NCJ Number
152414
Journal
Juristat Volume: 14 Issue: 12 Dated: (May 1994) Pages: 1-15
Date Published
1994
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This description of the Winnipeg Family Violence Court focuses on its jurisdiction, goals, achievements, and dispositions.
Abstract
Since 1990 cases of spousal, child, and elder abuse in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada), have been heard in a specialized family violence court. The goals of the court have been expeditious court processing, rigorous prosecution, and more appropriate sentencing than that of nonspecialized courts. The court has achieved the goal of a 3-month average processing time and imposing more appropriate sentences for family-violence cases. Limited success has been achieved with the goal of reducing case attrition prior to sentencing. Prior to the establishment of this specialized court, the most frequent sentences for family-violence offenders were conditional discharge, suspended sentences, and probation. The most frequent sentences in the first 2 years of the Family Violence Court have been probation, suspended sentence, and incarceration. Court- mandated treatment (batterers treatment groups and alcohol treatment) was a condition of 53 percent of all cases sentenced in Family Violence Court. 2 figures, 7 tables, and 2 references