Measuring the impact of a domestic violence coordinated response team Available to Purchase

The police have been given the responsibility of the first response to domestic violence. Their performance in this role has been inconsistent and often inadequate. While many departments have the capacity to improve their response, the police acting alone are often poorly staffed and ill equipped to provide purposeful, proactive change. This study examines the efficacy of a domestic violence coordinated response team pilot project. In an effort to improve the police response and to reduce repeat incidents among intimate partners, this project teamed uniformed police officers and victim advocates as first responders/follow‐up investigators, and augmented them with personnel from probation, parole and corrections services. The pilot project concentrated exclusively on violence between intimate partners. Over 18,000 domestic violence calls for service were reviewed. Evaluators identified and extracted over 4,000 bona fide intimate partner domestic violence cases. The study found the specialized domestic violence unit performed significantly better than the control district. Higher arrest, prosecution and conviction rates resulted from cases initiated by the specialized unit. Factors impacting performance of the unit are explored and observations made concerning evaluation difficulties and strategies.