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NCJ Number:
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NCJ 201881
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Title:
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Chicago Heights, Illinois, Domestic Violence Unit: A Process Evaluation
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Author(s):
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Cheron DuPree
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Corporate Author:
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Institute for Law and Justice
United States
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Date Published:
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02/2000 |
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Page Count:
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18 |
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Sponsoring Agency:
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Grant Number:
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98-WE-VX-0012 |
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Sale Source:
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NCJRS Photocopy Services
Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
United States
Institute for Law and Justice
1219 Prince Street, Suite 2
Alexandria, VA 22314
United States |
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Document:
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PDF |
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Agency Summary:
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Agency Summary |
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Dataset:
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03795 |
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Type:
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Program/project evaluations |
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Language:
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English |
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Country:
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United States |
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Annotation:
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This report presents the findings and recommendations of a
process evaluation of the Arrest Program in Chicago Heights,
IL., which was funded by a Federal grant intended to encourage
jurisdictions to implement mandatory or proarrest policies as an
effective domestic-violence intervention that is part of a
coordinated community response to domestic violence. |
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Abstract:
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A section on the project environment encompasses a brief history of Chicago Heights and an overview of State law relevant to
domestic violence, notably laws pertinent to protection orders
and stalking. This is followed by an overview of law enforcement
agencies that serve Chicago Heights, as well as the courts, with
attention to the policies and practices regarding
domestic-violence cases. The overall goal of the Arrest Program
is to develop a coordinated approach to domestic violence by
creating a centralized domestic violence unit that involves
police, legal advocates, and a battered women's shelter. Specific
objectives are to create a Domestic Violence Unit in the police
department; to provide legal-advocacy services to victims; and to
develop policies and procedures, supported by training and
protocols, that improve the tracking of domestic-violence cases.
The partnership between the South Suburban Family Shelter (SSFS)
and the Chicago Heights Police Department evolved from a previous
relationship the project director had established with the
shelter. Since SSFS victim advocates are on-site with the
Domestic Violence Unit, communication between these organizations
is constant. The Domestic Violence Unit encountered several
problems in handling cases and helping victims. Initially,
reports by patrol officers were poorly written and not
sufficiently detailed; officers were not enforcing protection
orders; victims did not trust the detectives and would not
cooperate; the court victim advocate was overwhelmed with cases;
and the four detectives in the Domestic Violence Unit had large
caseloads. Site interviews that were part of the process
evaluation found that probation officers were not consistently
monitoring domestic-violence offenders who had been given
court-ordered counseling or probation. In spite of these
problems, the project's efforts have laid a structural foundation
for an improved response to domestic violence that involves
interagency cooperation, a specialized response to domestic
violence, and enhanced services for victims. Recommendations
include the assignment of specially trained probation officers to
monitor domestic-violence probationers. An alternative to
creating a specialized probation unit for domestic-violence
offenders would be to have designated counseling agencies for
batterers. An improvement in the prosecution of domestic-violence
cases, which currently depends upon the participation of the
victim, would be to move toward "evidence-based" prosecution,
which does not rely upon the victim to testify. |
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Main Term(s):
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Female victims |
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Index Term(s):
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Legal aid services ; State laws ; Interagency cooperation ; Information systems ; Victim services ; Domestic assault ; Police policies and procedures ; Private sector-government cooperatn ; Legal remedies for battered women ; Domestic assault prevention ; Police domestic violence training ; Domestic assault arrest policies ; NIJ grant-related documents ; Illinois |
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Note:
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Dataset may be archived by the NIJ Data Resources Program at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=201881
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* A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents
not available online, a link to the publisher's web site is provided.
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