Testing the Impact of Court Monitoring and Batterer Intervention Program

Project Summary for 2001-WT-BX-0506 Defendants in domestic violence cases pose a continuing risk to victims even after criminal prosecution has begun. Recognizing this, a growing number of courts throughout the nation require convicted offenders to participate in both batterer intervention programs and intensive court monitoring to control defendant behavior and promote victims safety. Some recent research raises questions about the efficacy of batterer intervention programs but suggests that intensive court monitoring may be effective in reducing recidivism. to develop more effective responses to domes tic violence crime and to target resources appropriately, court administrators need information about the independent effects of batterer programs intensive court monitoring on recidivism. They also need to understand whether specific sub-groups benefit more than others from either batterer intervention programs or intensive court monitoring. The project will randomly assign 800 convicted batterers in the Bronx Misdemeanor Dommestic Violence Court to four distinct groups, ordered to participate in (1) batterer intervention programs plus monthly court monitoring; (4) graduated court monitoring only. Analyses would test the impact of group assignment on rates of program compliance, new arrests within 6 months and 12 months of sentence, and new domestic violence incidents reported by the same victim. Analyses would also measure effects on program compliance and recidivism of criminal history, charge and selected demographics. ca/ncf