Violence in Families Assessing Prevention and Treatment Programs (1998) / Chapter Skim
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5 LEGAL INTERVENTIONS
5 LEGAL INTERVENTIONS
Pages 158-205
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From page 158... ...
Legal interventions must take into account the issues of due process and concern for the rights of victims as well as those accused of wrongdoing, seeking a balance among interventions to enhance victim protection, facilitate the prosecution of offenders, and preserve the state's interest in fair procedures. Legal interventions for the treatment and prevention of family violence often focus on procedural changes in law enforcement -- such as arrest policies and practices, civil orders of protection, and court standards for the admissibility of evidence -- rather than the provision of direct services to clients.
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From page 159... ...
. Family violence treatment and prevention interventions in law enforcement settings have received far less attention in the evaluation research literature than social service interventions (see Table 1-2)
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From page 160... ...
5A-1: Mandatory Reporting Requirements Prior to the medical recognition of the battered child syndrome in 1962 (Kempe et al., 1962) , family violence reporting laws did not exist in federal or state statutes.
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From page 161... ...
Mandatory reporting requirements were adopted without evidence of their effectiveness; no reliable study has yet demonstrated their positive or negative effects on the health and well-being of children at risk of maltreatment, their parents and caregivers, and service providers. Several studies have identified significant variations in reporting practices among service providers (especially health professionals)
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From page 162... ...
punishing perpetrators, and (5) improving documentation, data collection, and knowledge about the epidemiology of family violence, which can enhance the evaluation of interventions and encourage communities to increase resources for prevention and treatment programs (Hyman et al., 1995; Hampton and Newberger, 1985)
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From page 163... ...
At this time, significant doubts exist about the ability of social service agencies to respond adequately to initial reports of suspected cases. These doubts suggest that greater caution is required before expanding the use of mandatory reporting requirements in protecting adult victims of maltreatment, especially in the areas of domestic violence and elder abuse.
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From page 164... ...
The effectiveness of the juvenile court system in child maltreatment cases has not been formally evaluated. The courts have the ability to protect children by exercising the power to remove them from the home or to mandate treatment and services.
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From page 165... ...
Such studies could help clarify which characteristics of maltreatment cases are likely to stimulate court referrals and examine the disparities that exist in caseloads handled by judicial, social services, and health agencies. 5A-3: Court-Mandated Treatment for Child Abuse Offenders The courts can mandate parents to treatment as a condition for keeping or regaining custody of their children.
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From page 166... ...
Whether completion results in improved parent-child interactions or positive child outcomes remains generally unknown in the research literature. 5A-4: Treatment for Sexual Abuse Offenders Treatment programs for sex offenders seem to be increasing in number, and adults who sexually abuse children are often offered treatment as part of or in lieu of other sanctions by the court.
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From page 167... ...
. It has also been suggested that incest is related to family dynamics and opportunism rather than to inappropriate sexual preferences, suggesting that behavior modification treatment programs may be less effective with incest offenders (Quinsey et al., 1993)
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From page 168... ...
5A-5: Criminal Prosecution of Child Abuse Offenders The impact of criminal prosecution of child abuse on the protection of children has not been rigorously evaluated. The question of whether to criminally prosecute child maltreatment offenders is shaped by competing views of the role of the legal system in influencing behavior and responding to individuals, families, and community needs.
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From page 169... ...
The discussion that follows is based on other types of research. In a criminal justice system designed for adults, issues such as children's competence to testify, their ability to distinguish fact and fiction, and the possible harm that their testifying presents pose special challenges.
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From page 170... ...
. The potential suggestibility of children necessitates careful interviewing techniques by professionals involved in legal investigation and prosecution of child maltreatment.
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From page 171... ...
The convergence of the interests of feminists, victim advocates, and legislators led to a series of reforms beginning in the late 1970s to strengthen criminal justice responses to wife beating (Lerman, 1981; Dutton, 1988)
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From page 172... ...
5B-1: Reporting Requirements Unlike the reporting of child maltreatment, which is mandatory by law in all states, the reporting of domestic violence is often part of the state's injury report 1The "battered woman's defense" was applied not only in cases in which the woman killed the man during an attack, but also in cases in which the man was not actively threatening or abusing the woman at the time of the incident (Schneider, 1980)
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From page 173... ...
may be even more serious for domestic violence than for child maltreatment. Those who work with battered women argue that mandatory reporting could undermine the autonomy of adult women, prevent them from seeking necessary services, and in some cases put them at increased risk of serious harm.
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From page 174... ...
Whether or not these systems increase victim safety has not yet been determined; however, both technical and operation problems have hindered the performance of electronic monitoring in home confinement programs for other crimes. 5B-3: Arrest Procedures Arrest for domestic violence is perhaps the best-studied intervention for family violence.
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From page 175... ...
The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment is one of the first and most widely cited and influential criminal justice experiments in the area of family violence research (Sherman and Berk, 1984a)
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From page 176... ...
The conclusion that the deterrent effect of arrest for misdemeanor violence depends on the level of informal social control led to recommendations against mandatory arrest laws that apply to misdemeanors in concentrated poverty areas (Sherman, 1992a) , and in favor of community policing policies reached in col
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From page 177... ...
. The difficulty of comparing results across different study designs illustrates several major challenges for family violence research evaluations: (1)
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From page 178... ...
. 5B-4: Court-Mandated Treatment for Domestic Violence Offenders Mandating batterers to a treatment program in conjunction with other criminal justice sanctions, as a condition of probation or as an alternative to other sanctions, is gaining increasing popularity in courts across the country.
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From page 179... ...
Two found court-mandated treatment to significantly reduce recidivism rates, and two found no significant difference between treated and nontreated offenders. However, the high dropout rates among those in courtmandated treatment were striking.
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From page 180... ...
5B-5: Criminal Prosecution Historically, prosecutors, like the police, have been accused of disinterest in family violence cases, failing to file cases presented by the police and discouraging willing victims from pursuing criminal complaints. With the advent of special prosecution units in the early 1980s, an atmosphere and organizational context developed in prosecutors' offices in which spouse assault cases had high status.
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From page 181... ...
Again, evidence of counterdeterrent effects raises serious questions not only about the extent to which legal sanctions could achieve deterrent effects, but also about the interactions of violent men with legal institutions that may produce this effect. The consistent absence of research on the effects of different sentences makes it difficult to assess the impact of court actions on diverse subgroups.
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From page 182... ...
. 5B-7: Systemic Approaches Systemic responses that coordinate criminal justice, social service, and community-based programs have been developed in a few jurisdictions, notably Duluth, Minnesota; Quincy, Massachusetts; and San Francisco.
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From page 183... ...
Some preliminary but promising evidence suggests that these comprehensive approaches increase law enforcement activity in the area of arrests and prosecutions, but their long-term effects on community safety, recidivism, and deterrence are not yet known. 5B-8: Training for Criminal Justice Personnel Because the criminal justice and legal systems have tended to avoid involvement in family matters, some interventions have been aimed primarily at mobilizing these systems and overcoming their resistance to involvement in domestic violence.
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From page 184... ...
Similar to the situation with regard to domestic violence cases over two decades ago, only the most serious cases are brought to the attention of criminal justice agencies, despite the modification of reporting laws to provide notice to law enforcement when cases of elder abuse are substantiated by adult protective services workers. Elder abuse cases remain the most hidden of all family violence, at least in terms of their presence in criminal court dockets.
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From page 185... ...
. A study by the General Accounting Office reported the view of supporters of mandatory reporting that legal requirements are necessary to encourage reporting practices and to remove impediments, such as fear of lawsuits, that might deter reports of elder abuse.
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From page 186... ...
Second, if the victim does not own the home, such as when an elderly person resides with a son or daughter, questions may arise about whether the elderly victim has a right to stay in that home. 5C-3: Education and Legal Counseling Educating older people about their legal rights to privacy, autonomy, control of assets, medical and personal decision making, and freedom from abuse is thought to be one important means of preventing elder abuse.
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From page 187... ...
Recent training programs have emerged for police, prosecutors, and bank employees to enhance their ability to detect and respond appropriately to elder abuse and exploitation. Litigation to redress financial abuse is often a measure of last resort.
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From page 188... ...
The passage of mandatory reporting laws for child and elder abuse has been followed by increased reports of abuse and neglect. However, mandatory reporting systems have not been studied rigorously to determine whether the costs associated with administering a large investigative process have improved access to services or increased the safety and well-being of children or the elderly and their families.
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From page 189... ...
This finding deserves further attention in future research studies and offender-absent policies, since almost half of all domestic violence suspects leave the scene before police arrive. The interaction of arrest policies with individual and community factors is another intriguing area of research that warrants further investigation not only in family violence studies, but also in studies of the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in family interactions in different types of neighborhoods.
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From page 190... ...
N(O) = 46 SOURCE: Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1998.
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From page 191... ...
LEGAL INTERVENTIONS 191 Data Collection Results Behavioral observations of parent-child dyads Treated families in both mandatory and voluntary participation groups significantly increased their use of praise and descriptive praise with their children and significantly reduced their use of criticism. All subjects continued to attend to their children's annoying behaviors.
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From page 192... ...
includes incest offenders as well as nonfamilial molesters; recidivism data reported separately for incest offenders SOURCE: Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1998.
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From page 193... ...
pedophilic men reoffended according to law enforcement reports and community and outpatient clinic intake data. Sexual preference as measured by Treated patients had lower recidivism rates plethysmography, official recidivism data than untreated patients, although recidivism for all patients increased over longer follow up periods.
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From page 194... ...
194 VIOLENCE IN FAMILIES TABLE 5B-3 Quasi-Experimental Evaluations of Arrest Procedures Initial/Final Sample Size Duration of Intervention Intervention Citation Follow-up One of four police dispositions: arrest Berk et al., 1992a N = 1,658 randomly coupled with protective order, protective assigned to one of order with crisis counseling of offender, four treatments protective order only; mediation. Follow-up at 6 months after entering study One of three police dispositions: mediation, Dunford et al., 1990 N(mediation)
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From page 195... ...
Police records, including court appearances No differences by disposition were found in and convictions, Conflict Tactics Scales prevalence or frequency of repeat offending. completed by husbands and wives Recidivism rates: characteristics of violent Policy alternatives to traditional sentencing incidents (severity, frequency, and length of do not appear more effective in protecting time between the old and new incidents)
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From page 196... ...
N(O) = 168/156 12- to 24-month follow-up SOURCE: Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence and Interventions, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1998.
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From page 197... ...
Conflict Tactics Scales, victim interviews, Compared with no action, arresting and police and court records of repeat violence citing offenders produced more abuse in baseline cases and less when tied to other sanctions. Court sanctions coordinated with arrest policies did not lower abuse directly, but they transformed arrest and, to a smaller effect, citations into deterrents.
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From page 198... ...
= 101 8 2-hour sessions Court-mandated batterer treatment. Dutton, 1986 N(X)
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From page 199... ...
Police records, including court appearances Program completers had a 4% recidivism and convictions; Conflict Tactics Scales rate 3 years posttreatment according to completed by husbands and wives police records. Conflict Tactics Scales scores reported by both treated husbands and wives showed significant posttreatment decreases from pretreatment levels.
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From page 200... ...
= 283/70 a self-help model, an education model, 1990 12 weeks of one and a combined model of group work; 2.25-hour session each was offered in 12 and 32 sessions to per week; or 16 batterers. weeks of two 2.25-hour sessions per week 6- and 18-month follow-up Cognitive behavioral skills training program Hamberger and N(X)
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From page 201... ...
Men's involvement with the courts and lack of prior mental health treatment predicted lower levels of violence at the 18-month follow-up. Physical violence recidivism as reported by Results showed significant decreases in batterer or partner on Conflict Tactics occurrence of violent behaviors after Scales, and official police records of calls treatment and up to 1-year follow-up in and arrests subjects (32)
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From page 202... ...
= 68/34 Tx1 = maximum of four group sessions, 1 hour each Tx2 = intensive pre-groupworkshop, 12 hours over 2 days SOURCE: Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence and Interventions, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1998.
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From page 203... ...
Subject and partner reports and police Recidivism rates based on police reports reports of repeated violence against partners, were found to be lower for the treatment Basic Personality Inventory group than for the control group. They were also found to be lower for men initially exhibiting greater depression.
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From page 204... ...
72% of victims were interviewed at 6 months postintervention Implementation of coordinated police, Gamache et al., 1988 Three communities judicial, and social service response. SOURCE: Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1998.
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From page 205... ...
Data Collection Results Victims' self-reports of violence (modification Results indicate no effects of home visits or of Straus' weighing system) , police records, public education on the number or severity awareness and use of domestic violence of violent incidents as reported by victims.
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