COORDINATED COMMUNITY INTERVENTION FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - THE EFFECTS OF ARREST AND PROSECUTION ON RECIDIVISM OF WOMAN ABUSE PERPETRATORS

This study explored the effectiveness of a coordinated community inter vention designed to reduce domestic violence in DuPage County, Illinoi s. Police reports for all domestic violence calls within a 3-month per iod that indicated a male perpetrator of physical abuse against an int imate female partner were analyzed. The analysis examined the effects of arrest and prosecution on subsequent police calls and arrests withi n an 18-month period following the initial incident. Logistic regressi on analysis indicated that arrest significantly deterred subsequent do mestic violence incidents. The deterrent effect of arrest did not dete riorate over the 18-month period and was most pronounced for those off enders who had a previous history of police involvement for domestic v iolence.