NCJ Number
225828
Date Published
May 2008
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report examines pretrial misconduct among domestic violence (DV) defendants in New York City and identifies factors that predict various types of pretrial misconduct.
Abstract
The study found that approximately 9 percent of DV defendants were rearrested for at least one new DV offense during the pretrial period, and 7 percent were rearrested for at least one new non-DV offense during the pretrial period. Approximately 17 percent of DV defendants failed to appear for hearings and/or were rearrested for a new DV offense during the pretrial period. Younger offenders, those with prior arrest, those unemployed, and those with no telephone were more likely to engage in each type of pretrial misconduct examined; age was the strongest predictor. Defendants with prior or current bench warrants for failing to appear were more likely to fail to appear on their current arrest. One measure of community ties, living with someone, increased the risk of rearrest. In most of these cases, the defendant probably lived with the victim of the current domestic violence offense. New York State law does not allow for preventive detention of defendants based on their potential risk of reoffending. Moreover, this research did not identify any types of release decisions that reduced the likelihood of rearrest for a new DV offense. Suggestions for ways to address pretrial misconduct of DV defendants are to order temporary orders of protection and to make enrollment in a supervised release program a condition of pretrial release. 5 figures