NCJ Number
129478
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Prosecuting the abuse of women should become a priority, but jurisdictions currently vary widely in their attitudes and procedures related to this issue.
Abstract
The main reasons that prosecuting woman abuse should be a priority are that prosecution communicates social norms, prosecutors who do not bring charges discourage the police from making arrests, and woman abuse is a particularly dangerous form of violent crime in that the offender lives with the victim. During the past 15 years, some State legislatures have allowed innovations in prosecutors' handling of abuse cases, and many prosecutors have established new policies on their own. Changes have included simplified procedures for filing complaints that make the prosecutor, rather than the victim, responsible for filing charges as well as specialized training for personnel, psychological support for victims, and alternative options for sentencing. These new programs have led to more prosecutions of batterers. However, their implementation is difficult, and evidentiary problems, prosecutors' large caseloads, costs, the need for interagency coordination, and prosecutors' attitudes have all hindered efforts at reform. Yet many of these problems can be overcome. Notes and 41 references