title: Domestic Violence Courts: A Multisite Test of Whether and How They Change Offender Outcomes.
abstract: Findings are from an investigation of 24 criminal domestic violence courts (DVCs) across New York, testing their effect on recidivism, case processing, and case resolutions. Overall, we found a small positive impact on recidivism among convicted offenders. We further found that the sex of defendants moderated the court impact on case resolutions; that is, among male defendants only, DVCs increased conviction rates and sentences involving jail or prison. In addition, multi-level, multivariate analyses found that court policies specifically designed to increase victim safety, hold offenders accountable, and reduce offender recidivism (through deterrence or rehabilitation) were instrumental in reducing recidivism.
authors.affiliation: Center for Court Innovation, New York, NY, USA cissnera@courtinnovation.org.
authors.forename: Amanda B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Cissner
authors.affiliation: Center for Court Innovation, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Labriola
authors.affiliation: Center for Court Innovation, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rempel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057237:Criminals / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: intimate partner violence; recidivism; specialized domestic violence courts