NCJ Number
213722
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: 2005 Pages: 99-124
Date Published
2005
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study compared the recidivism rates of samples of male and female perpetrators of intimate-partner violence processed in the criminal justice systems of Memphis, TN, and Portland, OR.
Abstract
The study found no gender difference in the likelihood of involvement in a future police report of domestic violence, either as a victim or a suspect (43 percent of the men and 44 percent of the women). Males were significantly more likely to recidivate as suspects-only (31 percent compared to 6 percent); and females were more likely to recidivate as victims-only (26 percent compared to 3 percent). A smaller percentage of males (10 percent) and females (12 percent) were both suspects and victims in future incidents. Men were more likely than women to be a repeat recidivist as a suspect, and women were more likely to have multiple offense reports that listed them as victims. Recidivism data for the two cities were similar. The findings suggest that female offenders most often fit the profile of an abused woman who was arrested a single time for fighting back against a male perpetrator in self-defense. The Memphis sample consisted of 880 suspects (440 men and 440 women) identified in police reports as having committed a domestic-violence offense against a current or former heterosexual intimate partner in 1997. Suspects were included regardless of whether they had been arrested or not. The Portland sample consisted of 6,010 individuals (5,289 men and 721 women) who were identified in police reports as a suspect in a domestic-violence offense in the year 2000. The Pearson Chi-Square statistical analysis was used in all the analyses to measure the association between the variables of interest, i.e., gender and recidivism. 3 tables, 4 notes, and 75 references