DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09966
title: Milwaukee Domestic Violence Experiment, 1987-1989
title: Archival Version

description: This study represents a modified replication of the
Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (SPECIFIC DETERRENT EFFECTS
OF ARREST FOR DOMESTIC ASSAULT: MINNEAPOLIS, 1981-1982 [ICPSR 8250]).
The Minneapolis study found arrest to be an effective deterrent
against repeat domestic violence. The two key purposes of the current
study were (1) to examine the possible differences in reactions to
arrest, and (2) to compare the effects of short and long incarceration
associated with arrest. Research protocol involved 35 patrol officers
in four Milwaukee police districts screening domestic violence cases
for eligibility, then calling police headquarters to request a
randomly-assigned disposition. The three possible randomly assigned
dispositions were (1) Code 1, which consisted of arrest and at least
one night in jail, unless the suspect posted bond, (2) Code 2, which
consisted of arrest and immediate release on recognizance from the
booking area at police headquarters, or as soon as possible, and (3)
Code 3, which consisted of a standard Miranda-style script warning
read by police to both suspect and victim. A battered women's shelter
hotline system provided the primary measurement of the frequency of
violence by the same suspects both before and after each case leading
to a randomized police action. Other forms of measurement included
arrests of the suspect both before and after the offense, as well as
offenses against the same victim. Initial victim interviews were
attempted within one month after the first 900 incidents were
compiled. A second victim interview was attempted six months after the
incident for all 1,200 cases. Data collected for this study included
detailed data on each of the 1,200 randomized events, less detailed
data on an additional 854 cases found ineligible, "pipeline" data on
the frequency of domestic violence in the four Milwaukee police
districts, official measures of prior and subsequent domestic violence
for both suspects and victims, interviews of arrested suspects for
eligible and ineligible cases, criminal justice system dispositions of
the randomized arrests, results of urinalysis tests of drug and
alcohol use for some arrestees, and log attempts to obtain interviews
from suspects and victims. Demographic variables include victim and
suspect age, race, education, employment status, and marital status.
Additional information obtained includes victim-offender
relationships, alcohol and drug use during incident, substance of
conflict, nature of victim injury and medical treatment as reported by
police and victims, characteristics of suspects in the Code 1 and 2
arrest groups, victim and suspect reports of who called police, and
victim and suspect versions of speed of police response.
description: This data collection is patterned after the
 Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (SPECIFIC DETERRENT EFFECTS
 OF ARREST FOR DOMESTIC ASSAULT: MINNEAPOLIS, 1981-1982 [ICPSR 8250]),
 a study testing police responses to domestic violence. That study
 found that arrest was the most effective of three standard methods
 police use to reduce domestic violence. The other police
 methods--attempting to counsel both parties or sending assailants away
 from home for several hours--were found to be considerably less
 effective in deterring future domestic violence in the cases
 examined. The current study represents a modified replication in
 Milwaukee of the original Minneapolis experiment, with four times as
 many cases, fewer deviations from random assignment, a majority of
 Black victims and offenders, and measures of before-and-after
 differences in offending frequency. The main objectives of the study
 were (1) to replicate the Minneapolis experiment in a city with higher
 rates and seriousness of violence, particularly one with a greater
 ethnic and economic mix, (2) to test the impact of arrest with brief
 versus overnight jail time, and (3) to measure interaction effects by
 obtaining a larger sample size. The study focused on repeat domestic
 violence by the suspect against any victim, the total frequency of
 repeat violence associated with each of the police actions, and the
total count of all violent incidents during the follow-up period.
description: Experimental procedures involved 35 patrol
 officers in four of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's six police districts
 screening all misdemeanor domestic battery cases for eligibility, then
 calling the Crime Control Institute office at police headquarters to
 request a randomly-assigned disposition. The eligibility requirements
 included probable cause that a misdemeanor battery had taken place
 between two adult cohabitants or former cohabitants or parents of the
 same child, where a single suspect was present and none of the
 following conditions were found: (a) a valid restraining order in
 effect, (b) an outstanding warrant for the suspect's arrest, (c)
 serious bodily injury or threat of more violence, and (d) suspect's
 assault on a police officer. The method of random assignment was to
 pre-number the dispositions as Codes 1, 2, or 3, and arrange the
 sequence of those three dispositions in a computer- generated order in
 sealed envelopes with the sequence numbers marked on the outside.
 Crime Control Institute staff opened the envelopes when police called,
 telling police the correct disposition and recording the case in the
 caselog. Code 1 consisted of arrest and at least one night in jail,
 unless the suspect posted $250 bond. Code 2 involved arrest and
 immediate release on recognizance from the booking area at police
 headquarters, preferably within two hours, or as soon as
 possible. Code 3 consisted of a standard Miranda-style script warning
 read by police to both suspect and victim, telling them that no arrest
 would be made unless police had to return to the home that
 evening. The primary measurement of recidivism was calls recorded by a
 Milwaukee battered women's shelter hotline system. Additional measures
 of prior offending and recidivism were obtained from the Milwaukee
 Police Department's file on individual arrest histories and victim
 interviews. Initial victim interviews were attempted within one month
 after the first 900 incidents were compiled. At some point six months
 after the randomized incident, follow-up interviews were attempted for
 all 1,200 cases. Interviews with arrested eligible suspects (Codes 1
 and 2) and ineligible suspects were conducted in the police
 department's lockup cells prior to booking. To explore the connection
 between domestic violence and alcohol or drug abuse, urine sampling
 was undertaken for the last 300 eligible and ineligible domestic
violence arrestees.
description: Victim interviews collected information regarding
 the nature of the domestic assault incident such as reason for the
 argument, extent of violence, threats, and property damage, and
 incidents of domestic assault subsequent to the presenting incident.
 Additional information was collected regarding victim-offender
 relationships, alcohol and drug use during the incident, nature of
 victim injury and medical treatment as reported by police and victims,
 characteristics of suspects in the two arrest groups, victim and
 suspect reports of who called police, and victim and suspect versions
 of speed of police response. Demographic variables include victim and
suspect age, race, education, employment status, and marital status.
description: Response Rates: A total of 705 initial interviews were conducted
 from the 1,200 eligible domestic battery incidents, or 59 percent.
 Six-month follow-up interviews were conducted with 921 respondents
 from the original 1,200 incidents, or 77 percent. There are more
 "follow-up" interviews than initial interviews because the
 researchers included some individuals who were not initially
interviewed.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: Calls received by the Milwaukee Police regarding
 misdemeanor domestic assault were screened by police officers to
 establish eligibility for the experiment. Eligible calls were referred
 to the Crime Control Institute staff, who randomly assigned one of
 three treatments. Selection of cases continued until 1,200 eligible
cases were obtained.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Case Log Data
DS2: Criminal Justice Processing Data
DS3: Eligible Cases Data
DS4: Hotline Data
DS5: Suspect History Data
DS6: Victim Initial Interview Data
DS7: Follow-Up Interview Data
DS9: Codebook for Victim Initial Interview Data
DS10: Codebook for Follow-Up Interview Data
DS11: SAS Data Definition Statements for Case Log Data
DS12: SAS Data Definition Statements for Criminal Justice Processing Data
DS13: SAS Data Definition Statements for Eligible Cases Data
DS14: SAS Data Definition Statements for Hotline Data
DS15: SAS Data Definition Statements for Suspect History Data
description: Misdemeanor domestic battery incidents.
description: The Follow-Up Interview Data contain more cases than
the Victim Initial Interview Data because the researchers subsequently
included some respondents who did not participate in the initial
interviews.