Domestic Violence Courts: Offender Monitoring
Monitoring and penalties for noncompliance are important tools in enforcing offender accountability.
According to a national study of domestic violence courts, more than half (62 percent) of domestic violence courts order offenders to probation, and most of these courts obtain reports on offenders' compliance with probation. [1]
More than half of domestic violence courts require judicial monitoring of the offender after the case is heard, but they vary greatly in the type and frequency of their follow-up practices. They may review program reports, restate responsibilities, and praise compliance and punish noncompliance.
More than 75 percent of domestic violence courts impose penalties when an offender does not comply with court orders. These sanctions include (in order of frequency): [2]
- Verbal admonishment.
- Immediate return to court.
- Increased court appearances.
- Revoked or amended probation.
- Jail.
Learn more through these publications:
- Evaluation of the Rhode Island Probation Specialized Domestic Violence Supervision Unit (pdf, 183 pages)
- Court Responses to Batterer Program Noncompliance: A National Perspective (pdf, 119 pages)
Note
[1], [2] Labriola, M., S. Bradley, C.S., O’Sullivan, M. Rempel, S. Moore, A National Portrait of Domestic Violence Courts (pdf, 161 pages), Final report to the National Institute of Justice, grant number 2006-WG-BX-0001, NCJ 229659.
