Program Profile: Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Police Department Domestic Violence Unit

This program consists of a specialized police unit, which was designed to prevent recidivism among people convicted of domestic violence offenses and to assist victims of domestic violence through the process of prosecution and recovery. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit had a statistically significant lower likelihood of recidivating, compared with the control group, who were assigned to standard patrol.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

Program Goals/Target Population

In the early 1990s, the National Institute of Justice sponsored Spousal Assault Replication Program studies in several U.S. cities to explore the effects of policing practices on domestic violence. In the Charlotte, N.C., study, null effects were found for the deterrent effect of arrest on recidivism of persons convicted of domestic violence offenses—that is, arresting the individual did not have any significant effects on recidivism when compared to separating the person from the victim or issuing a citation (Exum et al. 2010). The Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department concluded from the study that arrest alone was not enough to deter domestic violence and that further steps were necessary to reduce domestic violence in Charlotte. The department subsequently established a specialized unit to handle domestic violence cases, and the Domestic Violence Unit (DV Unit) was implemented as part of the Special Victims Unit in 1995. The goals of the unit are to reduce recidivism of serious domestic violence offenses and to assist victims of domestic violence through the process of prosecution and recovery.

As such, the DV Unit is designed to assist with particularly chronic or violent cases of domestic violence. All domestic violence cases in the county are forwarded to the police sergeant, who decides if the case should be assigned to standard patrol or the DV Unit. Reports of cases are reviewed, and decisions are made based on the individual’s history and the severity of the case. Most of the cases involve intimate partner violence, as opposed to family violence.

Services Provided

The two main components of the DV Unit are 1) intensive investigation and 2) victim assistance. In the investigation component, domestic violence cases are assessed and, based on their seriousness, are determined if they are eligible for processing in the DV Unit. For those cases chosen for processing by the unit, the police department conducts follow-up interviews with witnesses, identifies and corrects missing information from reports, and prepares case materials for the district attorney. A lead detective is assigned to each case to conduct a thorough investigation, and the suspect is charged based on the evidence collected during the investigation. Aggressive measures are taken to ensure that the person is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This specialized and focused attention is one of the main factors that differentiates the DV Unit from standard police processing.

The victim assistance component provides services to help victims of domestic violence through the criminal justice process. This component depends on the cooperation between police and community organizations, as well as several government and nonprofit organizations, to provide services and resources for victims. These include providing crisis intervention, shelter, and food and gas cards to victims of domestic violence. In certain severe cases, the DV Unit provides specialized assistance to victims. This may consist of counseling, making referrals to social service agencies, helping develop safety plans, and guiding victims through specific criminal justice procedures, such as obtaining restraining orders.

Key Personnel

The DV Unit is comprised of one sergeant, one administrative assistant, five detectives, and four counselors. They are assisted by approximately 70 citizen volunteers, who help victims with obtaining resources and filling out paperwork, remind victims of upcoming court dates, and perform other various services. The unit also relies on the participation of government and community organizations for support and administration of services. Community organizations are also relied on to help coordinate specialized responses to domestic violence cases, identify risk factors for family violence, identify hot spots of domestic violence, and develop proactive strategies to combat domestic violence.

Program Theory

The DV Unit is based on the theory of individual deterrence, in which greater certainty, swiftness, and/or severity of formal punishment is believed to deter the individual’s future criminal activity. Specifically, the specialized attention provided to severe domestic violence cases through the DV Unit is thought to have a deterrent effect among persons convicted of domestic violence offenses. The incapacitation aspect of crime control also has a role, as removing serious violent persons from the streets can help reduce domestic violence in the community (Exum et al. 2010).

The theory behind the victim assistance component of the Domestic Violence Unit is to provide empowerment for victims. This is based on the idea that if victims are given emotional support and guidance, they will be better able to recover from their traumatic experience and feel better about themselves. In theory, they will subsequently become better able to protect themselves, and in turn will be less likely to return to their abusive partner or become involved with another abusive partner. This component also draws upon the routine activities theory of crime, which proposes that crime depends on the opportunities available. Theoretically, if victims become empowered and are better able to protect themselves, they will become less suitable targets (Exum et al. 2010).

Study

Exum and colleagues (2010) conducted a randomized study to evaluate the impact of the Domestic Violence Unit (DV Unit) on recidivism in Charlotte, N.C. They assessed whether or not they recidivated over a 30-month period, after being booked for an initial triggering offense in 2003. Researchers took into account many different characteristics and used multivariate regression analysis to determine the effects of various factors on recidivism rates.

Approximately 6,000 domestic violence cases were filed by the Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department in 2003. Of these, 1,000 were chosen as a preliminary sample for the study. Since cases involving multiple suspects or multiple victims complicated the analysis, only cases with one victim and one suspect were selected for inclusion in the study. All data was obtained from the police department’s computerized database of electronic incident reports. Eligible persons were randomly assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit (DV Unit) or to the standard patrol control group. Cases in the treatment group received special processing and attention through the DV Unit, while standard patrol cases received standard processing with no special attention. The final sample came out to 891 domestic violence cases total, with 220 cases assigned to the DV Unit.

Recidivism was measured during the follow-up period by assessing the prevalence of domestic violence acts against any victim. Recidivism was reviewed using an electronic search for the name of each suspect in the sample. Searches were conducted in June 2005, and incident reports were identified for all domestic violence–related offenses that occurred after the triggering incident in 2003. Recidivism prevalence was coded as whether or not the person recidivated after the triggering offense. Recidivism frequency was coded as 0, 1, or 2+ offenses that took place after the triggering incident.

Since many factors can have an effect on an individual’s decision to recidivate, certain ones were controlled for in the study, including age, race, gender, and marital status. In addition, due to the relationship between prior offending and the decision to recidivate, suspects’ prior history of domestic violence was controlled for using a dichotomous measure (0 = no domestic violence priors; 1 = prior domestic violence offender).

The severity of the triggering offense was also controlled for, using three steps. First, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (or NIBRS) charge associated with the triggering offense was assessed using nominal measures, rather than ranking them. Offenses were coded as trespassing, intimidation, vandalism, theft, breaking/entering, simple assault, aggravated assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, and a category of “other” that included less serious crimes. Second, based on the discretion of the officer, the level of threat/harm the victim experienced was coded using one of five descriptors: none, threatened (not gun-related), gun-related threat, minor injury, and major injury. Finally, a narrative account was recorded from the supervising officer to add a qualitative aspect to the report. In these reports, officers recorded whether certain abusive acts took place, including verbal threats, pushing/shoving, and hitting/slapping; these were coded as 0 (unknown) or 1 (present). “Unknown” was used rather than “not present,” since a lack of observation of an act did not necessarily mean that the act did not occur. Using police records, researchers determined whether the triggering offense was cleared by an arrest (0 = no; 1 = yes) and calculated the number of days the suspect served for the triggering offense (including pretrial confinement). Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the incident frequency among those who recidivated.

Subgroup Analysis

Exum and colleagues (2013) conducted subgroup analyses to examine incident frequency among those who recidivated. They found no statistically significant differences between treatment group persons assigned to the Charlotte–Mecklenburg (N.C.) Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit and control group persons assigned to standard patrol in frequency of recidivism incidents at the 30-month follow up.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department. 2011. “Domestic Violence Unit.” Accessed March 31, 2011.

Friday, Paul, Vivian B. Lord, M. Lyn Exum, and Jennifer L. Hartman. 2006. Evaluating the Impact of a Specialized Domestic Violence Police Unit. Final Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.