The impact of length of domestic violence treatment on the patterns of subsequent intimate partner violence

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have been used for several decades in criminal justice research to assess the benefits of interventions. RCTs have been employed with some frequency in evaluating batterer intervention programs (BIPs); between 1990 and 2005, there were five RCTs of BIPs. While most of these studies failed to find positive findings, one conducted in Brooklyn, New York, appeared to detect a positive effect of a BIP on domestic violence re-offending. Subsequent inspection of the data, however, revealed several complicating factors that led us to reanalyze these data. Our reanalysis focused on whether the intervention temporarily suppresses abusive behavior during the time that offenders are under court control, or whether the program produces lasting changes in offender behavior. With improved data analysis techniques, additional outcome data, and several alternative analytical models, we arrive at an alternative conclusion than is reported in the original publication. While we still find evidence of a reduction in the number of new incidents across a 15-month period due to treatment assignment, we now find that the effect of attending treatment does not likely persist beyond the treatment period once the treatment measure is specified as a time-dependent parameter rather than a fixed effect. This outcome is more consistent with a suppression/supervision explanation rather than a therapeutic outcome explanation. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Accountability via Performance Measurement: The Case of Child Protection Services

Since the 1980s child protection agencies have been subject to enormous scrutiny about perceived poor performance. Concerns are expressed about the capacity of services to cope with demand, the quality of practice, out‐of‐home care standards, and poor outcomes for children. Enter performance measurement. Using quantitative data to monitor effectiveness and efficiency, performance measurement promises improved resource management and accountability. This article discusses national, Victorian and Queensland child protection performance measurement regimes. It examines the extent to which performance measurement is used to promote accountability, as well as the indirect role of performance measurement in communicating policy intent. It suggests performance measurement is under‐utilised in child protection, but could be enhanced to contribute to better outcomes for children and families.     

Healthcare Can Change from Within: Sustained Improvement in the Healthcare Response to Intimate Partner Violence

There is a great need to demonstrate sustained improvement in healthcare-based inquiry, intervention, and prevention provided to patients exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). We evaluated implementation of the Healthcare Can Change from Within model (HCCW) in three primary care clinics and an emergency department within a large healthcare system, using two other primary care clinics for a usual-care comparison on selected variables. Outcome measures included individual-level variables (staff knowledge and attitudes) and system characteristics (clinic policies, procedures, patient education materials, and IPV documentation in patient records). Doctors and nurses reported increased self-efficacy, understanding of referral resources, and understanding of legal issues; IPV knowledge was unchanged. Intervention clinics implemented new policies and procedures, increased patient education, and increased documentation of IPV screening, an improvement which was sustained at 2-year follow-up. Results suggest HCCW is a promising practice for improving the healthcare response to IPV.     

Prediction of institutional aggression among personality disordered forensic patients using actuarial and structured clinical risk assessment tools: prospective evaluation of the HCR-20, VRS,Static-99, and Risk Matrix 2000

A minority of men and women with intellectual disabilities at times engage in, and are suspected, or convicted, of illegal activity. Recent policy developments in England and Wales emphasise the need to respond appropriately to putative offending risk through the provision of safe and effective community management, treatment, and support services. In line with these concerns, research has focused increasingly on testing the utility of an evolving variety of risk assessment procedures. Here, the authors set out to challenge the repertoire of a number of prominent and/or recently developed risk assessment procedures and the scope of an associated research literature, on the basis that contextual risk factors are receiving insufficient attention in relation to offending among people with intellectual disabilities. Drawing on the wider criminological literature, a novel study is reported that compares key contemporary proximal social and environmental circumstances in the lives of offenders and non-offenders with intellectual disabilities. A contextual risk score is derived, providing statistical support for increased consideration of the impact of relevant social and environmental circumstances. Increased emphasis on key contextual risk factors is recommended to strengthen community service responses to offenders with intellectual disabilities.     

Predicting the position of the source of blood stains for angled impacts

Droplets of pig's blood were dropped onto paper at different angles to the horizontal to produce blood stains. Impact velocities varied from 1.82 to 5.76 m/sec, drop size from 3.7 to 5.0 mm in diameter, and the surface sloped at angles between 22.7 degrees and 90 degrees to the horizontal. From the data a single equation relating stain size to drop size and velocity for all impact angles was produced; ab = 111.74 (Re(1/2)We(1/4))(0.75)D(o)D(o) + 0.00084 with R(2) = 0.88, where a is the stain width, b the stain length, Re the Reynolds number, and We the Weber number. A second equation related the number of spines, N, to drop size, velocity, and surface slope for all impact angles as N = 0.76 We(0.5) sin(3)theta with R(2) = 0.9, where theta is the impact angle. Combining these equations the impact velocity can be determined and hence the position of the stain's source.     

REPORT FROM THE WINGSPREAD CONFERENCE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND FAMILY COURTS

In February 2007 the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts brought together a working group of thirty‐seven experienced practitioners and researchers to identify and explore conceptual and practical tensions that have hampered effective work with families in which domestic violence has been identified or alleged. Five central sets of issues were raised at the conference and are discussed in this report. These include the following: differentiation among families experiencing domestic violence, screening and triage, participation by families in various processes and services, appropriate outcomes for children, and family court roles and resources. The report emphasizes the need for continued multidisciplinary collaboration in order to better serve families affected by domestic violence and it includes an appendix of consensus points as well as suggestions for formation of ongoing work groups.     

Why is corruption in Poland ``a serious cause for concern'?

Public perceptions of corruption are significant for their political consequences. But they are conceptually and empirically distinct from corruption. First, because perceptions of corruption run far ahead of experience. Second, because different factors influence the one more than the other – indeed poverty and low education increase perceptions of corruption while decreasing participation in it. Third, because the political consequences of corruption and corruption-perceptions differ not only in degree but in their targets – perceptions and experiences of corruption erode trust in different politicians and institutions.External moralising from institutions such as the EU may reduce corruption in Accession States while simultaneously increasing perceptions of it. And within these states, that moralising `culture which can resist corruption' which the EU demands, itself tends, perversely, to increase (not decrease) perceptions, suspicions, and allegations of corruption.