NCJ Number
192004
Journal
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2001 Pages: 41-50
Date Published
2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined victims’ perceptions of the effectiveness of domestic assault assistance offered by a special unit of an urban police agency.
Abstract
Data came from interviews with 90 women who filed charges of assault, stalking, or harassment against an intimate. The interview questionnaires that measured threats of abuse, physical abuse, and stalking included the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale, Stalking Victimization Scale, and the Danger Assessment Scale. The study also used follow-up interviews 3 months later to ask about the women’s activities after leaving the family violence unit and their ratings of the effectiveness of the services provided by the Family Violence Unit. The study also asked the participants to describe services that would make the unit more helpful to abused women. Results revealed that 86 percent of the women reported experiencing severe abuse and that 60 percent of the women had been stalked. The follow-up interviews revealed that 41 percent of the women reported that the abuse had stopped and 7 percent said that the abuse had decreased. Half the women had used information provided by the Family Violence Unit. Finally, 86 percent of the women perceived the police services received as being helpful. Findings indicated that a special family violence unit can function to decrease significantly abuse against women by intimate partners. Tables and 26 references (Author abstract modified)