Interrelationship Between Substance Abuse and the Likelihood of Arrest, Conviction, and Re-Offending in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

• NCJ Number: 229967
• Date Published: January 2010
• Author(s): David Hirschel, Ira W. Hutchison, Meaghan Shaw
• Award: Explaining the Prevalence, Context, and Consequences

Annotation

Focusing only on cases of male offenses against females, this study investigated whether offender substance abuse affected the likelihood of arrest, conviction, and/or reoffending as measured by rearrest in cases of domestic violence.

Abstract

The nexus between substance abuse and intimate partner violence has been studied in depth. The interrelationship between substance abuse, intimate partner violence, and the criminal justice system response and subsequent offending has not received as much attention. In this article, the authors examine the impact of substance abuse on the likelihood of an officer's decision to make an arrest, conviction in that case, and subsequent re-offending. The authors find that while official decision-making remains unaffected by the fact that the offender has been drinking and/or using drugs, substance abuse and subsequent re-offending are inextricably interlinked. These findings highlight the need to screen domestic violence offenders for alcohol/drug abuse, and provide offenders manifesting these problems with alcohol/drug treatment in addition to batterer treatment. Tables and references (Published Abstract)