NCJ Number
192556
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 65 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2001 Pages: 36-39
Editor(s)
Ellen Wilson Fielding
Date Published
December 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development, implementation, and program components of the Kane County, Illinois Domestic Violence Officer (DVO) probation program providing intensive probation supervision for repeat and serious family violence offender.
Abstract
In the United States, domestic violence has become a serious problem across all criminal justice agencies. State and local agencies across the country are making increased efforts to deal with the problems of family violence. Kane County, Illinois is one such criminal justice system attempting valiant efforts to deal with family violence through better enforcement and tougher prosecution efforts. To deal with the increased number of defendants prosecuted for domestic violence related offenses, Kane County Court Services developed a specialized program to select higher-risk domestic violence offenders for specialized supervision. The Domestic Violence Officer (DVO) probation program was implemented in 1998, providing stricter supervision standards for repeat and serious family violence offenders. The DVO program is comprised of several major components that include: (1) completion of a 26-week domestic violence counseling program; (2) DVO probationers must begin the program by reporting at least once a week and after a period of time it can be reduced to once every other week; (3) home visits are made once a month; and (4) a victim-contact component is incorporated to establish open communication between the probation officer and the victim. Kane County has taken aggressive actions to address the problem of domestic violence. Through closer supervision and tougher non-compliance sanctions, the DVO program has held offenders more accountable for their actions. The short-term results of the DVO program appear promising.