The Judicial Oversight Demonstration
(JOD) Initiative, which was jointly funded and managed by the Office
on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Office of Justice Programs'
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), tested the idea that a coordinated
community response to domestic violence that ensures a focused
judicial response and a systematic criminal justice response can
improve victim safety and service provision, as well as increase
offender accountability.
During fiscal year 1999, OVW selected three demonstration sites
to participate in this five-year demonstration initiative: City
of Boston/Dorchester Municipal Court, Massachusetts; Washtenaw
County, Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Each
site worked to implement a coordinated multi-agency initiative
by forming both governmental and non-governmental partnerships
with multiple entities working to address domestic violence. Project
partnerships included victim advocacy organizations, local law
enforcement agencies, prosecution offices, courts, probation and
parole offices, representatives from the private and public defense
bar, batterer intervention services, and other governmental and
non-governmental social service providers.
The priorities of the JOD initiative included victim safety and
well-being, strong judicial commitment to ensuring victim safety
and offender accountability, and improved availability of victim
services in coordination with all segments of the criminal justice
system and the community. Central to the development and implementation
of the JOD initiative were court efforts that leveraged the coercive
power of the criminal justice system and challenged judges to play
an active and expanded role in enhancing victim safety by providing
intense probation supervision, mandating batterer intervention
programs, and exercising the judge's power to use graduated sanctions
and awards.
Each demonstration site worked to implement a strong research component
to evaluate whether enhanced judicial oversight of domestic violence
offenders, together with extensive graduated sanctions for offenders
and comprehensive services for victims, reduced repeat offenses
and increase accountability of both offenders and the system. The
Vera Institute of Justice, with funding from OVW, provided each
demonstration site with extensive technical assistance.
For
more information, please view the Judicial Oversight Demonstration
Initiative Fact Sheet. |
