NCJ Number
87054
Journal
Response Volume: 5 Issue: 6 Dated: (November/December 1982) Pages: 9-14
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
These recommended standards for criminal justice reponses to domestic violence focus on police intervention and investigation and the prosecution of batterers.
Abstract
The standards for police intervention aim to prevent injuries to the police, prevent repeat calls, aid the prosecution of the more serious cases, and help victims obtain shelter or other needed services. Dispatchers should assign priorities to calls based on specific information obtained from the caller. Police should consider arrest to be the most appropriate response in domestic assault cases and should not base the decision to arrest on the relationship of the parties or on a presumption that the victim will not cooperate in subsequent criminal proceedings. Police should help victims obtain emergency medical care, inform victims of legal rights and available services, and offer to transport victims and their children to a shelter for battered women or to another residence. Police should also receive 20 hours of training on domestic violence and should file reports on every domestic call. Prosecutors should screen all police reports on spouse abuse and contact victims within 24 hours. They should also educate victims about their role in the prosecution and protect victims from intimidation by obtaining a no-contact order as a condition of release. Sentencing recommendations should include treatment for the offender, protection for the victim, and jail in severe cases. Additional standards and detailed explanations of each standard are provided.