Prosecution and Conviction Rates for Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

The prosecution of intimate partner violence is thought to be infrequent, as is the rate at which those prosecutions result in a criminal conviction. The paucity of prosecutorial and court response to intimate partner violence is considered one of the inadequacies of the justice system, an indicator of society's inattentiveness to violence against women, and another reason to question the criminal justice system's ability to successfully address violence between intimate partners. Our review of 135 English language studies leads us to challenge the widely accepted notion that prosecution and conviction for this offense are infrequent. There is great variability in the reported rates of prosecution and conviction for intimate partner violence. These studies report that, on average, about one third of the reported offenses and more than three fifths of arrests result in the filing of charges; more than half of all prosecutions result in a criminal conviction.

The Relationship Between Individual Police Officer Work Habits and the Stated Reasons Prosecutors Reject Their Domestic Violence Investigations

“…When DV arrest was mandated by some states, and strongly encouraged by others, what followed was a permanent increase in the rates of DV prosecution for those cases that included an arrest (Garner & Maxwell, 2009, Table 5). …”

“…(S)he can file charges and proceed with a criminal case, or perhaps ask for additional investigation. 7 The prosecutor may also elect to place a first time offender in a program where, if (s) he complete a series of requirements and also remains violence free for a year, charges will not be filed and thus a criminal record will not be incurred (Garner & Maxwell, 2009;Visher, Harrell, Newmark, & Yahner, 2008;Weaver et al, 2008). The final alternative is to reject the case altogether, this being the fate of most baseline DV investigations (Garner & Maxwell, 2009, Table 5).…”

Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs: A Proposal for Evidence-Based Standards in the United States

“…There is now in place a network of organizations, private and public, on the national, state, and local levels, dedicated to making families safer, including about 2,000 shelters throughout the United States. A review of 135 studies finds that, on average, in the United States, approximately one-third of reported domestic violence offense and about three-fifths of arrests result in charges being filed against the perpetrator, and more than half of all prosecutions lead to a criminal conviction (Garner & Maxwell, 2009). However, it is also clear that police in some jurisdictions fail to respond swiftly and decisively to domestic violence calls, allowing dangerous, repeat offenders to continue assaulting their victims, sometimes with deadly results, and poor interagency coordination and perennial manpower deficits too often result in the under-enforcement of restraining orders (Buzawa & Buzawa, 2002;Seave, 2006).…”

Domestic violence sentencing: coefficient to a natural process that already reduces recidivism simply as a function of aging

“…After laws requiring arrest of DV suspects were implemented DV prosecution rates permanently increased by about 14% and conviction rates by about 5%. This shows that rates of DV prosecution and conviction can be raised permanently by the right mandates (Garner & Maxwell, 2009: Table 3). …”