Domestic Violence Offenders Research Articles

The next generation of court-mandated domestic violence treatment: a comparison study of batterer intervention and restorative justice programs

Objectives The most common approach to treatment of domestic violence crimes in the United States is the mandated group-based Batterer Intervention Program (BIP). Several alternative treatment approaches have been developed over the years, including a restorative justice-based treatment program for domestic violence offenders called Circles of Peace (CP). This study compared a CP program administered in Arizona with a local BIP program, in controlled settings.

Evaluation of a stage-based, computer-tailored adjunct to usual care for domestic violence offenders.

OBJECTIVE: Research assessing the efficacy of court-mandated domestic violence treatment continues to yield inconsistent results. The current study examined whether Journey to Change, a Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change-based treatment adjunct that consists of three computer-administered sessions and a print guide, could improve outcomes. METHOD: 492 male domestic violence offenders attending court-mandated batterer treatment were assigned to Usual Care (UC) or Usual Care + Journey to Change (UC + Journey). RESULTS: Compared to UC, participants receiving UC + Journey were significantly more likely to be in the Action stage at the end of treatment, and to seek help and services outside of group. Based on victim reports, the UC + Journey group was significantly less likely than UC to engage in physical violence during the 12-month follow-up. Both groups were equally likely to drop out of court-mandated treatment and to have further domestic violence-related police involvement. However, among participants with police involvement, the UC + Journey group had lower rates of documented violence and physical injury. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of findings across the multiple outcomes suggests that the Journey to Change program holds promise for improving some outcomes for domestic violence offenders in treatment, and warrants further investigation.

A Longitudinal Examination of Offending and Specialization Among a Sample of Massachusetts Domestic Violence Offenders

A paucity of existing research focuses on longitudinal examinations of criminal trajectories among reoffenses committed by domestic violence offenders. Specifically, few studies have longitudinally assessed whether domestic violence offenders specialize, recidivating in domestic violence assault, or generalize, committing a range of personal and property crimes. Acknowledging these research deficiencies, the current study uses longitudinal data from a cohort of 317 batterers who were processed in a domestic violence court to investigate the trajectories of domestic violence arrests and nondomestic violence arrests over a 10-year period. The degree of overlap between domestic and nondomestic violence arrest trajectory groups is examined through a cross-tabulation and chi-square analysis. Logistic and multinomial regression models are applied to identify risk factors that distinguish trajectory groups. A PROC TRAJ procedure identifies two trajectory groups for domestic violence arrests (low and high rate) and three trajectory groups for nondomestic violence arrests (very low, low, and high rate). Results indicate that specialization among domestic violence offenders is rare-prior alcohol and drug crimes predict membership in the high-rate domestic violence arrest trajectory group and prior domestic violence arrests predict membership in both the low-rate and high-rate nondomestic violence arrest trajectories. Implications for future research and policy are discussed in this article.

“But she's violent, too!”: Holding domestic violence offenders accountable within a systemic approach to batterer intervention

PurposeHolding domestic violence perpetrators accountable for their abusive behavior is the number one objective of batterer intervention programs (BIPs), typically consisting of same‐sex psychoeducational counseling groups. However, such programs have been found to be only marginally successful in reducing recidivism rates. To be more effective, programs need to take into account the complexities of intimate partner violence. The purpose of this article is to offer clinicians working in the field of partner violence suggestions to help them enlist client cooperation and teach responsibility while taking into account the prevalence of mutual abuse dynamics.Design/methodology/approachThe article draws on findings from the research literature as well as the author's 20 years of clinical experience conducting domestic violence offender treatment groups for both men and women.FindingsAmong individuals court‐mandated to batterer intervention, many are involved in mutually‐abusive relationships. Emerging literature indicates that some are also primarily victims. This poses a dilemma for batterer intervention group facilitators, who must work within a legal framework in which individuals are deemed to be either perpetrators or victims.Practical implicationsImplications of this article for partner violence policy and practice include a need for more flexible, evidence‐based laws on partner violence.Originality/valueThere are few practice articles on working with the various forms of abuse dynamics within a clinical setting, and this is the first that is focused on group treatment. The article should be of value to clinicians working directly with domestic violence perpetrators and victims, as well as to the policy makers who conceptualize, create and fund these programs.

Co‐occurring mental health problems among substance dependent offenders of intimate partner violence

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate differences between substance dependent men who were arrested for intimate partner violence (IPV) with and without concurrent psychiatric problems.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 63 participants were randomly assigned to manual‐guided group behavioral therapies (cognitive behavioral therapy for substance dependent domestic violence offenders (SADV) or drug counseling (DC)) and assessed across 12 weeks of treatment.FindingsDespite excluding psychotic disorders and bipolar disorders at baseline, 23 percent of clients reported prior mental health treatment. SADV participants with co‐occurring mental health were different than SADV participants without co‐occurring mental health symptoms on both baseline and post‐treatment time periods. SADV participants with co‐occurring mental health symptoms had more pre‐treatment impairments, more drug use during treatment, a trend for more problems with aggressive behaviors throughout treatment and significantly more impairments in anger control subscales at post treatment compared to SADV participants without co‐occurring mental health symptoms.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest the need to target and treat co‐occurring psychiatric symptoms and distress among SADV offenders. Perhaps offering clients targeted behavioral or pharmacotherapy adjunctive treatments can help improve treatment outcomes among substance dependent offenders of IPV when mental health problems are present.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to evaluate differences between substance dependent men arrested for IPV with and without concurrent psychiatric problems. It shows that men who are violent toward their partners tend to have a co‐occurring problem with addiction, yet little is known about differences between substance dependent male offenders who have dual mental health problems.

Rural court sentencing as a predictor of re-arrest rates for domestic-violence offenders.

Domestic violence represents the single largest category of calls received by police, accounting for between 18 to 50% of all police calls and accounting for 1 in 10 violent crime victimizations (Friday, Lord, Exum, and Hartman, 2006; Durose, Harlow, Langan, Motivans, Rantala, and Smith, 2005). Approximately 5.3 million incidents of intimate partner violence occur each year. Complicating this problem is a disturbing finding that domestic violence offenders are more likely than non-domestic violent offenders to commit a new violent act, and commit it against their original victim (Olson and Stalans, 2001). Nationally, domestic violence data indicated that about 40% of domestic-violence convicted inmates were under restraining or protection order at the time of their conviction for domestic violence. An estimated 75% of local inmates convicted of domestic violence had prior convictions, with most having a history of convictions for violence (Greenfield, Rand, Craven, Klaus, Perkins, et al., 1998). However, most of the existing research focused on urban areas only, and few studies have examined rural domestic violence (Johnson, 2000). Thus little is known about rural domestic violence. Studies of urban courts which have dominated the literature may not be appropriate with cases of domestic violence in rural communities. One of the strongest arguments against the applicability of urban techniques to rural settings is the lack of anonymity between judges and defendants found in rural communities, where judges and court personnel find it almost impossible to put aside their knowledge of the parties involved in domestic violence (National Center for State Courts, 2008). In addition, in many urban areas domestic violence courts have been established which shifted the court focus to a problem solving models that operate under the premise that the defendant's criminal behavior stems from underlying problems that treatment or services can resolve. Notwithstanding all the attention given to the study of domestic violence, one area stands out as lacking sufficient study: the treatment of domestic violence in rural courts. Thus, using a sample of DV offenders in a rural setting, the following hypotheses were tested: 1) domestic violence offenders who receive counseling treatment are at lower risk for re-arrest; 2) domestic violence offenders who are assessed a fine are at lower risk for re-arrest; 3) domestic violence offenders who pay their fine in full are at lower risk for re arrest; 4) domestic violence offenders who receive a jail sentence are at lower risk for re-arrest. Language: en

Assessing the Relationship Between Alcohol Outlets and Domestic Violence: Routine Activities and the Neighborhood Environment

Studies have consistently found a positive relationship between alcohol outlet density and assault, but only a handful of studies have examined whether outlet density has an influence on domestic violence. Using a framework based in crime opportunity theories, this study estimates spatial econometric regression models to test whether the density of alcohol outlets across neighborhoods is positively associated with police calls for service for domestic violence. Models also were developed to test whether the relationships found were consistent across time periods associated with the use of alcohol outlets (weeknights and weekends). The findings indicate that off-premise outlets were associated with a significant increase in domestic violence, but on-premise outlets (specifically restaurants and nightclubs) were associated with a decrease in domestic violence. The risk for domestic violence in areas of high densities of off-premise outlets was found to be high during the weekend but not during the weeknight, suggesting different routine activities for domestic violence offenders during the week.

How the criminal "shapes" the crime: a neurocognitive model for psychiatric forensic evaluation

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When punishment and philanthropy mix: Voluntary organizations and the governance of the domestic violence offender

This article examines the administration of community based punishment in Toronto’s specialized domestic violence courts. Voluntary organizations play an integral role in the Ontario government’s strategy to manage domestic violence. Currently, an array of ‘mainstream’ and ‘ethno-specific’ community agencies operate as quasi-criminal justice organizations to rehabilitate and supervise court mandated offenders. Despite their categorization however, both types of organizations largely cater to the same demographics. The discussion explores the techniques of governance service providers deploy when counseling their clientele. The emergence of two differing regimes of power, one emphasizing care and the other discipline, along the mythological categories of the ‘mainstream’ and ‘ethno-specific’ illuminate the constitutive effects of organizational habits on the delivery of punishment.

A Study of the Effect of Corrective Counseling Programs for Domestic Violence Offenders and Its Content Analysis

A Study of the Effect of Corrective Counseling Programs for Domestic Violence Offenders and Its Content Analysis

Factors Related to the Completion of Domestic Violence Offender Treatment: The Colorado Experience

The majority of prior literature examining factors related to domestic violence treatment completion has used samples of male offenders only. This study identifies specific offender demographics, risk/protective factors, and treatment-relevant variables that are related to program treatment completion among a sample of 4,095 male and female domestic violence offenders who were court ordered to attend treatment in Colorado. Findings indicate that most of the significant predictors for female offenders were similar to those of male offenders. There were, however, additional predictors for male offenders that did not impact treatment completion for female offenders. Study limitations and implications for policy and practice are discussed.

New Directions for Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Standards: Colorado's Innovative Approach to Differentiated Treatment

Colorado has recently adopted revised state standards for the treatment of domestic violence offenders who are court ordered to complete treatment. State standards across the county have been criticized in the past for not being empirically based. This article presents the empirically based principles of Colorado's revised Standards. The Standards are unique in their focus on differentiated treatment for offenders, and their use of the Domestic Violence Risk and Needs Assessment (DVRNA), an assessment tool developed in Colorado to identify offender risk and criminogenic needs. Offenders' overall scores on the DVRNA determine their dosage and intensity of treatment and containment. This article first discusses the history of Colorado's Standards, followed by a presentation of the new Standards. Most importantly, the empirical evidence providing the foundation for these Standards is presented. This article concludes with a discussion of Colorado's implementation plans for the revised Standards, limitations to the utility of Colorado's Standards, and directions for future research.

New Directions for Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Standards: Colorado’s Innovative Approach to Differentiated Treatment

Colorado has recently adopted revised state standards for the treatment of domestic violence offenders who are court ordered to complete treatment. State standards across the county have been criticized in the past for not being empirically based. This article presents the empirically based principles of Colorado’s revised Standards.1The Standards are unique in their focus on differentiated treatment for offenders, and their use of the Domestic Violence Risk and Needs Assessment (DVRNA), an assessment tool developed in Colorado to identify offender risk and criminogenic needs. Offenders’ overall scores on the DVRNA determine their dosage and intensity of treatment and containment. This article first discusses the history of Colorado’s Standards, followed by a presentation of the new Standards. Most importantly, the empirical evidence providing the foundation for these Standards is presented. This article concludes with a discussion of Colorado’s implementation plans for the revised Standards, limitations to the utility of Colorado’s Standards, and directions for future research.

Judicial discourses on women's agency in violent relationships: Cases from California

Adult female targets of domestic violence by male perpetrators have commonly been described as helpless and passive. This is consistent with the criminal justice system's perception that true “victims” have little culpability or agency in a violent assault. Otherwise, the “victims” are more likely to be defined as participants in the violent act, and thus unworthy of official protection. This study examines court opinions involving convictions of male offenders of domestic violence against their female partners and ex-partners. The purpose is to understand the development of judicial knowledge as to whether women in relationships with violent men are socially constructed as worthy and legitimate victims of violence. The 60+ appellate case opinions in the analysis are those where a California trial court accepted expert testimony on domestic violence in prosecuting the male offenders to explain the women's actions regarding their violent relationships. California was chosen because of the state's progressive and unique evidentiary statutes that permit a broad range of evidence in criminal prosecutions of domestic violence, including expert witnesses. In reviewing the judicial opinions that comprise the corpus, I found that an underlying assumption evident in the judicial discourses is that abused women would, should or could easily exercise agency in ending an abusive relationship and, once it was ended, refuse to reengage in their abusive relationships. Using critical discourse analysis, this study shows that, in constructing women's agency in resisting abusive relationships, judicial discourse tended to rely more heavily upon expert testimony and, in a few cases, on prosecutorial arguments, than on the testimony (i.e. voice) of the female victims themselves. In this process, the women's voices were silenced or marginalized as experts’ constructions of victimized women were preferred.

Underclass Men in Batterer Intervention Programs: Disorders and Disparities

The criminal justice system has come to rely on a batterer intervention program (BIP) in sentences for domestic violence offenders, but BIPs suffer from a reputation problem, with both completion and reoffense rates hovering around 50%. The role of social class in battering and in legally mandated BIPs, although indirectly referenced in most studies, is rarely examined as an explanatory factor. This article discusses the results of a study of 540 men arrested for domestic violence and sentenced to a BIP. Results suggest that social class is a significant predictor of program completion, with program completion for those categorized as overclass being twice those categorized as underclass. The authors discuss implications for community and criminal justice response to domestic violence.

Ellen’s Hand

This essay offers reflections, both personal and professional, on the contributions of Ellen Pence to changes in law enforcement responses to domestic violence victims and offenders.

Lessons from a successful and failed random assignment testing batterer program innovations

With increasing pressure to conduct experimental evaluations of domestic violence interventions, it is important to weigh further the most challenging aspect of experimental designs: the implementation of random assignment. This paper reviews two attempted experimental evaluations of counseling programs for domestic violence offenders, and formulates implications for conducting and interpreting program evaluations. The two case studies offer an instructive comparison of a maximally implemented experiment and a failed one at the same setting. In the first study, the random assignment was introduced within the counseling program and with implicit leverage of court sanctions for non-compliance to the assignment. In the second, random assignment was disrupted by unforeseeable events and inter-agency breakdowns in the complex referral system. Interestingly, implementation issues in both studies raised divergent interpretations from researchers and practitioners. They appear to imply a need for more disclosure of implementation problems in experimental evaluations and for more caution about over interpreting the existing experimental evaluations in the field.

Why Doesn’t He Leave? Relationship Continuity and Satisfaction Among Male Domestic Violence Offenders

In contrast to the extensive literature on women's decisions to leave violent relationships, there is little research examining relationship continuity from the offending male's perspective. Similarly, research exploring relationship satisfaction in men arrested for intimate partner violence (IPV) is lacking, despite the fact that dissatisfaction appears to increase risk for future IPV. The present study explored these issues using a large sample of men who were recently convicted of violence toward a female intimate partner (N = 1,130). More than half of the men (59%) reported that they were continuing or planning to continue their relationship. Factors associated with relationship continuity included older age, being married to the victim, having children together, attributing less blame to the victim for the recent offense, and having a childhood history of family violence. Among men who were continuing their relationship, low relationship satisfaction was predicted by having children, expressing hostile attitudes toward women, being jealous, blaming the victim for the arrest incident, and describing the victim as aggressive. Implications of the findings for clinical practice and research are discussed.

The Effects of Referral Source Supervision

Domestic violence offenders who are court mandated to attend a batterer treatment program are more likely to complete treatment than offenders who voluntarily attend. However, few studies have examined the amount or severity of referral source supervision and its effect on treatment completion. This study uses data from three referral sources in South Carolina (i.e., pretrial intervention, criminal domestic violence court, and summary court) to determine whether higher levels of monitoring during a 26-week hybrid cognitive-behavioral batterer treatment program increase the likelihood of completion among batterers. Results indicate that increased supervision exercised over the clients by the referral source during treatment increases the likelihood that offenders will successfully complete the program. It is recommended that courts and other referring agencies keep attendance records, mandate monthly check-ins with case managers, require defendants to appear in court for follow-up hearings, and dedicate staff to monitor domestic violence cases to increase completion rates among batterers in treatment.

Risk Assessment Among Incarcerated Male Domestic Violence Offenders

It is estimated that at least a third of incarcerated male offenders have committed domestic violence, but there is little research on risk assessment among such offenders. The authors tested the actuarial Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA), designed for frontline policing, with 150 incarcerated male domestic violence offenders followed for an average of 8 years (range = 0.1—10.6) and at risk for an average of 5 years (range = 0.0—10.5). The base rate of postrelease charges for domestic violence was 27%, and the mean ODARA score was 5.81 ( SD = 2.06). The ODARA predicted domestic violence recidivism (relative operating characteristic area = .64) significantly better than a general risk assessment, the Level of Service Inventory, and in follow-ups as short as 6 months. The ODARA also predicted recidivism severity and survival. Better identification of victim—offender relationships and measuring psychopathy are challenges for future research.