Milwaukee Domestic Violence Experiment, 1987-1989
Description
This study represents a modified replication of the
Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (SPECIFIC DETERRENT EFFECTS
OF ARREST FOR DOMESTIC ASSAULT: MINNEAPOLIS, 1981-1982 [ICPSR 8250]).
The Minneapolis study found arrest to be an effective deterrent
against repeat domestic violence. The two key purposes of the current
study were (1) to examine the possible differences in reactions to
arrest, and (2) to compare the effects of short and long incarceration
associated with arrest. Research protocol involved 35 patrol officers
in four Milwaukee police districts screening domestic violence cases
for eligibility, then calling police headquarters to request a
randomly-assigned disposition. The three possible randomly assigned
dispositions were (1) Code 1, which consisted of arrest and at least
one night in jail, unless the suspect posted bond, (2) Code 2, which
consisted of arrest and immediate release on recognizance from the
booking area at police headquarters, or as soon as possible, and (3)
Code 3, which consisted of a standard Miranda-style script warning
read by police to both suspect and victim. A battered women's shelter
hotline system provided the primary measurement of the frequency of
violence by the same suspects both before and after each case leading
to a randomized police action. Other forms of measurement included
arrests of the suspect both before and after the offense, as well as
offenses against the same victim. Initial victim interviews were
attempted within one month after the first 900 incidents were
compiled. A second victim interview was attempted six months after the
incident for all 1,200 cases. Data collected for this study included
detailed data on each of the 1,200 randomized events, less detailed
data on an additional 854 cases found ineligible, "pipeline" data on
the frequency of domestic violence in the four Milwaukee police
districts, official measures of prior and subsequent domestic violence
for both suspects and victims, interviews of arrested suspects for
eligible and ineligible cases, criminal justice system dispositions of
the randomized arrests, results of urinalysis tests of drug and
alcohol use for some arrestees, and log attempts to obtain interviews
from suspects and victims. Demographic variables include victim and
suspect age, race, education, employment status, and marital status.
Additional information obtained includes victim-offender
relationships, alcohol and drug use during incident, substance of
conflict, nature of victim injury and medical treatment as reported by
police and victims, characteristics of suspects in the Code 1 and 2
arrest groups, victim and suspect reports of who called police, and
victim and suspect versions of speed of police response.
Resources
| Name |
Format |
Description |
Link |
|
0 |
ICPSR09966.v1 |
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09966.v1 |
Tags
- recidivism
- domestic-assault
- deterrence
- womens-shelters
- arrests
- victims
- arrest-records
- imprisonment
- domestic-violence
- police-response