The Impact of Proactive Enforcement of No-Contact Orders onVictim Safety and Repeat Victimization

This research will examine the impact of intensive enforcement of court imposed no-contact orders (NCOs) on offender and victim behavior. Eight hundred cases of misdemeanor criminal domestic violence in which NCOs are imposed as a bond condition will be randomly assigned to either routine enforcement or to intensive enforcement, which will include proactive contacts and surveillance by officers while the orders are in place. Interviews will be conducted six weeks and six months following imposition of the NCO with 300 victims sampled at random from the 800 cases. The interviews will obtain information on compliance with the NCO, new victimization, police and justice systems' responses to reports of victimization, and feelings of safety and well-being. These and official records data will be used to develop models that examine both the prevalence and frequency of outcomes. This research will determine whether intensive enforcement reduces NCO violations and re-offending, and increases victim safety and well-being. This is a 33 month study anticipated to begin in January 2005. The first 6 months will involve planning and pre-testing the instrument. Enrollment of 800 cases will commence in July 2005 and continue through June 2006. Victim interviews will occur during the first two years of the project. Preliminary analyses will occur in the summer of 2006. This will be followed by a refinement of the models, and final analyses and report writing in the final 6 months. ca/ncf