in childhood and adolescence 

is a history of aggressive delinquency before age 15.46 

The Problem of Domestic Violence 13
The study also found that committing partner violence is 

strongly linked to cohabitation at a young age; a variety 

of mental illnesses; a background of family adversity; 

dropping out of school; juvenile aggression; conviction 

for other types of crime, especially violent crime; drug 

abuse; long-term unemployment; and parenthood at a 

young age.47

Other Risk Factors

Several other risk factors emerge from research:

A verbally abusive partner is one of the most robust 

risk factors for intimate partner violence.48 

Women whose partners are jealous or tightly 

controlling are at increased risk of intimate violence 

and stalking.49 

There is a strong link between threat of bodily 

injury and actual bodily injury, suggesting that abuser 

threats should be taken seriously.50 

Recently, there is much discussion among police about the 

link between pet abuse and domestic violence. Although 

some overlap is likely, particularly under the theory that 

many batterers are generally violent, not enough is known 

because of the types of studies undertaken. Some small 

surveys of domestic violence shelter residents suggest that 

some women might have left their abuser sooner but they 

worried about their pet’s safety.51

Finally, although alcohol and drug use do not cause 

intimate partner battering, the risk of victim injury 

increases if a batterer is using alcohol or drugs.52 

•

•

•

14 Domestic Violence
Understanding Your Local Problem 15

Understanding Your Local Problem

Notwithstanding its decline over the last decade, domestic 

violence stubbornly remains a frequent call for police, 

and efforts to further reduce it require general and 

specific information about the nature of the problem. 

You must combine the basic facts with a more specific 

understanding of your local problem. Analyzing the local 

problem carefully will help you design a more effective 

response strategy. 

Stakeholders

In addition to criminal justice agencies, the following 

groups have an interest in the domestic violence problem 

and ought to be considered for the contribution they 

might make to gathering information about the problem 

and responding to it:

domestic abuse protection, counseling, and 

advocacy organizations

medical providers

public health agencies

employers

schools (if school-aged children are affected)

university faculty and research staff

clergy.

Asking the Right Questions

The following are some critical questions you should 

ask in analyzing your community’s domestic violence 

problem, even if the answers are not always readily 

available. Your answers to these and other questions will 

help you choose the most appropriate set of responses 

later on. 

•

•

•

•

•

•

•
16 Domestic Violence

Aggregate data is an important source for analyzing 

your domestic violence problem, but it is useful only if 

domestic violence incidents are properly investigated and 

documented. It is important for investigating officers 

to understand the context and history of domestic 

assaults to determine if the incident is part of a series of 

abuse the victim has sustained and if it’s likely to recur 

or escalate to more serious violence. For instance, in 

assessing individual incidents it is important to find out 

how long the abuse has been occurring, the frequency 

of the abuse, if the abuse is escalating, specific threats 

(even threats of suicide), whether threats can be carried 

out or there is an indication that they will be carried out, 

and whether victimization also involves other criminal 

behavior (i.e., harassing phone calls, vandalism, theft, 

burglary). You should analyze a variety of data sources 

such as calls for police service relating to domestic 

disputes, offense/incident reports of domestic violence, 

and databases from domestic abuse social service 

agencies.

Victims

What percentage of the total number of calls for 

police service in your jurisdiction is for domestic 

violence?§ What percentage of crime cases is for 

domestic violence (including stalking, vandalism, 

trespassing, harassment, restraining order violations, 

etc.)? 

What percentage of domestic dispute calls in 

your jurisdiction involves physical abuse? What 

percentage involves only verbal abuse?

What percentage of domestic violence victims are 

women in your jurisdiction? What percentage are 

men? 

•

•

•

§ Initial call takers may not have 

sufficient information to accurately 

determine whether or not domestic 

violence occurred. Consequently, 

call for service data will likely not be 

adequate to distinguish violent from 

non-violent domestic disputes. Police 

may need to refine call disposition 

codes to distinguish between 

different types of domestic disputes. 
Understanding Your Local Problem 17

What percentage of domestic violence calls is 

unfounded?

What percentage of domestic violence calls involves 

a repeat victim?§

What is the average time between calls from repeat 

victims?

How many victims account for two calls to the 

police over a 12-month period? Three calls? Four 

calls? Five calls? More than five calls? 

What percentage of victims is pregnant at the time 

of assault?

What percentage of domestic violence calls 

involves a current intimate? What percentage of 

calls involves a former intimate? What percentage 

of crime cases involves a current intimate versus 

former intimate?

What percentage of domestic violence calls involves 

the following types of relationships: married 

and living together, live-in unmarried, separated, 

divorced, never married, never married but child in 

common, dating?

When was the violence most serious (while dating, 

when living together, upon breakup)? 

What percentage of domestic violence victims 

actually leaves their abuser after police respond?

What is the average age of reported domestic 

violence victims in the jurisdiction? 

What is the percentage of domestic violence 

victims who are homeless?

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

§ When assessing repeat 

victimization levels it is 

recommended that police use a 

rolling 12-month period (nothing 

less), which means looking for 

victimizations of the same person 

for the preceding 12 months, as 

opposed to simply looking for 

victimizations of the same person 

by calendar year (Bridgeman and 

Hobbs, 1997). Also, be alert to 

name changes among victims that 

might conceal a repeat victimization 

pattern. For further guidance, see 

Problem-Solving Tools Guide No. 4, 

Analyzing Repeat Victimization.
18 Domestic Violence

Offenders§ 

In what percentage of cases are restraining orders 

violated?

What parts of restraining orders are most violated 

(phone calls, distance from victim, etc.)?

What percentage of offenders is arrested at the 

scene? What percentage is arrested at a later date? 

What is the average amount of time between the 

domestic violence crime report and the arrest when 

an offender left before the police arrived? 

What percentage of domestic violence incidents 

results in the arrest of both parties?

What percentage of offenders has prior arrest 

records? What are the most common prior arrests 

for?

What percentage of offenders is on probation, 

parole, or bail at the time of the incidents?

What percentage of cases is disposed the day of 

arraignment?

What percentage of arrested offenders is 

prosecuted? 

What percentage of misdemeanor and felony 

arrestees is kept in custody through the different 

stages of the adjudicatory process?

What percentage of domestic violence felony 

arrests is dropped to misdemeanors by prosecutors? 

What percentage of offenders pleads guilty?

What percentage of offenders is sentenced to 

prison for felony assault conviction?

What percentage of offenders convicted of a 

misdemeanor is given jail time?

Of those given jail time for a felony, what 

percentage re-assaults their former partner upon 

release?

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

§ You should review one year’s 

worth of domestic violence cases 

from two years prior. For instance, 

if the current calendar year is 2006, 

review the results of domestic 

assault cases from the calendar 

year 2004. The two-year gap allows 

agencies to follow offenders from 

arrest to sentencing and even the 

participation in and completion of 

treatment.
Understanding Your Local Problem 19

Of those given jail time for a misdemeanor, what 

percentage re-assaults their former partner upon 

release?

What percentage of offenders is sentenced to 

alternatives to prison or jail (such as treatment 

programs or electronic monitoring)? 

What percentage of offenders sentenced to courtmandated treatment completes the treatment?

What percentage of “treated” offenders re-offends 

against their former partner?

Incidents

How many domestic violence calls per year involve 

physical violence? Is it on an increasing trend line, a 

decreasing trend line, or stable?

What percentage of domestic violence calls to 

police is placed by victims? By neighbors, friends, 

employers, or children of victims?

What percentage of domestic violence incidents 

involves the man as the primary aggressor? The 

woman?

How many phone calls do domestic violence 

hotlines in your area receive annually? Is there a 

pattern to the calls (days of week, times of day, 

repeat victims calling)?

Locations/Times

When do domestic violence incidents commonly 

occur? During child custody exchanges? When 

the victim or offender returns home to collect 

belongings after the other party has moved out? 

On certain days of the week? Days of the month? 

Times of the day? Are patrol officers aware of 

these patterns?

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•
Where do domestic violence incidents commonly 

occur? Are there particular places such as apartment 

complexes or mobile home parks where incidents 

involving different victims and offenders commonly 

occur? 

Current Responses

What do the police department and other local 

agencies do to encourage victims to report domestic 

violence to the police?

Are community support services adequate to 

address the counseling, housing, employment, 

childcare, substance abuse, emergency financial, and 

transportation needs of victims and child witnesses? 

Are these services easily accessible to victims?

What percentage of domestic violence victims 

actually follows up with referral services?

What is the average nightly number of domestic 

violence victims that local women’s shelters house? 

What percentage of the victims in the shelters 

called the police to report the physical abuse? 

What is the average length of stay? What followup do these shelters provide once a victim leaves 

the shelter? Is there a sufficient number of shelter 

beds in the community for victims who exit abusive 

relationships?

What is the current police agency policy regarding 

domestic violence incidents?

What is the current prosecution policy regarding 

domestic violence incidents?

Is treatment available? If so, what kind of 

treatment is it, and has it been evaluated?

•

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20 Domestic Violence
Measuring Your Effectiveness

Measurement allows you to determine to what degree 

your efforts have succeeded, and suggests how you 

might modify your responses if they are not producing 

the intended results. You should take measures of your 

problem before you implement responses, to determine 

how serious the problem is, and after you implement 

them, to determine whether they have been effective. (For 

more detailed guidance on measuring effectiveness, see 

the companion guide to this series, Assessing Responses to 

Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers.) 

Impact measures gauge the degree to which you reduced 

the harms caused by the problem. Process measures 

gauge the degree to which you implemented responses 

as planned. A good assessment employs both impact and 

process measures.

Impact Measures

The following are potentially useful measures of the 

effectiveness of responses to domestic violence:

reduced number of actual incidents of domestic 

violence

reduced number of domestic violence calls 

involving repeat victims

reduced number of repeat offenders

reduced frequency of battering by repeat offenders 

(longer time intervals between physical abuse)

reduced percentage of domestic violence offenders 

who re-offend during or after treatment. 

•

•

•

•

•

Understanding Your Local Problem 21
Process Measures

The following are potentially useful measures of the 

extent to which you implemented your planned responses:

increased number of chronic or severe batterers 

incarcerated

increased percentage of victims using referral 

services

increased percentage of domestic violence calls to 

police being made by victims, as opposed to other 

parties

increased information about repeat victimization 

from more comprehensive victim interviews and 

records review

increased official follow-up with repeat victims and 

repeat offenders

increased medical screening of women for domestic 

violence victimization

increased percentage of domestic violence arrests 

resulting in a conviction

reduced amount of time between arrest and 

conviction

reduced percentage of incidents where both parties 

are arrested

increased partnering with researchers to design 

evaluation of efforts

increased availability of customized batterer 

treatment programs.

•

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22 Domestic Violence
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 23

Responses to the Problem of 

Domestic Violence

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better 

understanding of the patterns of domestic violence cases and 

calls in your jurisdiction. Once you have analyzed your local 

problem or important aspects of it and established a baseline 

for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible 

responses to address the problem. 

These strategies are drawn from a variety of sources, 

including descriptive materials, research studies, and police 

reports. It is critical that you tailor responses based on 

reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will 

involve implementing several different responses. Law 

enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in 

reducing or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to 

considering what police can do: carefully consider others in 

your community who share responsibility for the problem 

and can help police better respond to it. In some cases, the 

responsibility of responding may need to shift toward those 

who have the capacity to implement more effective responses. 

(For more detailed information on shifting and sharing 

responsibility, see Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and Sharing 

Responsibility for Public Safety Problems).

General Considerations for an 

Effective Response Strategy

1. Implementing a comprehensive and collaborative 

response strategy. Comprehensive and collaborative 

approaches to reducing domestic violence are more likely 

to succeed than piecemeal approaches, but they require 

significant commitment from all participating. One research 

team wrote, “[a]n offense as complex as domestic violence is 
24 Domestic Violence

§ For a fuller description of the 

different types of integrated 

approaches adopted and their 

studies, see Buzawa and Buzawa, 

chapter 15 (2003). 

unlikely to be prevented by a single measure.”53 A thorough 

assessment of the current overall response to domestic 

violence can identify critical gaps in strategies, resources, 

and response protocols.

Although some communities have adopted a more 

integrated approach engaging advocates, police, and the 

criminal justice system,§ for the most part, recidivism 

remains high. In the small studies of these integrated 

domestic violence approaches, there is evidence that victim 

satisfaction is high but insufficient evidence that recidivism 

and revictimization rates have decreased. One commentary 

suggests that the small core of persistent batterers (who are 

violent toward others as well as their intimates) are perhaps 

resistant to even highly coordinated efforts.54

To improve the likelihood that a comprehensive approach 

reduces recidivism and victimization requires a continuum 

of responses depending on the most reliable research and 

covering the different points in time most important to 

reducing domestic abuse: before an incident to keep it 

from occurring, during an incident to stop the immediate 

violence, and after an incident to reduce or prevent 

revictimization. It involves responses that focus on victims 

and potential victims and strategies that focus on offenders 

and potential offenders. As well, it involves the improved 

identification and reporting of cases of abuse between 

current and former intimates and dating partners. 

The matrix below may help you organize the strategic focus, 

goals, and timing of your responses to domestic violence. 

This section is followed by information on the impact of 

specific responses to domestic violence strategies. Many of 

the responses will require the support and collaboration of 

other governmental agencies and community nonprofits. 
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 25

At-risk population

Figure 2. Matrix of Responses to Domestic Violence

Strategic Focus Strategic 

Times for 

Responses

Goal Police Role Other Agencies, 

Organizations, 

Group

Before incidents

Ongoing

During medical 

care

During

After; ongoing

Prevention; 

persuade those 

at risk that, if 

abused, call the 

police

Getting peers 

and neighbors 

to call the police 

if they learn of 

domestic abuse 

Screen the 

injured for 

domestic 

violence; raise 

awareness 

of available 

services; provide 

medical care

Violence 

cessation

Prevent 

revictimization 

Alert and educate atrisk victim population; 

educate/warn at-risk 

offending population 

Educate these groups 

about the importance 

of calling the police 

to reduce the violence

Engage the medical 

profession and link 

medical professionals 

with appropriate 

referral organizations

Stop the violence; 

identify primary 

aggressor; accurately 

identify abuse history

Assist with victim 

safety; develop 

tailored strategies for 

victim and offender 

based on risk/physical 

violence history; 

increase focus on 

high-risk offenders; 

ensure victim is 

linked with needed 

resources; increase 

focus on high-risk 

victims; ongoing 

monitoring 

Public health 

organizations; 

domestic violence 

coalitions; schools 

and educators; 

medical professionals

Public health 

organizations; 

domestic violence 

coalitions; educators

Medical professionals

Medical and public 

health professionals

Domestic violence 

victim advocates, 

victims’ friends 

and family, shelters, 

victim services, 

criminal justice 

system, treatment 

services

Peers and 

neighbors of at-risk 

individuals

Injured women and 

men

Individual incident

Immediately after 

incident
26 Domestic Violence

2. Educating collaborative partners. Each partner in a 

domestic violence reduction collaborative brings a unique 

perspective and body of knowledge. It is important for 

members of domestic violence collaborations to operate 

with precise and accurate information about what does 

and does not work and about the dimensions of the 

problem in your community. Do not assume that other 

professional groups participating in the collaborative have 

the most up-to-date knowledge about the problem or are 

following prescribed protocols. 

3. Tailoring the police response on the basis of 

offender and victim risk. Some researchers advocate a 

graded response to domestic violence. They view batterers 

along a continuum—some are easily dissuaded from 

rebattering, others require increased actions—and a 

graded or tiered approach to control offender behavior 

can be effective. For instance, we know that a percentage 

of batterers is deterred from rebattering simply by having 

the police called on them, so encouraging reporting is 

essential; others may be deterred with the additional 

application of a restraining order. More is required to 

keep other batterers from rebattering, which suggests a 

need to refine assessments about who these batterers are.55 

Some researchers also suggest a graded approach to victim 

safety for similar reasons: some victims are at low risk of 

being revictimized and some are at higher risk. 

Graded approaches to both victim and offender can 

be effective ways to reduce revictimization. British 

researchers conducted several evaluations and found 

that significant reductions in repeat victimization are 

achievable.56 The key to reduction is that, at each level, 

police (and others) must focus equal attention on the 

victim and the offender. The victim and the offender 

must know about the actions police have and will take in 
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 27

relation to each other. Graded approaches must be applied 

quickly because the highest risk period for further assault 

is within the first four weeks of the last assault.57

Under a graded approach victims are assigned to one of 

three follow-up response levels based on the following:

the harm the abuser caused or threatened

the victim’s account of previous incidents not 

reported to the police

all incidents recorded in police databases involving 

the same victim with the same offender§

the offender’s previous violence to other victims.58

Each of the three levels to which a victim is assigned 

requires some follow-up. There is in an increase in the 

variety and intensity of safety measures used to protect 

the victim and to restrict the offender from rebattering if 

the offender’s violence and criminal history indicates he is 

at an increased risk to re-offend.59 Evaluations of graded 

approaches found reduced domestic violence calls and 

increased time intervals between violence.60 The methods 

to protect the victim or deter the offender can include 

a variety of situational crime prevention opportunity 

blocking mechanisms, such as the following:

increased police surveillance of victims’ homes

greater coordination with other parts of the criminal 

justice system

pendant alarms for at-risk victims

video cameras placed in high-risk victims’ homes

cocoon watch over victims§§

target hardening of victims’ vulnerable properties

police watch of offenders

police opposition to bail

•

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•

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•

•

§ Incidents other than domestic 

violence are reviewed because they 

may be indicators of escalating 

aggressiveness (Hanmer et al. 1999). 

§§ With a victim’s permission, 

neighbors, relatives, friends, or all 

three are asked to look out for the 

victim and immediately call if the 

offender returns. 
28 Domestic Violence

electronic ankle bracelet monitoring of high-risk 

released offenders

alarm-activated recording devices with two-way 

speech capability (allowing victims to speak directly to 

the police, and vice versa).§ 

Tailoring police responses to particular offenders based 

on the seriousness and frequency of their offenses has 

been successfully applied in the context of conventional 

crime and may be as useful for dealing with domestic 

batterers.§§ This is likely because much domestic violence 

is committed by repeat and chronic offenders who may 

be particularly vulnerable because they often are under 

various forms of legal supervision due to past offending.61

According to Buzawa and Buzawa, “The criminal justice 

system must develop the capabilities to identify those 

batterers for whom normal deterrence can be effective, 

perhaps the majority in terms of numbers of incidents... 

[i]t should also be able to differentiate, segregate, and 

incapacitate batterers who must be deterred by special 

approaches.”62

Specific Responses to Domestic Violence

4. Educating potential victims and offenders.

Some police agencies participate in domestic violence 

awareness campaigns and school programming, such as 

classroom instruction to teens about dating violence and 

ways to handle conflict. Domestic violence prevention 

messages may target the general population or specific 

populations. For example, campaigns may be designed to 

encourage victim reporting, deter potential offenders, or 

raise the consciousness of potential witnesses of abuse 

(neighbors, friends, relatives).§§§ However, the effect of 

these prevention strategies is unknown.63 For instance, 

•

• § To view the 25 techniques of 

situational crime prevention, see 

www.popcenter.org/25techniques.

htm in the Center for ProblemOriented Policing. Click on a 

particular technique to view its 

description. 

§§ See Kennedy, Waring, and Piehl 

(2001) for a description of the 

pulling levers/focused deterrence 

application in the homicide context, 

and Spelman (1990) for a discussion 

of repeat offender programs. See 

Kennedy (2002) for a discussion of 

the application of the approach to 

domestic violence.

§§§ The Lancashire (United 

Kingdom) Police Constabulary 

placed messages about domestic 

violence on police vehicles, beer 

glass coasters in bars, utility bills, 

and lampposts, and used radio 

advertising to increase awareness of 

domestic violence.
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 29

few of the programs developed to reduce teen dating 

violence have been evaluated, and of those that have, 

there have been mixed results.64 Although some report 

an increase in knowledge in the targeted population and 

greater familiarity with available resources to help victims, 

this does not necessarily translate into a reduction in the 

incidence level of dating violence.

As a rule, prevention is more likely to work if highly 

targeted. General campaigns are not typically effective. 

Highly targeted campaigns that focus on a specific 

target group or geographic area can have some impact. 

Offender-oriented campaigns, which are designed to 

raise potential offenders’ perceptions that there will be 

meaningful consequences to battering, are more likely 

to be effective than campaigns that appeal to potential 

offenders’ morals.§ 

Prevention efforts targeting potential victims should 

focus on those at higher risk, such as young women 

ages 16 to 24, as they experience the highest rates of 

intimate violence. Special efforts should be made to 

reach the poorest women in this age group as they are at 

an even higher risk. In addition, some recent immigrant 

communities, depending on the laws and privileges in 

the home country, may show a high level of domestic 

abuse, particularly if there is a lack of familiarity with 

assault laws in the adopted country.§§ One of the reasons 

crime prevention campaigns have had limited success 

is that potential victims do not see themselves as such; 

victim-oriented prevention campaigns must overcome this 

threshold issue.

§ For more in-depth information 

about prevention campaigns and 

the conditions under which they 

are most likely to be effective, 

see Response Guide No. 5, Crime 

Prevention Publicity Campaigns.

§§ For a review of the research 

pertaining to domestic violence and 

immigrant populations, see Buzawa 

and Buzawa (2003). 
30 Domestic Violence

5. Encouraging domestic violence victims and 

witnesses to call the police. Police and other members 

of a domestic violence reduction collaborative should 

encourage people to call the police if they are victims 

of, witnesses to, or know a victim of domestic violence. 

Prevention and education efforts should include this as 

a core message. A study of more than 2,500 domestic 

violence victims concluded that calling the police had a 

strong deterrent effect on revictimization, even when the 

police did not make an arrest, when the offender had a 

prior history of violence against the victim, and when 

the assault was sexual. Calling the police was beneficial 

even when the violence was severe. In addition, offender 

retaliation did not appear to be more likely even when a 

victim rather than a third party called police.65,§ 

6. Encouraging other professionals to screen for 

domestic violence victimization and make appropriate 

referrals. The American Medical Association adopted 

domestic violence screening and referral guidelines for 

medical practitioners.66 Physicians should screen injured 

women patients to determine if domestic violence was 

the cause of the injury.§§ Medical professionals should 

also discuss domestic violence with pregnant patients 

during prenatal checkups. Physicians’ documentation of 

specific incidents of domestic abuse can be critical to the 

successful prosecutions of batterers.§§§

In spite of these professional recommendations, most 

physicians are reluctant to routinely screen women 

for domestic violence, citing a lack of training in how 

to conduct screenings and insufficient knowledge of 

appropriate responses and referrals when a patient 

discloses domestic violence.67 

§ The study, which examined felony 

and misdemeanor violence, male 

and female offenders, and couples 

in different types of relationships, 

tracked victims for three years.

§§ The American Academy of 

Pediatrics, the American Medical 

Association, and the American 

College of Obstetricians and 

Gynecologists all endorse screening. 

§§§ See Issac and Enos (2001) 

for guidelines for proper medical 

documentation of battered patients.
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 31

§ More than 60 U.S. law schools 

offer student advocacy services for 

domestic violence victims at court 

proceedings (Roberts, 2002b).

7. Providing victims with emergency protection and 

services after an assault. Battered women’s shelters 

protect women from further harm after an assault, 

sometimes on referral from the police and sometimes 

not. Typical services include a domestic violence hotline, 

temporary housing, information and referrals to other 

social services, safety planning, victim advocacy for 

emergency benefits or at court proceedings, and referrals 

for legal services.§

The first shelter for battered women and their children 

opened in London in 1972. There are currently more than 

2,000 shelters in the United States.68 In most communities, 

shelters raise community funds for operation; in some 

communities, police contribute a portion of their 

budget to aid in shelter operation. Shelters often rely on 

volunteers and a few paid personnel to provide roundthe-clock assistance to battered women and their families. 

Little is known about the number of repeat victims served 

annually, the length of average stays, or the effectiveness 

of shelter services in preventing subsequent violence. 

Although there are confidentiality issues to resolve or 

respect, police should seek to exchange information 

with domestic violence victim service providers as much 

as possible to learn more about the domestic violence 

victim population, some of whom do not seek out 

police assistance. This information exchange can aid in 

identifying the highest risk victims and offenders, targeting 

prevention efforts, designing safety plans, and learning 

more about the community’s offenders.
32 Domestic Violence

Recently emerging are family justice centers, which 

house domestic violence victim services in one location 

to increase victim survival, independence, and recovery. 

Formerly, victim services were scattered in different 

places, sometimes at opposite ends of cities. If victims 

followed up with these fragmented services, they too 

often experienced the frustration of retelling the story of 

violence to every individual provider.§

8. Assessing the threat of repeat victimization. 

Gathering accurate information about past abuse, 

including unreported incidents, is critical in assessing a 

victim’s current risk and tailoring appropriate offender 

interventions. Although there is no foolproof profile of 

a repeat batterer or repeat victim, having a complete and 

accurate picture of both the victim’s and the offender’s 

history of abuse is useful for predicting future risk. You 

may need to gather records from other jurisdictions where 

the victim or offender lived. You should also be alert 

for other related behaviors such as threats of violence, 

harassment, trespassing, vandalism, stalking, protective 

order violations, and prior use of a gun, as these behaviors 

offer clues as to whether abusive behavior is chronic and/

or escalating.

You should supplement official records with the victim’s 

personal knowledge about the offender. Keep in mind that 

for a variety of social and psychological reasons, victims 

may be reluctant to reveal the extent of the battering, 

particularly to police. 

Police may consider soliciting the assistance of trained 

medical professionals to help determine a victim’s abuse 

history. A study of one initiative in which a doctor and 

a nurse (or paramedic) accompanied police on domestic 

violence calls found victims revealing much more about 

§ The San Diego Family Justice 

Center provides victims with 

advocacy, childcare, clothing, 

counseling, court support, 

deaf/hard-of-hearing assistance, 

emergency housing, food, forensic 

documentation of injuries, 

housing for pets, internet access, 

law enforcement, legal assistance, 

locksmith services, medical services, 

military assistance, phones, phone 

cards, restraining orders, support 

groups, safety planning, spiritual 

support, transportation, and victim 

compensation (San Diego Family 

Justice Center). 
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 33

the extent to which their partner battered them than 

police typically elicit, suggesting that victims may feel 

more comfortable reporting repeat victimization to 

medical professionals. Even with the high levels of 

repeat victimization uncovered, few victims had sought 

counseling, shelter, or medical treatment for the prior 

assaults.69 

There is great interest in developing an assessment 

instrument police can use to predict and help prevent 

domestic violence homicides. Although some such 

instruments exist, they tend to over-predict lethality. This 

is because only a very small portion of domestic violence 

victims are murdered and distinguishing between victims 

who will be murdered and those who will not remains 

elusive. For instance, even though offender unemployment 

is a risk factor, the vast majority of unemployed abusers 

do not murder their current or former intimates. Even 

when you combine unemployment with other risks it does 

not give you the profile of a murderer, but someone who 

is at an increased risk of battering. 

9. Arresting offenders. Many U.S. police agencies 

adopted pro-arrest or mandatory arrest domestic violence 

policies in the 1980s and early 1990s. Propelling these 

policies were:

legal decisions establishing civil liability against 

the police for failure to protect women victims of 

domestic violence70

the women’s movement’s advocacy and activism on 

behalf of domestic violence victims. The women’s 

movement challenged the view of domestic violence 

as a family problem that could or should be handled 

privately or differently from stranger assault

widespread dissemination of pro-arrest results of a 

misdemeanor domestic assault research study.71,§ 

•

•

•

§ More than 300 newspapers 

reported the results of the study, 

unprecedented coverage for that 

time (Fagan, 1996).
34 Domestic Violence

Generally, pro-arrest laws and policies apply not only to 

spouses, but to unmarried partners, former intimates, 

and persons who had or raised a child together. In 

many jurisdictions the laws or policies apply to both 

heterosexual and homosexual relationships. 

Police interventions in domestic violence incidents have 

expanded beyond merely separating and counseling the 

parties; they’ve become full-blown criminal investigations 

in which witnesses are interviewed, neighbors are 

canvassed, injuries are photographed, physical evidence 

is collected, future threats are assessed, and victims are 

referred to follow-up protective services and helped to 

plan for their future safety. In addition, some states permit 

police to seize firearms from alleged batterers,72 and 

federal laws generally prohibit convicted misdemeanant 

batterers or those against whom there is a valid order 

of protection from possessing a gun.73 All U.S. states 

now permit police to make warrantless arrests for both 

misdemeanor and felony assaults.74

The highly influential 1980s study of police interventions 

in domestic violence incidents in Minneapolis found 

deterrence value in arrest in misdemeanor domestic 

assaults, as compared to two other interventions — 

separation of parties or mediation of the dispute at the 

scene.75 However, less well-reported replication studies 

in the late 1980s produced mixed results.76 A more 

recent analysis combining five of the replication studies 

concluded there is only some modest deterrent effect from 

arrest.77 However, even this modest effect should be 

viewed with caution for several reasons:

These studies considered only misdemeanor, not 

felony, domestic assaults. 

•
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 35

Offenders’ employment status appears to be an 

important variable: unemployed offenders have less at 

stake (they will not lose their jobs) if they re-offend 

and thus are less deterred by arrest.78 

A prior arrest record for any crime, and intoxication 

at the time of the incident, increase the risk that 

batterers will re-offend after arrest.79 

A small group of offenders, perhaps fewer than 10 

percent, appear to continue battering regardless of 

the intervention, including arrest.80,§ 

A more recent study of victims of both misdemeanor and 

felony assaults concluded the following:

calling the police was a strong deterrent to repeat 

battering

the effects of arrest were small and statistically 

insignificant but could not be ruled out completely

if arrest does have an effect, it is likely to be modest, 

particularly in comparison to the effect of calling the 

police.81,§§ 

Victim advocacy groups have generally not been swayed 

by findings of little or modest effect of arrest. For many 

advocates, batterer arrest is seen as an important symbol 

of a woman’s legal right to be free of intimate partner 

violence82 and, moreover, argue that police continue to 

arrest other types of offenders without strong evidence 

of its effectiveness. Arrest is believed to be an important 

message to children that abuse of their parent is illegal, 

and perhaps also a deterrent to male children as they 

become men.§§§ This belief has not yet been properly 

studied, however.

•

•

•

•

•

•

§ Nearly ten percent of the 

more than 3,000 studied battered 

repeatedly regardless of the 

intervention. This group of 250 

batterers accounted for 7,380 

battering incidents in the six 

months after the initial intervention. 

Interventions, even arrest, did not 

deter this small but violent group.

§§ The researchers found that 

batterers who battered again had an 

increased likelihood of battering a 

third time, and offenders who were 

under the influence of alcohol or 

drugs at the time of the incident 

were more likely to re-offend. The 

researchers did not find that marital 

status, poverty, race, education 

or gender improved the effect of 

arrest, but because they did not have 

access to employment information, 

they could not rule out that arrest 

deters employed offenders but not 

unemployed offenders. 

§§§ Victims of domestic abuse 

have also called for police agencies 

to monitor, address, and more 

appropriately sanction officers 

engaging in domestic assault. 

Although some police agencies have 

been responsive, additional efforts 

are required for victims to have 

higher levels of confidence in police 

agencies’ domestic violence response 

policies.
36 Domestic Violence

10. Issuing and enforcing restraining orders.

Restraining orders (also known as “stay away” or 

protective orders) are intended to prevent offenders from 

further harassing, threatening or contacting the victims. 

Courts have made restraining orders widely available to 

domestic violence victims, whether or not they file a 

police report.§ Courts may issue a temporary (time-limited) 

restraining order even when the “party being restrained” 

is not present or represented. Protective relief may be 

temporary or permanent.§§ Violation of these orders is 

now a criminal offense in all U.S. states.83 

Domestic violence restraining orders are frequently 

violated although some offenders may be deterred by 

them. Some research findings suggest that a victim is 

more likely to seek a protective order if the partner had 

a criminal history of violent offending, which may be 

why so many orders are violated; those with robust abuse 

histories may be the least likely to be deterred by written 

limits§§§ so police are advised that more must be done in 

these cases. 

11. Aggressively pursuing criminal prosecution of 

severe domestic violence cases and publicizing 

convictions. Police pro-arrest and mandatory arrest 

policies have generated significantly larger caseloads 

for prosecutors. Similarly, prosecution policies against 

dropping charges (“no-drop”) even when the victim 

expresses such a desire (the functional equivalent of 

“mandatory arrest” for police) has further strained 

prosecutorial resources.84,§§§§ Although such police and 

prosecution policies can have the beneficial effect of 

reducing an offender’s urge to retaliate against the victim 

because responsibility for the prosecution is no longer 

in the victim’s hands,§§§§§ it is not yet clear whether such 

§ In most jurisdictions these are 

obtained from civil court; however, 

some jurisdictions also grant 

concurrent jurisdiction to criminal 

court. Criminal courts can also issue 

these once a criminal proceeding 

begins.

§§ Civil restraining orders were 

in fact developed to counter the 

reluctance of police, prosecutors, 

and criminal courts to treat domestic 

violence as a serious criminal matter 

(Buzawa and Buzawa, 2003).

§§§ For a good review of the 

research about protective orders, see 

Buzawa and Buzawa (2003).

§§§§ The rationale for “no-drop” 

policies is that the state has an 

independent interest in seeing 

domestic violence offenders 

prosecuted because of the harm 

caused to victims, victims’ children, 

and potential victims.

§§§§§ Victim recanting remains 

high. As a result, many prosecutors 

rely on physical evidence such as 

photographs and medical reports 

of victims’ injuries and out-ofcourt statements (e.g., 911 call 

tapes of in-progress assaults) to 

counter uncooperative and fearful 

victims. For an excellent review 

of prosecutorial response to the 

increased numbers of domestic 

violence cases and studies of 

prosecutorial case screening 

practices, see Buzawa and Buzawa 

chapter 11 (2003).
Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 37

policies have limited further violence or have had the 

unintended consequence of discouraging some victims 

from calling police in the first instance.85 

“No-drop” policies have some drawbacks. Victim 

discretion is further reduced, case backlogs increase, 

and time to disposition is lengthened, which can strain 

resources devoted to pretrial victim safety.86 The increase 

in prosecutorial workload can force prosecutors to trade 

off the prosecution of other crimes for misdemeanor 

battering. It is now apparent that prosecutors in “nodrop” jurisdictions rarely prosecute all cases; they retain 

some level of discretion in case filing decisions, typically 

at the intake and case screening point.87 Police must 

therefore help prosecutors identify the most severe 

and chronic cases from among the many arrests and 

encourage prosecutors to prosecute such cases vigorously, 

make special efforts to protect the victim,§ and publicize 

convictions so as to maximize the general deterrent effect. 

12. Establishing special domestic violence courts. 

There are more than 200 domestic violence courts in 

the United States, and a growing number in the United 

Kingdom as well. The proliferation of these courts is 

part of a wider trend toward specialty courts: drug court, 

mental health court, drunk driving court, etc.§§ Advocates 

for specialty courts believe they result in improved 

outcomes: an increase in specialty knowledge critical to 

case handling (including the dynamics of the underlying 

crime/behavior, whether it is battering, drinking, or 

schizophrenia, depending upon the court), timely attention 

to the case, and a concentration of appropriate resources 

that traditional courts do not have that can lead to more 

effective case handling. 

§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 

42, Witness Intimidation, for further 

information on measures to protect 

victim-witnesses.

§§ Some of these courts are termed 

“problem-solving” courts, but the 

term in this context should not 

be confused with its meaning in 

problem-oriented policing. Problemsolving in the court context refers 

to solving the individual defendant’s 

personal problems that contribute 

to his offending rather than to 

addressing an aggregation of 

incidents. See National Center for 

State Courts (n.d.).
38 Domestic Violence

Typically in specialty courts a single judge works with 

a community team to develop a case plan for the 

defendant and uses pending criminal sanctions to compel 

a defendant’s compliance with treatment. The judge 

monitors compliance and imposes criminal sanctions if 

the defendant fails to keep to the case plan. 

Early evaluations of domestic violence courts generally 

report on how these courts handle their workload, victim 

satisfaction, and issues of implementation. It remains 

unclear if these courts impact recidivism. Researchers 

who examined these courts in New York describe some 

of the more important unresolved issues: 

Many domestic violence advocates are hesitant to 

embrace the idea that domestic violence courts are 

“problem-solving courts.” There are substantial 

differences between domestic violence courts 

and other problem-solving courts. Many of these 

differences stem from how success is measured and 

to whom services are offered. Drug courts can easily 

look to see whether defendants are successfully 

completing their court-mandated drug-treatment 

programs. But domestic violence courts are not 

targeted at “rehabilitating” defendants. Indeed, 

services are offered primarily to help victims achieve 

independence. The primary “service” offered to 

defendants is batterers programs. But in New York, 

batterers programs are used by domestic violence 

courts primarily as a monitoring tool rather than 

as a therapeutic device. This approach is based 

on the research about batterers programs, which 

is extremely mixed. It is unclear whether these 

programs have any impact at all in deterring further 

violence.88 
13. Providing treatment for batterers. Some batterer 

treatment programs are voluntary; others are courtmandated. In some jurisdictions, prosecutors recommend 

these programs as part of pre-trial diversion; in others 

they are part of court-ordered mandatory sentencing. 

Many states now mandate batterer treatment.89 

Batterer treatment programs may take a variety of forms. 

Many offer group treatment with a focus on anger 

management. Others include individual assessments and 

individual counseling, and substance abuse and/or mental 

health treatment.90 

Unfortunately, few batterer treatment programs have 

undergone thorough evaluation, and those that have show 

a mix of positive and negative results.91 Court-mandated 

treatment is more likely to result in batterers completing 

programs,92 “but there is little evidence to support the 

effectiveness of one batterer program over another in 

reducing recidivism.”93

The quality of the evaluations of batterer treatment 

programs have improved over time but continue to 

encounter both methodological and programmatic 

challenges as illustrated by two recent studies of batterer 

treatment programs, one in Broward County, Florida and 

the other in Brooklyn, New York.94 In both, offender 

treatment was based on the Duluth treatment model, 

which is the most commonly used.§ The Broward 

evaluation found that treatment attendance did not reduce 

battering, but that offenders who were married, employed, 

or homeowners were less likely to batter again (that 

is, these offenders had a “stake in conformity”). Also, 

younger men, particularly those with no stable residence, 

were more likely to rebatter.95 In Brooklyn, the evaluation 

showed minor improvement for some of the batterers 

Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 39

§ The Duluth model suggests that 

batterers seek to control their 

partners (or ex-partners) and this 

must change for batterers’ behavior 

to change (Pence and Paymar, 

1993). The model “helps offenders 

to understand how their socialized 

beliefs about male dominance 

impede intimacy; that violence is 

intentional and a choice designed 

to control their intimate partner; 

that the effects of abusive behavior 

damage the family; and that everyone 

has the ability to change” (Minnesota 

Program Development, Inc.).
(that is, some reduction in the number of battering 

incidents for those attending a 26-week treatment program 

rather than the same program condensed into an eightweek schedule). In neither case were batterers’ attitudes 

toward domestic abuse changed. Even these evaluation 

results are not fully reliable because both studies 

experienced data collection challenges as a result of a high 

drop-out rate by offenders, difficulty finding relocated 

victims for follow-up interviews, and inadequate offender 

attitude assessment tools. In addition, judges sometimes 

overrode random assignment of batterers, thereby tainting 

the makeup of the different groups studied.96 Evaluations 

of other types of treatment programs, including cognitivebehavior therapy (another widely used approach), have 

also suffered from similar methodological flaws.

Several experts suggest that greater refinement in 

assigning batterers to appropriate programs could improve 

results. The most chronic batterers should receive the 

most intensive treatment.97 A “one-size fits-all” approach 

to batterer intervention cannot accommodate the diverse 

population of batterers entering the criminal justice 

system.”98 The different types of batterers—family-only, 

one who is generally violent even to others, dysphoric 

(mood-disordered)/borderline—may require tailored 

treatment.99

Experts recommend that treatment programs be designed 

around explicit theories. In other words, each intervention 

proposed should have a specific underlying theory. 

Outcomes expected from each of the interventions should 

be clearly defined and then evaluated for short- and 

long-term impact. Designing treatment programs that fit 

this model requires close collaboration between service 

providers and researchers.100 In addition, the timing 

of treatment may be an important element to success. 

40 Domestic Violence
“Counseling ideally would begin almost immediately 

after a violent episode, when the offender feels most 

remorseful, most frightened of the criminal justice system, 

and most receptive to demands for change.”101

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

14. Arresting both parties in a domestic violence 

incident. Arresting both participants in a domestic 

violence incident (so-called “dual arrest”) under the 

principle of mutual combat is ineffective toward 

interrupting the pattern of violence between the two. In 

the context of the longer history of the relationship—as 

opposed to the one incident—there is nearly always one 

primary aggressor. When police respond to a domestic 

violence call, self-defense may look like “mutual combat” 

and only detailed interviews of the parties (their prior 

abuse history) and witnesses may reveal the primary 

aggressor. In addition, at the scene of domestic abuse, “a 

victim may feel safe to express anger against the batterer 

in the presence of the police ... giving the impression 

that they are the perpetrators.”102 As a result, more than 

20 states have enacted primary aggressor or “predominant 

aggressor” laws. Even these might not be enough to 

discourage dual arrest practices unless the law recognizes 

the importance of ascertaining the pattern/history 

and not just the aggression within a single incident. To 

complicate matters, there are couples in which both 

partners are violent. These are more likely to entail 

“recurrent acts of minor violence initiated by either party, 

but the type of violence generally seen by police (and 

in shelter and clinical samples) is more likely to involve 

serious and frequent beatings, as well as the terrorizing of 

women.”§ 

Responses to the Problem of Domestic Violence 41

§ For a good discussion of “dual 

arrest” research and the complexities 

within the primary aggressor issue, 

see Buzawa and Buzawa (2003).

Appendix: Summary of Responses to Domestic Violence 43

Appendix: Summary of Responses to 

Domestic Violence

The table below summarizes the responses to 

domestic violence, the mechanism by which they are 

intended to work, the conditions under which they 

ought to work best, and some factors you should 

consider before implementing a particular response. 

It is critical that you tailor responses to local 

circumstances, and that you can justify each response 

based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective 

strategy will involve implementing several different 

responses. Law enforcement responses alone are 

seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.

1.

2.

23

26

Implementing a 

comprehensive 

and collaborative 

response strategy

Educating 

collaborative 

partners

Addresses both 

victimization 

and offending; 

identifies gaps 

in strategies, 

resources, 

and response 

protocols 

Increases 

likelihood of 

adoption of 

proven effective 

responses

... the 

collaborative does 

an appraisal of 

the community’s 

response to 

domestic violence 

to identify what is 

and isn’t working 

and gaps

...collaborative 

partners commit 

to relying 

on facts and 

research, rather 

than anecdotes

Group should be 

educated about 

what works 

in reducing 

domestic violence 

victimization and 

revictimization and 

the limitations of 

some approaches; 

group commits to 

ongoing evaluation 

of efforts; 

collaboration 

with a university 

researcher may be 

useful; will probably 

require a champion 

who pursues a 

collaborative 

response strategy

Requires high level 

of coordination

Response 

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy
44 Domestic Violence

3.

4.

5.

6. 

26

28

30

30

Tailoring the 

police response 

on the basis of 

offender and 

victim risk

Educating 

potential victims 

and offenders

Encouraging 

victims and 

witnesses to call 

the police

Encouraging 

other 

professionals 

to screen 

for domestic 

violence 

victimization 

and make 

appropriate 

referrals

Applies the most 

appropriate type 

and level of 

response to the 

particular victim 

and offender

Encourages 

victim reporting, 

de-motivates 

potential 

offenders, 

or raises the 

consciousness 

of potential 

witnesses to 

abuse

Deters potential 

and actual 

offenders

Increases 

likelihood 

of effective 

intervention 

in abusive 

relationships

Accurate 

victimization 

and offending 

information 

is needed to 

select the most 

appropriate level 

of response

If evaluation 

mechanisms are 

not put in place, 

the campaign, 

which can be 

costly, will remain 

of unknown value

Hard core 

batterers are 

not likely to be 

deterred just by 

calling, so more 

must be done

Requires active 

participation 

of community’s 

medical profession 

Response 

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

...offender is 

told about the 

measures police 

put in place; 

graded responses 

are applied 

quickly because 

the highest risk 

period for further 

assault is within 

the first four 

weeks of the last 

assault 

...efforts are 

highly targeted 

and focused on a 

geographic area 

or certain highrisk groups

...at-risk 

populations and 

their peers and 

neighbors believe 

that calling the 

police will be 

effective

...doctors have 

adequate training

Specific Responses to Domestic Violence
Appendix: Summary of Responses to Domestic Violence 45

7.

8.

9.

10.

31

32

33

36

Providing 

victims with 

emergency 

protection and 

services after an 

assault

Assessing the 

threat of repeat 

victimization

Arresting 

offenders

Issuing and 

enforcing 

restraining 

orders

Provides safe 

place for victims; 

improves 

information 

sharing between 

police and 

victim service 

providers; 

informs police 

about high-risk 

victims and 

offenders; links 

victims with 

other essential 

services 

Determines need 

for immediate 

protection of 

victim and 

apprehension of 

offender

Incapacitates 

offender during 

high-risk periods 

and deters 

potential and 

actual offenders

Removes excuses 

for offender and 

victim to come 

into contact with 

one another 

May require 

extensive 

discussions 

by parties to 

define roles, 

responsibilities, 

and limits of 

partnership; 

collaboration 

requires 

agreement about 

confidentiality 

issues 

Requires training 

and timely 

and accurate 

intelligence 

information

Under some 

conditions arrest 

may increase risk 

of revictimization; 

some offenders 

undeterred by 

arrest

Police see violation 

of a restraining 

order as the need 

for a victim safety 

plan, and the 

adoption of a 

graded response 

to both victim 

and offender 

depending on the 

circumstances

...there is a 

belief that each 

service provider, 

including the 

police, has a 

common interest 

in ensuring 

victim safety and

de-motivating 

the offender 

...officers/

collaborators 

trained to assess 

revictimization 

threats

...a graded 

response to 

battering 

is adopted 

depending on 

the likelihood of 

rebattering; used 

with situational 

crime prevention 

opportunity 

blocking 

framework

...police 

recognize that 

defiance of 

a restraining 

order may be 

an indicator of 

future risk to the 

victim 

Response 

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations
46 Domestic Violence

11. 

12.

13.

14.

36

37

39

41

Aggressively 

pursuing 

criminal 

prosecution of 

severe domestic 

violence cases 

and publicizing 

convictions

Establishing 

special domestic 

violence courts

Providing 

treatment for 

batterers

Arresting 

both parties 

in a domestic 

violence 

incident

Incapacitates 

offender and 

deters potential 

and actual 

offenders

Enhances judges’ 

knowledge of 

particular victims 

and offenders 

and ability 

to monitor 

compliance with 

court orders

Reduces 

batterers’ 

propensity for 

violence 

Incapacitates 

both parties 

during high-risk 

period

Requires proper 

evidence 

collection; should 

also include 

coordination 

and prosecutor 

participation 

around victim 

safety

May require extra 

court resources

Requires up-todate knowledge of 

effectiveness of 

different treatment 

approaches 

Consumes scarce 

jail and court 

resources and 

not generally 

recommended for 

reasons discussed 

earlier in this guide

...police and 

prosecutors can 

agree beforehand 

what constitutes 

chronic and 

severe offenders; 

used as part 

of pulling 

levers/focused 

deterrence 

approach or 

other graded 

responses to 

batterers

...courts 

participate in 

an evaluation 

to improve 

knowledge 

about recidivism 

reduction; 

courts can 

discern between 

batterers who 

can be deterred 

and those who 

can’t

...treatment is 

court-ordered; 

treatment 

has proven 

effectiveness and 

is tailored to a 

specific type of 

batterer

Response 

No.

Page No. Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Responses With Limited Effectiveness
47 Domestic Violence

Endnotes

 

1 Rennison (2003).

 2 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000); Rennison and Welchans 

(2000).

 

3

 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000); Rennison and Welchans 

(2000).

 

4

 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000); Greenfeld et al. (1998). 

 

5

 For an excellent discussion of the challenges these 

different definitions cause in making findings across 

research studies and surveys, see Mears (2003) and Buzawa 

and Buzawa (2003).

 

6

 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000).

 

7

 Rennison (2003).

 

8

 Rennison (2001).

 

9

 Fox and Zawitz (2002).

 10 Fox and Zawitz (2002).

 11 See Straus (2005) and Buzawa and Buzawa (2003) for a 

review. 12 Rennison and Welchans (2000). 13 Straus (2005); Moffit and Caspi (1999). 14 Straus (2005). 15 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000); Straus (2005). 16 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 17 Carrington and Phillips (2003). 18 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (2002). 19 For a summary, see Brewster (2002). 20 Hotaling et al. (1989). 21 For a thorough review of the research in support of this 

theory, see Kennedy (2002). Also see Hotaling et al. (1989) 

for the results of several studies and Buzawa and Buzawa 

(2003) for a general description of study findings about 

this topic. 22 Dekeseredy et al. (1997). 23 Straus (2005). 24 For a summary, see Brewster (2002). 25 Greenfeld et al. (1998); Rennison and Welchans (2000). 26 Dekeseredy et al. (1997).

Endnotes 47
48 Domestic Violence

 27 Hickman et al. (2004). For a detailed discussion of the 

challenges of measuring teen dating violence and the 

results of different studies that have attempted to, see 

Hickman et al. (2004). 28 Rennison and Welchans (2000). 29 Rennison and Welchans (2000). 30 Lloyd (1998). 31 Rennison and Welchans (2000). 32 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 33 Hanmer et al. (1999). 34 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 35 Hanmer et al. (1999). 36 Hanmer et al. (1999). Also see Buzawa and Buzawa (2003) 

describing a study one of the authors conducted with 

others in Quincy District Court (Massachusetts) finding a 

similar pattern. 37 Greenfeld et al. (1998). 38 Greenfeld et al. (1998). 39 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 40 Jasinski (2001a); Jasinski (2001b); for a summary of the 

research related to pregnancy and domestic violence, see 

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). 41 Jasinski (2001a); Jasinski (2001b); for a summary of the 

research related to pregnancy and domestic violence, see 

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). 42 Summary of research on pregnancy and domestic violence, 

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). 43 Jasinski (2001b). 44 Rennison and Welchans (2000). 45 Rennison and Welchans (2000). 46 Moffitt and Caspi (1999). 47 Moffitt and Caspi (1999). 48 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 49 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 50 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 51 Ascione (2004). 52 Tjaden and Thoennes (2000). 53 Lloyd et al. (1994). 54 Buzawa and Buzawa (2003). 55 Buzawa and Buzawa (1996).
 56 Hanmer et al (1999); Anderson et al (1995); Bridgeman 

and Hobbs (1997); Chenery et al (1997); Lloyd et al (1994); 

Pease (1998). For the application of a graded approach 

to reducing repeat domestic violence victimization in the 

United States, see the description of the Fremont Police 

Department approach in Sampson and Scott (2000). 57 Hanmer et al. (1999). Also see Buzawa and Buzawa (2003) 

describing a study one of the authors conducted with 

others in Quincy District Court (Massachusetts) finding a 

similar pattern. 58 Hanmer et al. (1999). 59 Hanmer et al. (1999). 60 Hanmer et al. (1999). 61 Kennedy (2002). 62 Buzawa and Buzawa (1996). 63 U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). 64 Hickman et al. (2004). 65 Felson, Ackerman, and Gallagher (2005). 66 See adopted recommendations in American Medical 

Association Data on Violence Between Intimates (2000). 67 For a summary of the research on physician screening for 

domestic violence, see U.S. General Accounting Office 

(2002). 68 Roberts (2002a). 69 Brookoff et al. (1997). 70 See Bruno v. Codd 47 N.Y. 2d 582, 393 N.E. 2d 976, 419 

N.Y.S. 2d 901 [1979]; and Thurman v. City of Torrington 595 

F. Supp 1521 [1984]. 71 Sherman and Berk (1984). 72 Roberts and Kurst-Swanger (2002). 73 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

(2004). 74 Roberts (2002a). 75 Sherman and Berk (1984). 76 For a discussion of the replication studies, see Gelles 

(1996) and Fagan (1996). 77 Maxwell, Garner, and Fagan (2001). 78 Maxwell, Garner, and Fagan (2001). 79 Maxwell, Garner, and Fagan (2001). 80 Maxwell, Garner, and Fagan (2001).

Endnotes 49
 81 Felson, Ackerman, and Gallagher (2005). 82 Loue (2001). 83 Buzawa and Buzawa (2003). 84 Loue (2001). 85 Buzawa and Buzawa (2003). 86 Buzawa and Buzawa (2003) discuss the empirical research 

from two mandatory prosecution jurisdictions and the 

arguments for and the drawbacks to “no drop” policies. 87 Smith et al. (2001); Buzawa and Buzawa (2003). 88 Mazur and Aldrich (2003). 89 Buzawa and Buzawa (2003). 90 Brewster (2002). 91 Brewster (2002).

 92 Brewster (2002). 93 U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). 94 Jackson (2003). 95 Jackson (2003); Feder and Forde (2003). 96 Jackson et al. (2003). 97 Fagan (1996); Buzawa and Buzawa (1996). 98 Healey et al. (1998). 99 Fagan (1996); also see Healey et al. (1998) and Buzawa and 

Buzawa (2003).

 100 Kruttschnitt et al. (2003).

 101 Buzawa and Buzawa (2003).

 102 Healey et al. (1998).

50 Domestic Violence
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60 Domestic Violence
About the Author 61

About the Author

Rana Sampson 

Rana Sampson is an international crime consultant and the former 

director of public safety for the University of San Diego. She was 

previously a White House Fellow; National Institute of Justice 

Fellow; senior researcher and trainer at the Police Executive Research 

Forum; attorney; and patrol officer, undercover narcotics officer 

and patrol sergeant with the New York City Police Department 

for which she was awarded the National Improvement of Justice 

Award. Rana is a founding member of the Center for ProblemOriented Policing which is quickly becoming the international 

“go to” center for crime reduction strategies. She is the author of 

numerous publications on crime control including Drug Dealing in 

Privately Owned Apartment Complexes, Acquaintance Rape of College Students, 

False Burglar Alarms, Bullying in Schools, Misuse and Abuse of 911, and 

co-author with Mike Scott of Tackling Crime and Other Public Safety 

Problems, which documents high-quality crime control efforts from 

around the United States, Canada and Europe. Rana also performs 

assessments of police departments, examining their effectiveness in 

crime reduction. She is one of the main organizers of the annual 

International Problem-Oriented Policing Conference, she is a judge 

for the Herman Goldstein International Award for Problem-Solving 

Excellence, a former judge for the police Fulbright awards, and a 

former commissioner with California’s Commission on Peace Officer 

Standards and Training. Rana is a frequent speaker about crime 

control at national and international conferences. Rana holds a law 

degree from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College, 

Columbia University

Recommended Readings 63

Recommended Readings

• A Police Guide to Surveying Citizens and Their 

Environments, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1993. This 

guide offers a practical introduction for police practitioners 

to two types of surveys that police find useful: surveying 

public opinion and surveying the physical environment. It 

provides guidance on whether and how to conduct costeffective surveys.

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An 

Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers,

by John E. Eck (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2001). This guide 

is a companion to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series. 

It provides basic guidance to measuring and assessing 

problem-oriented policing efforts.

• Conducting Community Surveys, by Deborah Weisel 

(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services, 1999). This guide, along with 

accompanying computer software, provides practical, basic 

pointers for police in conducting community surveys. The 

document is also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.

• Crime Prevention Studies, edited by Ronald V. Clarke 

(Criminal Justice Press, 1993, et seq.). This is a series of 

volumes of applied and theoretical research on reducing 

opportunities for crime. Many chapters are evaluations of 

initiatives to reduce specific crime and disorder problems.
64 Domestic Violence

• Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing: The 

1999 Herman Goldstein Award Winners. This 

document produced by the National Institute of Justice 

in collaboration with the Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services and the Police Executive Research Forum 

provides detailed reports of the best submissions to the 

annual award program that recognizes exemplary problemoriented responses to various community problems. A 

similar publication is available for the award winners from 

subsequent years. The documents are also available at 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.

• Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime 

Reduction, by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office 

Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000). Identifies and 

describes the factors that make problem-solving effective 

or ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in 

England and Wales.

• Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory 

for Crime Prevention, by Marcus Felson and Ronald V. 

Clarke (Home Office Police Research Series, Paper No. 98, 

1998). Explains how crime theories such as routine activity 

theory, rational choice theory and crime pattern theory 

have practical implications for the police in their efforts to 

prevent crime.

• Problem Analysis in Policing, by Rachel Boba (Police 

Foundation, 2003). Introduces and defines problem 

analysis and provides guidance on how problem analysis 

can be integrated and institutionalized into modern 

policing practices.
Recommended Readings 65

• Problem-Oriented Policing, by Herman Goldstein 

(McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990). 

Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented 

policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses 

how a police agency can implement the concept.

• Problem-Oriented Policing and Crime Prevention, 

by Anthony A. Braga (Criminal Justice Press, 2003). 

Provides a thorough review of significant policing research 

about problem places, high-activity offenders, and repeat 

victims, with a focus on the applicability of those findings 

to problem-oriented policing. Explains how police 

departments can facilitate problem-oriented policing by 

improving crime analysis, measuring performance, and 

securing productive partnerships.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the 

First 20 Years, by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of 

Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 

2000). Describes how the most critical elements of 

Herman Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have 

developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes 

future directions for problem-oriented policing. The report 

is also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

• Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in 

Newport News, by John E. Eck and William Spelman 

(Police Executive Research Forum, 1987). Explains the 

rationale behind problem-oriented policing and the 

problem-solving process, and provides examples of 

effective problem-solving in one agency.
66 Domestic Violence

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing 

Crime and Disorder Through Problem-Solving 

Partnerships by Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott 

Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and Meg Townsend. (U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services, 1998) (also available at www.cops.usdoj.

gov). Provides a brief introduction to problem-solving, 

basic information on the SARA model and detailed 

suggestions about the problem-solving process.

• Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case 

Studies, Second Edition, edited by Ronald V. Clarke 

(Harrow and Heston, 1997). Explains the principles and 

methods of situational crime prevention, and presents over 

20 case studies of effective crime prevention initiatives.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems: 

Case Studies in Problem-Solving, by Rana Sampson 

and Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000) (also available 

at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Presents case studies of effective 

police problem-solving on 18 types of crime and disorder 

problems.

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook 

for Law Enforcement, by Timothy S. Bynum (U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services, 2001). Provides an introduction for 

police to analyzing problems within the context of 

problem-oriented policing.

• Using Research: A Primer for Law Enforcement 

Managers, Second Edition, by John E. Eck and Nancy G. 

LaVigne (Police Executive Research Forum, 1994). Explains 

many of the basics of research as it applies to police 

management and problem-solving.
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 67

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Problem-Specific Guides series:

1. Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd Edition. Michael S. Scott. 

2001. ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

2. Street Prostitution, 2nd Edition. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 

ISBN: 1-932582-01-0

3. Speeding in Residential Areas. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-02-9

4. Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes. 

Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-03-7

5. False Burglar Alarms. Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-04-5

6. Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-05-3

7. Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-06-1

8. Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-07-X

9. Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-08-8

10. Thefts of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V. 

Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-09-6

11. Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-10-X

12. Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-11-8

13. Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-12-6

14. Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-13-4

15. Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. 

ISBN: 1-932582-14-2

16. Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs, 2nd Edition. Michael S. 

Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-15-0

17. Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-16-9

18. Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 

2002. ISBN: 1-932582-17-7

19. Misuse and Abuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-18-5

20. Financial Crimes Against the Elderly.

Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-22-3
68 Domestic Violence

21. Check and Card Fraud. Graeme R. Newman. 2003. 

ISBN: 1-932582-27-4

22. Stalking. The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-30-4

23. Gun Violence Among Serious Young Offenders. Anthony A. 

Braga. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-31-2

24. Prescription Fraud. Julie Wartell and Nancy G. La Vigne. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-33-9

25. Identity Theft. Graeme R. Newman. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-35-3

26. Crimes Against Tourists. Ronald W. Glensor and Kenneth J. Peak. 

2004. ISBN: 1-932582-36-3

27. Underage Drinking. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-39-8

28. Street Racing. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-42-8

29. Cruising. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-43-6

30. Disorder at Budget Motels. Karin Schmerler. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

31. Drug Dealing in Open-Air Markets. Alex Harocopos and Mike 

Hough. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-45-2

32. Bomb Threats in Schools. Graeme R. Newman. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-46-0

33. Illicit Sexual Activity in Public Places. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-47-9

34. Robbery of Taxi Drivers. Martha J. Smith. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-50-9

35. School Vandalism and Break-Ins. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-9325802-51-7

36. Drunk Driving. Michael S. Scott, Nina J. Emerson, Louis B. 

Antonacci, and Joel B. Plant. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-57-6

37. Juvenile Runaways. Kelly Dedel. 2006. ISBN: 1932582-56-8

38. The Exploitation of Trafficked Women. Graeme R. Newman. 

2006. ISBN: 1-932582-59-2

39. Student Party Riots. Tamara D. Madensen and John E. Eck. 

2006. ISBN: 1-932582-60-6

40. People with Mental Illness. Gary Cordner. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-63-0
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 69

41. Child Pornography on the Internet. Richard Wortley 

and Stephen Smallbone. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-65-7

42. Witness Intimidation. Kelly Dedel. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-67-3

43. Burglary at Single-Family House Construction 

Sites. Rachel Boba and Roberto Santos. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

44. Disorder at Day Laborer Sites. Rob Guerette. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-72-X

45. Domestic Violence. Rana Sampson. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-74-6

Response Guides series:

• The Benefits and Consequences of Police 

Crackdowns. Michael S. Scott. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-24-X

• Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: Should 

You Go Down This Road? Ronald V. Clarke. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

• Crime Prevention Publicity Campaigns.

Emmanuel Barthe. 2006 ISBN: 1-932582-66-5

• Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for Public Safety 

Problems. Michael S. Scott and Herman Goldstein. 

2005. ISBN: 1-932582-55-X

• Video Surveillance of Public Places. Jerry Ratcliffe. 

2006 ISBN: 1-932582-58-4

Problem-Solving Tools series: 

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory 

Guide for Police Problem-Solvers. John E. Eck. 2002. 

ISBN: 1-932582-19-3

• Researching a Problem. Ronald V. Clarke and Phyllis A. 

Schultz. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-48-7
70 Domestic Violence

• Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem 

Solving. Scott H. Decker. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-49-5

• Analyzing Repeat Victimization. Deborah Lamm 

Weisel. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-54-1

Upcoming Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides

Abandoned Vehicles

Bank Robbery

Bicycle Theft

Drive-By Shootings

Crowd Control at Stadiums and Other Entertainment Venues

Child Abuse

Crime and Disorder in Parks

Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities

Robbery of Convenience Stores

Traffic Congestion Around Schools

Transient Encampments

Thefts of and From Cars on Residential Streets and 

Driveways

Problem-Solving Tools

Designing a Problem Analysis System

Displacement

Implementing Responses to Problems

Understanding Risky Facilities

Using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in 

Problem Solving

Partnering with Community Developers to Address Public 

Safety Problems
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 71

Response Guides

Enhancing Lighting

Sting Operations

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for 

Police series and other COPS Office publications, please call 

the COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 or visit 

COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov. 


For More Information:

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770

Visit COPS Online at the address listed below.

e12061550 January 2007

ISBN: 1-932582-74-6