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A PROACTIVE RESPONSE TO FAMILY VIOLENCE: THE RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENT |
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| Authors: | ROBERT C. DAVIS BRUCE G. TAYLOR |
| Affiliation: | Senior research associate at New York's Victim Services and a consultant for the American Bar Association. He is senior author of a recent book on communities and drugs and senior editor of a new book on crime victims. His current projects include books on the role of social support in recovery from sexual assault and community crime prevention.;Senior research associate at New York's Victim Services and a consultant for the Administrative Office of the Courts of New Jersey. He received his doctorate from Rutgers University, School of Criminal Justice, in New Jersey. His research interests include domestic violence, elder abuse, batterer treatment programs, psychological effects of victimization, repeat victimization, and community policing. His current projects include a book on the role of social support in recovery from sexual assault and three studies being funded by the National Institute of Justice in the areas of domestic violence and community policing. |
| Abstract: | Recent British work has focused attention on preventing repeat victimization as part of an overall crime prevention strategy. Because domestic violence victims are among those most likely to suffer multiple victimizations, they are logical candidates for programs targeted at reducing repeat victimization. This article reports on a joint law enforcement-social services approach to reduce the incidence of repeat domestic violence. The research design randomly assigned households reporting domestic incidents within two public housing police service areas in New York to receive or not receive a follow-up to the initial patrol response. (The follow-up visit was conducted by a police officer and a social worker.) In addition, housing projects in the same area were randomly assigned to receive or not receive public education about domestic violence. Neither treatment produced a reduction in violence. However, households in projects that had received public education and households that received the follow-up visits were both more likely to report new violence to the police than households that did not receive the treatments. Moreover, the effect of the follow-up visit was most pronounced among households with more serious histories of violence. The results suggest that the interventions increased citizens' confidence in the ability of the police to handle domestic situations. |
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