NCJ Number
239942
Date Published
January 2012
Length
136 pages
Annotation
This report describes the results of a study assessing the impact of the video statement program on dispositions in criminal cases of intimate partner violence and elder abuse in Brooklyn, NY.
Abstract
Results found that the District Attorney's office, following program guidelines, was more likely to send defendants in cases involving injuries, defendants charged with assault, and defendants involved in cross-complaints for a video statement. Defendants who were cohabiting with the victim were also more likely to be sent for a video statement. Defendants in incidents in which they were injured, defendants in cross-complaints, and defendants who had four or more arrest charges were more likely to make substantive statements. Defendants, whose arrest occurred 9 hours or more after the incident, were less likely to make a substantive statement. Second, the video statement program increased the conviction rate in intimate partner violence and elder abuse cases with the conviction rate 3.1 percentage points higher in video cases than in non-video cases among released defendants in Domestic Violence Bureau cases disposed in Criminal Court; 5.2 percentage points higher in smaller Domestic Violence Bureau Case File; and 8.0 percentage points higher in the Integrated Domestic Violence Court. Third, making a substantive statement increased the likelihood that a defendant would be convicted. And finally, video statements increased the likelihood of conviction in Criminal Court primarily when the victim was not participating in the prosecution of the case. Tables, figures, references, and appendixes