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Analysis of Current Cold-Case Investigation Practices and Factors Associated with Successful Outcomes, 2008-2009 (ICPSR 33761)

Released/updated on: 2016-12-19

Geographic coverage: District of Columbia, Baltimore, United States, Texas, Colorado, Denver, Dallas, Maryland

Time period: 2008-11-01--2009-02-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

To assess the current practices in cold-case investigations, this study utilized a national online survey of law enforcement agencies (Cold Case Survey Data, n = 1,051) to document the range of ways in which cold-case work is conducted and assess how this organization affects cold-case clearance rates. In November 2008, the chiefs of police in the sample were sent a letter explaining the purpose of the survey and inviting them to participate. Potential respondents were directed to the web-based survey instrument through a provided web address. The results from the national survey were used to select sites for an analysis of case files. Researchers chose three jurisdictions that conducted a large number of cold-case homicide investigations: the District of Columbia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Dallas, Texas (Cold Case Homicide Data, n = 429). To these three sites, researchers added Denver, Colorado (Cold Case Sexual Assault Data, n = 105) because it had received a Department of Justice grant to conduct testing of DNA material in sexual assault cold cases. At all four sites, cold cases were examined for seven categories of data including victim's characteristics, crime context, motivation, human capital, physical evidence, basis for cold-case investigations and cold-case actions.

Curated

Partially restricted

Simple Crosstabs

Developing Uniform Performance Measures for Policing in the United States: A Pilot Project in Four Agencies, 2008-2009 (ICPSR 29742)

Released/updated on: 2013-04-24

Geographic coverage: Knoxville, Broward County, United States, Texas, Tennessee, Kettering, Ohio, Florida, Dallas

Time period: 2008-01-01--2009-01-01

Between 2008 and 2009, the research team gathered survey data from 458 members of the community (Part 1), 312 police officers (Part 2), and 804 individuals who had voluntary contact (Part 3), and 761 individuals who had involuntary contact (Part 4) with police departments in Dallas, Texas, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kettering, Ohio, and the Broward County, Florida Sheriff's Office. The surveys were designed to look at nine dimensions of police performance: delivering quality services; fear, safety, and order; ethics and values; legitimacy and customer satisfaction; organizational competence and commitment to high standards; reducing crime and victimization; resource use; responding to offenders; and use of authority. The community surveys included questions about police effectiveness, police professionalism, neighborhood problems, and victimization. The officer surveys had three parts: job satisfaction items, procedural knowledge items, and questions about the culture of integrity. The voluntary police contact and involuntary police contact surveys included questions on satisfaction with the way the police officer or deputy sheriff handled the encounter.

Curated

Domestic Violence Experiment in King's County (Brooklyn), New York, 1995-1997 (ICPSR 4307)

Released/updated on: 2006-08-01

Geographic coverage: United States, Brooklyn, New York (state)

Time period: 1995-02-01--1997-09-01

The researchers sought to add to the incipient literature on randomized studies of batterer treatment, by conducting an experimental study that compared batterers assigned to treatment to batterers assigned to a community service program irrelevant to the problem of violence. The study was conducted using a true experimental design and consisted of 376 spousal assault cases drawn from the Kings County (New York) Criminal Court which were adjudicated between February 19, 1995, and March 1, 1996. Batterers were mandated to attend a 40-hour batterer treatment program or to complete 40 hours of community service. The random assignment was made at sentencing, after all parties (judge, prosecutor, and defense) had agreed that batterer treatment was appropriate, the defendant agreed to treatment and was accepted by the Alternatives to Violence (ATV) program, and the program was available based on the random assignment process. Interviews were also conducted with both the batterer and the victim at sentencing as well as 6 months post-sentence and 12 months post-sentence. These interviews collected data in areas regarding demographics (first interview only), recidivism, beliefs about domestic violence, conflict management strategies, locus of control, and for victims, self esteem. Administrative records were also used to obtain data regarding any new crimes committed.

Curated

Effectiveness of a Joint Police and Social Services Response to Elder Abuse in Manhattan [New York City], New York, 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3130)

Released/updated on: 2005-11-04

Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)

Time period: 1996-01-01--1997-01-01

This project consisted of an evaluation of an elder abuse program run by the New York Police Department and Victim Services Research. The focus of the study was domestic elder abuse, which generally refers to any of several forms of maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation of an older person. The program, conducted in New York City public housing, had two complementary parts. First, public housing projects in Manhattan were assigned to one of two levels of public education (i.e., to receive or not to receive educational materials about elder abuse). Once the public education treatment had been implemented, 403 older adult residents of the housing projects who reported elder abuse to the police during the next ten months were assigned to one of two levels of follow-up to the initial police response (i.e., to receive or not to receive a home visit) as the second part of the project. The home visit intervention consisted of a strong law enforcement response designed to prevent repeat incidents of elder abuse. A team from the Domestic Violence Intervention and Education Program (DVIEP), consisting of a police officer and a social worker, followed up on domestic violence complaints with a home visit within a few days of the initial patrol response. Victims were interviewed about new victimizations following the intervention on three occasions: six weeks after the trigger incident, six months after the trigger incident, and twelve months after the trigger incident. Interviews at the three time points were identical except for the omission of background information on the second and third interviews. Demographic data collected during the first interview included age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment, income, legal relationship with abuser, living situation, number of people in the household, and health. For each time point, data provide measures of physical, psychological, and financial abuse, knowledge of elder abuse, knowledge and use of social services, satisfaction with the police, assessment of service delivery, and self-esteem and well-being. The DVIEP databases maintained on households at each of the three participating Police Service Areas (PSAs) were searched to identify new police reports of elder abuse for households in the sample within 12 months following the trigger incident. Variables from the DVIEP databases include age, race, ethnicity, and sex of the victim and the perpetrator, relationship of perpetrator to victim, type of abuse reported, charge, whether an arrest was made, if an order of protection had been obtained, if the order of protection was violated, use of weapons, if the victim had been injured, and if the victim was taken to the hospital. Several time lapse variables between different time points are also provided.

Curated

Evaluation of No-Drop Policies for Domestic Violence Cases in San Diego, California, Omaha, Nebraska, Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Everett, Washington, 1996-2000 (ICPSR 3319)

Released/updated on: 2006-03-30

Geographic coverage: Oregon, Omaha, Klameth Falls, San Diego, United States, Everett, California, Washington, Nebraska

Time period: 1996-01-01--2000-01-01

This study sought to examine the effects of no-drop policies on court outcomes, victim satisfaction with the justice system, and feelings of safety. Moreover, researchers wanted to determine whether (1) prosecution without the victim's cooperation was feasible with appropriate increases in resources, (2) implementing a no-drop policy resulted in increased convictions and fewer dismissals, (3) the number of trials would increase in jurisdictions where no-drop was adopted as a result of the prosecutor's demand for a plea in cases in which victims were uncooperative or unavailable, and (4) prosecutors would have to downgrade sentence demands to persuade defense attorneys to negotiate pleas in the new context of a no-drop policy. Statutes implemented in San Diego, California, were designed to make it easier to admit certain types of evidence and thereby to increase the prosecutor's chances of succeeding in trials without victim cooperation. To assess the impact of these statutes, researchers collected official records data on a sample of domestic violence cases in which disposition occurred between 1996 and 2000 and resulted in no trial (Part 1), and cases in which disposition occurred between 1996 and 1999, and resulted in a trial (Part 2). In Everett, Washington (Part 3), Klamath Falls, Oregon (Part 4), and Omaha, Nebraska (Part 5), researchers collected data on all domestic violence cases in which disposition occurred between 1996 and 1999 and resulted in a trial. Researchers also conducted telephone interviews in the four sites with domestic violence victims whose cases resolved under the no-drop policy (Part 6) in the four sites. Variables for Part 1 include defendant's gender, court outcome, whether the defendant was sentenced to probation, jail, or counseling, and whether the counseling was for batterer, drug, or anger management. Criminal history, other domestic violence charges, and the relationship between the victim and defendant are also included. Variables for Part 2 include length of trial and outcome, witnesses for the prosecution, defendant's statements to the police, whether there were photos of the victim's injury, the scene, or the weapon, and whether medical experts testified. Criminal history and whether the defendant underwent psychological evaluation or counseling are also included. Variables for Parts 3-5 include the gender of the victim and defendant, relationship between victim and defendant, top charges and outcomes, whether the victim had to be subpoenaed, types of witnesses, if there was medical evidence, type of weapon used, if any, whether the defendant confessed, any indications that the prosecutor talked to the victim, if the victim was in court on the disposition date, the defendant's sentence, and whether the sentence included electronic surveillance, public service, substance abuse counseling, or other general counseling. Variables for Part 6 include relationship between victim and defendant, whether the victim wanted the defendant to be arrested, whether the defendant received treatment for alcohol, drugs, or domestic violence, if the court ordered the defendant to stay away from the victim, and if the victim spoke to anyone in the court system, such as the prosecutor, detective, victim advocate, defense attorney, judge, or a probation officer. The victim's satisfaction with the police, judge, prosecutor, and the justice system, and whether the defendant had continued to threaten, damage property, or abuse the victim verbally or physically are also included. Demographic variables on the victim include race, income, and level of education.

Curated

Evaluation of Victim Services Programs Funded by "Stop Violence Against Women" Grants in the United States, 1998-1999 (ICPSR 2735)

Released/updated on: 2006-03-30

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1998-01-01--1999-01-01

This project investigated the effects of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) funds with respect to the provision of victim services by criminal justice-based agencies to domestic assault, stalking, and sexual assault victims. Violence Against Women grants were intended "to assist states, Indian tribal governments, and units of local government to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women, and to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women." Domestic violence and sexual assault were identified as primary targets for the STOP grants, along with support for under-served victim populations. Two types of programs were sampled in this evaluation. The first was a sample of representatives of STOP grant programs, from which 62 interviews were completed (Part 1, Criminal Justice Victim Service Program Survey Data). The second was a sample of 96 representatives of programs that worked in close cooperation with the 62 STOP program grantees to serve victims (Part 2, Ancillary Programs Survey Data). General questions from the STOP program survey (Part 1) covered types of victims served, years program had been in existence, types of services provided, stages when services were provided, number of victims served by the program the previous year, the program's operating budget, and primary and secondary funding sources. Questions about the community in which the program operated focused on types of services for domestic violence and/or sexual assault victims that existed in the community, if services provided by the program complemented or overlapped those provided by the community, and a rating of the community's coordinated response in providing services. Questions specific to the activities supported by the STOP grant included the amount of the grant award, if the STOP grant was used to start the program or to expand services and if the latter, which services, and whether the STOP funds changed the way the program delivered services, changed linkages with other agencies in the community, increased the program's visibility in the community, and/or impacted the program's stability. Also included were questions about under-served populations being served by the program, the impact of the STOP grant on victims as individuals and on their cases in the criminal justice system, and the program's impact on domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault victims throughout the community. Data from the ancillary programs survey (Part 2) pertain to types of services provided by the program, if the organization was part of the private sector or the criminal justice system, and the impact of the STOP program in the community on various aspects of services provided and on improvements for victims.

Curated

Immigrant Populations as Victims in New York City and Philadelphia, 1994 (ICPSR 6793)

Released/updated on: 2005-11-04

Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The purpose of this study was to examine interrelated issues surrounding the use of the criminal justice system by immigrant victims and to identify ways to improve the criminal justice response to immigrants' needs and problems. Two cities, New York City and Philadelphia, were selected for intensive investigation of victimization of immigrants. In each of these cities, three immigrant communities in a neighborhood were chosen for participation. In New York's Jackson Heights area, Colombians, Dominicans, and Indians were the ethnic groups studied. In Philadelphia's Logan section, Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Koreans were surveyed. In all, 87 Jackson Heights victims were interviewed and 26 Philadelphia victims were interviewed. The victim survey questions addressed can be broadly divided into two categories: issues pertaining to crime reporting and involvement with the court system by immigrant victims. Variables include type of crime, respondent's role in the incident, relationship to the perpetrator, whether the incident was reported to police, and who reported the incident. Respondents were also asked whether they were asked to go to court, whether they understood what the people in court said to them, whether they understood what was happening in their case, and, if victimized again, whether they would report the incident to the police.

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Impact Evaluation of the National Crime Victim Law Institute's Victims' Rights Clinics, 2009-2010 [United States] (ICPSR 34487)

Released/updated on: 2016-04-29

Geographic coverage: United States, Colorado, Maryland, Utah, South Carolina

Time period: 2009-01-01--2010-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The purpose of the impact evaluation was to gauge the success of the victim's rights clinics in attaining each of the following goals

Aid in enforcing rights for individual victims and getting them help for crime-related needs, thereby increasing satisfaction of victims with the justice process;
Change attitudes of criminal justice officials towards victims' rights and increase their knowledge about rights;
Change the legal landscape: establish victim standing and develop positive case law;
Increase compliance of criminal justice officials with victims' rights; and
Sustain the clinic through developing alternative sources of funding

Researchers conducted surveys with prosecutors, judges, victim advocates, and defense attorneys to determine whether they had changed their attitudes toward victims' rights since the local clinic opened its doors. Surveys were fielded in South Carolina, Maryland, and Utah (Criminal Justice Official data, n=552) where clinic evaluations were conducted. An additional survey was fielded in Colorado (Colorado data, n=583) where the victim rights clinic had not yet started to accept cases. To determine the effect that clinics had on observance of victims' rights, researchers collected three samples of cases from prosecutors (NCVLI Case File Data, n=757) in the jurisdiction or jurisdictions in which each local clinic had done the most work: (a) all clinic cases closed since the start of each local clinic; (b) cases closed during the most recent 12-month period which did not involve representation by a clinic attorney; and (c) cases closed in the year prior to the start of each local clinic. Finally, to assess the impact of the clinics on victims' satisfaction with the criminal justice process and its compliance with their rights, researchers conducted telephone interviews (Victim Survey Data, n=125) with two samples of victims in each evaluation site, one drawn from the sample of cases at prosecutor offices and one drawn from the crime victim legal clinics.

Curated

Justice Response to Repeat Victimization in Cases of Violence Against Women in Redlands, California, 2005 (ICPSR 21182)

Released/updated on: 2010-09-24

Geographic coverage: United States, California

Time period: 2005-01-01--2005-12-03

The study set out to test the question of whether more efficacious outcomes would be gained the closer that a second response by police officers occurs to an actual domestic violence event. Researchers conducted a randomized experiment in which households that reported a domestic incident to the police were assigned to one of three experimental conditions: (a) second responders were dispatched to the crime scene within 24 hours, (b) second responders visited victims' homes one week after the call for service, or (c) no second response occurred. Beginning January 1, 2005, and continuing through December 3, 2005, incidents reported to the Redlands Police Department were reviewed each morning by a research assistant to determine whether the incidents involved intimate partners. Cases were determined to be eligible if the incident was coded as a misdemeanor or felony battery of a spouse or intimate partner. Eighty-two percent of the victims were females. For designated incidents, a team of officers, including a trained female domestic violence detective, visited households within either twenty-four hours or seven days of a domestic complaint. A written protocol guided the officer or officers making home visits. Officers also asked the victim a series of questions about her relationship with the abuser, history of abuse, and the presence of children and weapons in the home. In Part 1 (Home Visit Data), six months after the reporting date of the last incident in the study, Redlands Police crime analysis officers wrote a software program to search their database to determine if any new incidents had been reported. For Part 2 (New Incident Data), the search returned any cases associated with the same victim in the trigger incident. For any new incidents identified, information was collected on the date, charge, and identity of the perpetrator. Six months following the trigger incident, research staff attempted to interview victims about any new incidents of abuse that might have occurred. These interview attempts were made by telephone. In cases where the victim could not be reached by phone, an incentive letter was sent to the victim's home, offering a $50 stipend to call the research offices. Part 1 (Home Visit Data) contains 345 cases while Part 2 (New Incident Data) contains 344 cases. The discrepancy in the final number across the two parts is due to cases randomized into the sample that turned out to be ineligible or had been assigned previously from another incident. Part 1 (Home Visit Data) contains 63 variables including basic administrative variables such as date(s) of contact and group assignment. There are also variables related to the victim and the perpetrator such as their relationship, whether the perpetrator was arrested during the incident, and whether the perpetrator was present during the interview. Victims were also asked a series of questions as to whether the perpetrator did such things as hit, push, or threatened the victim. Part 2 (New Incident Data) contains 68 variables including dates and charges of previous incidents as well as basic administrative and demographic variables.

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Multi-Site Study of the Potential of Technology in Policing [United States], 2012-2013. (ICPSR 35479)

Released/updated on: 2017-06-06

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2012-01-01--2013-01-01

This study examined the impact of technology on social, organizational, and behavioral aspects of policing. The present data represents an officer-level survey of four law enforcement agencies, designed to answer the following questions: (1) how are technologies used in police agencies across ranks and organizational sub-units? (2) how does technology influence organizational and personal aspects of police including - operations, culture, behavior, and satisfaction? (3) how do organizational and individual aspects of policing concurrently shape the use and effectiveness of technology? (4) how does technology affect crime control efforts and police-community relationships? (5) what organizational practices help to optimize the use of technology with an emphasis on enhance effectiveness and legitimacy?

Curated

A New Approach to Utilizing Evidence from Sexual Assault Kits in Texas: Benefits and Costs of a Universal Testing Statute, 1996-2011 (ICPSR 38096)

Released/updated on: 2023-11-29

Geographic coverage: United States, Texas, Austin

Time period: 1996-01-01--2011-01-01

This study is built on a previous grant from Communities Foundation of Texas assessing effects of a Texas law requiring that law enforcement agencies submit to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) all unanalyzed sexual assault kits with testable DNA between 1996 and 2011. This study sought to determine the cost effectiveness of DNA analysis of previously untested sexual assault kits as part of the requirement of Texas statute 1636. The Police Foundation worked with police agencies in Dallas, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, and Austin to examine cases with Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hits (DNA matches to a person or crime) from the group of previously untested kits. Texas, with its 18,000 untested kits collected by DPS provided an excellent opportunity to determine the value of testing old sexual assault kits in which law enforcement agencies apparently saw insufficient merit in testing at the time of the report. Specifically, the research team examined what happens to these cases when the DNA results are returned to the local police agencies: How many result in re-opened investigations and arrests?

Curated

Partially restricted

Preparedness of Large Retail Malls to Prevent and Respond to Terrorist Attack, 2004 [United States] (ICPSR 21140)

Released/updated on: 2007-12-18

Geographic coverage: United States

The purpose of this project was to assess the level of security in large indoor shopping malls. The researchers administered surveys to the security directors of the nation's largest indoor retail malls. The researchers sent letters with surveys attached, to 1,372 security directors of enclosed retail malls across the country, which were at least 250,000 square feet in size. A total of 120 completed surveys were returned. The survey instrument was divided into the following nine sections: (1) Hiring Standards, (2) Training, (3) Security Budget, (4) Human Surveillance Strategies, (5) Access Control Plans, (6) Technological Enhancements, (7) Emergency Preparedness Procedures, (8) Relations with the Public Sector, and (9) Opinions about Terrorist Threat.

Curated

Preventing Repeat Incidents of Family Violence: A Reanalysis of Data From Three Field Tests in Manhattan [New York City], New York, 1987, 1995-1997 (ICPSR 25925)

Released/updated on: 2011-03-21

Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)

Time period: 1995-01-01--1997-01-01

In the mid-1980s New York City officials developed an intervention program, the Domestic Violence Intervention Education Project (DVIEP), to reduce repeat incidents of family abuse. The program posited that repeat victimization would decline as victims extracted themselves from self-defeating relationships or by working with social services and criminal justice staff to develop strategies to end the abuse while staying in the relationship. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the DVIEP model in reducing repeat instances of family violence. Between 1987 and 1997, three separate, randomized field experiments in New York City's public housing projects evaluated whether or not the DVIEP program reduced the rate of subsequent victimization. All three studies tested the same intervention model: persons who reported family violence to the police were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive a follow-up visit from a domestic violence prevention police officer and a social worker. For this study, researchers concatenated the micro data from the 3 experiments into a single, 1,037 case dataset that contains identical treatment and control measures, and nearly identical outcome measures. Of the 1,037 total cases in the study, 434 are from the 1987 Domestic Violence Study, 406 are from the Elder Abuse study, EFFECTIVENESS OF A JOINT POLICE AND SOCIAL SERVICES RESPONSE TO ELDER ABUSE IN MANHATTAN [NEW YORK CITY], NEW YORK, 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3130), and 197 are from the Domestic Violence Arrestee Study in Manhattan's Police Services Area 2 (PSA2). The resulting data collection contains a total of 31 variables including which study (1987 Domestic Violence Study, Elder Abuse Study, or Domestic Violence Arrestee Study) the respondent participated in, whether the respondent was part of the experimental group or the control group, whether the respondent received public education or a home visit by a DVIEP team, the number of DVIEP services the respondent used, and whether the respondent completed a final interview with a DVIEP team after six months of tracking. Additionally, variables include the victim's age, whether the perpetrator of domestic abuse was a romantic partner of the victim, the number of incidents reported to the police, the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) violence score, and the number of days until the first new incident of domestic abuse.

Curated

Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases with Reluctant Victims in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1994-1995 (ICPSR 4409)

Released/updated on: 2006-06-08

Geographic coverage: Milwaukee, United States, Wisconsin

Time period: 1994-06-01--1995-04-01

Officials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, introduced two experiments designed to provide answers to questions of how to deal with victim reluctance in domestic violence cases. Two projects funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) evaluated these Milwaukee domestic violence experiments. The first project examined the effectiveness of a specialized domestic violence court that opened in September 1994. The primary intent of the specialized domestic violence court was to speed up the disposition of cases. The second project examined the impact of a change in the district attorney's (DA's) screening policy that admitted more cases into the special court, which became effective January 1, 1995. The liberalized prosecutorial policy was intended to determine whether arrests that the DA normally rejected for prosecution because victims failed to attend the prosecutor's charging conference could be prosecuted successfully none the less. The researchers collected data from three time periods: (1) prior to September 1994, (2) between September 1994 and January 1995, and (3) post-Janurary 1995. For the first experiment, several samples were selected from court and DA records to assess the impact of the introduction of the special domestic violence court and its impact after the change in the DA's charging policy. These samples of domestic violence cases (court samples) filed by the prosecutor included: (1) 237 cases from Summer 1994, (2) 190 cases from Fall 1994, and (3) 242 cases from Spring 1995. For the second experiment, three additional samples (complaint room samples) were collected of domestic cases declined by the prosecutor to determine how victim attendance at the charging conference and other factors affected the decision to prosecute: (1) 152 cases from Summer 1994, (2) 155 cases from Fall 1994, and (3) 152 cases from Spring 1995. Variables in this dataset include if the case was filed, type of charges, number of prior misdemeanors, number of prior felonies, number of misdemeanors after, number of felonies after, number of felony convictions, number of misdemeanor convictions, number of subpoenas, number of judicial body attachment orders, whether the victim was cooperative, if the victim testified, method of disposition, type of disposition, time to disposition, time to sentencing, sentencing conditions, if the defendant received jail or prison time, if the defendant received probation time, number of months incarcerated, number of months on probation, and several date variables. Additional variables provide the sex of the defendant, the relationship between the defendant and the victim, if the victim was injured, if the victim was intoxicated, and use of a weapon.

Curated

Providing Help to Victims: A Study of Psychological and Material Outcomes in New York City, 1984-1985 (ICPSR 9479)

Released/updated on: 2006-01-18

Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)

Time period: 1984-01-01--1985-01-01

This data collection was designed to examine the effectiveness of a New York City agency's attempt to decrease the negative emotions that result from victimization. The data address the following questions: (1) To what extent do specific treatments mitigate the negative psychological impact of victimization? (2) Are individuals from a particular demographic group more prone to suffer from psychological adjustment problems following victimization? (3) When victimized, do individuals blame themselves or the situation? (4) Are some crimes more difficult to cope with than others? (5) Does previous victimization affect the likelihood that an individual will have difficulty coping with current as well as future victimization? Data were collected in two waves, with Wave 1 interviews completed within one month of the victimization incident and Wave 2 interviews completed three months after treatment. The effects of three treatments were measured. They included: traditional crisis counseling (which incorporates psychological aid and material assistance such as food, shelter, cash, etc.), cognitive restructuring (challenges to "irrational" beliefs about the world and one's self used in conjunction with crisis counseling), and material assistance only (no psychological aid provided). A fourth group of victims received no treatment or services. Three standardized psychometric scales were used in the study. In addition to these standardized scales, the initial assessment battery included an index of fear of crime as well as an index that measured behavior adjustment. Another set of measures assessed how victims perceived their experience of victimization and included items on self-blame, selective evaluation, and control. Also included were questions about the crime and precautions taken to guard against future victimization. The follow-up assessment battery was virtually identical to the initial battery, except that questions about services and social support received by the victim were added. The following demographic variables are included in the data: sex, age, marital status, education, income, and race. The unit of analysis was the individual.

Curated

Reducing Repeat Sexual Assault Victimization: Design and Testing of a Risk Reduction Program in New York City, New York, and Seattle, Washington, 2003-2005 (ICPSR 20345)

Released/updated on: 2011-02-24

Geographic coverage: New York City, Seattle, United States, New York (state), Washington

Time period: 2003-07-27--2005-05-30

The goal of the study was to develop an intervention that would be analogous to safety planning for battered women, and one that could be used by sexual assault counselors as an adjunct to psychological counseling. The project was conducted at Safe Horizon in New York City and at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle from August 2003 to May 2005. The client populations of the two programs were complementary. Safe Horizon's clients were primarily Black (36 percent) and Latina (26 percent). In contrast, a majority of Harborview clients were White (59 percent), although Harborview also had many non-White, non-Hispanic clients. Approximately half of the eligible candidates were randomly assigned to participate in a four-hour workshop on avoiding sexual assault while the others were assigned to a control condition that did not receive the training. Both groups participated in a baseline assessment battery administered in person. After completion of the assessment, those assigned to the experimental condition began the workshop. Researchers contacted women in both groups six months later for a second assessment, this time conducted over the phone. The 14 data files contain information related to alcohol consumption, tonic immobility, knowledge of sexual assault risk factors, attributions for the most recent sexual assault, self-efficacy, risky behaviors, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology, and sexual victimization. The data also contain one file with demographic information. Each data file contains 84 cases. Across all parts, the data collection has 612 variables.

Curated

Reporting of Drug-Related Crimes: Resident and Police Perspectives in the United States, 1988-1990 (ICPSR 9925)

Released/updated on: 2005-11-04

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1988-01-01--1990-01-01

This data collection investigates the ways in which police use reports of drug-related crimes provided by residents of high drug/crime areas and how willing residents of these areas are to report such crimes to the police. Structured interviews were conducted by telephone with police representatives in most of the nation's 50 largest cities and in person with residents and police officers in high drug/crime districts in each of four major cities: Newark, Chicago, El Paso, and Philadelphia. Police department representatives were queried about the usefulness of citizen reports, reasons for citizens' reluctance to make reports, how the rate of citizen reports could be improved, and how citizen reports worked with other community crime prevention strategies. Residents were asked about their tenure in the neighborhood, attitudes toward the quality of life in the neighborhood, major social problems facing the neighborhood, and quality of city services such as police and fire protection, garbage collection, and public health services. Additional questions were asked about the amount of crime in the neighborhood, the amount of drug use and drug-related crime, and the fear of crime. Basic demographic information such as sex, race, and language in which the interview was conducted is also provided.

Curated

Systematic Review of the Effects of Second Responder Programs, 1992-2007 (ICPSR 31641)

Released/updated on: 2011-08-22

Geographic coverage: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Global

Time period: 1992-01-01--2007-01-01

The purpose of this systematic review was to compile and synthesize published and unpublished empirical studies of the effects of second responder programs on repeat incidents of family violence. The researchers employed multiple strategies to search for literature that met the eligibility criteria. A keyword search was performed on a variety of online databases. Researchers reviewed the bibliographies of all second responder studies they located. Researchers performed hand searches of leading journals in the field and searched the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women Web site for a listing of federally-funded second responded programs and any evaluations conducted on those programs. A total of 22 studies that discussed second responder programs were found by the research team. Of these, 12 were eliminated from the sample because they did not meet the inclusion criteria, leaving a final sample of 10 studies. After collecting an electronic or paper copy of each article or report, researchers extracted pertinent data from each eligible article using a detailed coding protocol. Two main outcome measures were available for a sufficient number of studies to permit meta-analysis. One outcome was based on police data (Part 1: Police Data, n=9), for example whether a new domestic violence incident was reported to the police in the form of a crime report within six months of the triggering incident. The second outcome was based on survey data (Part 2: Interview Data, n=8), for example whether a new domestic violence incident occurred and was reported to a researcher during an interview within six months of the triggering incident. Several of studies (n=7) included in the meta-analysis had both outcome measures.

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Testing the Efficacy of Judicial Monitoring Using a Randomized Trial at the Rochester, New York Domestic Violence Courts, 2006-2009 (ICPSR 34383)

Released/updated on: 2016-04-12

Geographic coverage: Rochester (New York), New York (state)

Time period: 2006-10-01--2009-12-31

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of intensive judicial monitoring on offender compliance with court orders and perpetration of future violence. Offenders were processed in either of two specialized domestic violence courts based in Rochester, New York between October 2006 and December 2009. Study-eligible defendants had to be either (1) convicted and sentenced to a conditional discharge or probation or (2) disposed with an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. Eligible defendants also had to be ordered to participate in a program (e.g., batterer program, substance abuse treatment). Once an eligible plea/disposition was entered, court staff randomly assigned defendants to either Group 1 (monitoring plus program, n = 77) or Group 2 (program only/no monitoring, n = 70). All of the offenders included in the sample were male. Offender interviews (n = 39) were completed between March 2008 and July 2010. The research intern present in court for compliance calendars approached offenders assigned to one of the two study groups to ask them to participate in the research interview on their last court appearance on the instant case (i.e., at successful dismissal from on-going monitoring or at re-sentencing). Victim interviews (n = 10) were conducted six months and one year post-offender disposition. Victims were contacted by staff from Alternatives for Battered Women (ABW), a local victim advocacy agency that was already in contact with many of the women coming through the domestic violence court.

Curated

Testing the Impact of Batterer Intervention Programs and Court Monitoring in the Bronx [New York City, New York], 2002-2004 (ICPSR 21900)

Released/updated on: 2008-04-21

Geographic coverage: New York City, New York, United States

Time period: 2002-07-23--2004-02-27

The purpose of this study was to provide a definitive test of whether batterer programs and varying intensities of judicial monitoring reduce reoffending among domestic violence offenders. Study enrollment took place between July 23, 2002, through February 27, 2004. In Part 1, Batterer Program Experiment Data, convicted male domestic violence offenders from court parts AP10 (Pretrial Appearances) or TAP2 (Trials) of the Bronx Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Court were randomly assigned into one of four experimental conditions. The four conditions were batterer program plus monthly judicial monitoring (n = 102), batterer program plus graduated monitoring (n = 100), monthly monitoring only (n = 109), and graduated monitoring only (n = 109). Defendants assigned to a batterer program completed either the Domestic Violence Accountability Program (DVAP) run by Safe Horizon or the Men's Choices Program run by the Fordham Tremont Community Mental Health Center. The offenders were tracked for at least 12 months after sentencing, and for up to 18 months for most of the men, to determine whether they fulfilled the conditions of their sentence, were rearrested for domestic violence, or were reported by the victim to have engaged in new incidents of abuse. Using each offender's New York State criminal identification number, complete criminal record files, including prior criminal history and recidivism, were obtained from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). Victims were interviewed about new domestic incidents committed within one year of sentencing. In Part 2, Monitoring Experiment Data, a quasi-experimental study using propensity score matching compared recidivism outcomes between the randomized offenders in Part 1 and a control group of conditional discharge (CD) offenders convicted of identical offenses, but who, as a result of the normal sentencing process, received neither a batterer program nor any form of monitoring. The propensity score predicted the probability of inclusion in the randomized trial (Part 1) sample, based not on actual membership in that sample, but on the statistical probability of membership in it, as computed from the observed set of background characteristics. Each offender in the randomized trial was then matched to the offender in the CD only group with the nearest propensity score. Sometimes multiple offenders from the the initial trial were matched to the same CD only offender. Variables in both Part 1 and Part 2 of the data set include demographic variables for both the defendants and victims, defendant arrest history, current sentence, assignment to a batterer program, type of judicial monitoring, and victim reports of new incidents of violence after sentencing.

Curated

Victim Impact Statements: Their Effect on Court Outcomes and Victim Satisfaction in New York, 1988-1990 (ICPSR 9588)

Released/updated on: 1999-12-14

Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)

Time period: 1988-07-01--1989-04-01

The purpose of this data collection was to assess the effects of victim impact statements on sentencing decisions and on victim satisfaction with the criminal justice system. Victims were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: (1) Victims were interviewed, with an impact statement written and immediately distributed to the prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge on the case, (2) Victims were interviewed to assess impact but no statement was written, and (3) Victims were assigned to a control condition in which there was no interview or statement. Subsequent interviews evaluated victims' perceptions of their role in the proceedings and their satisfaction with the outcome. Data were also recorded on charges filed against the defendants (both the arraignment and final charges), sentences, and special conditions of sentences. Standard demographic information was gathered as well. The remaining variables fall into two categories. The first category includes questions about the defendant(s) in the case. For all defendants in each case (up to six per victim) the researchers recorded information on the nature and severity of the arraignment charges and final charges, and on the sentence received. Additional information was recorded for the first and second defendants in a case. This included information on special conditions of the sentence such as a drug treatment program or restraining order. Orders to pay restitution were noted. Also recorded was information on the defendant's status with the criminal justice system, including number of prior convictions and number of open cases against the defendant. Finally, whether the Victim Impact Statement appeared in the assistant district attorney's file on the case and whether the statement had been opened were noted. The second category of variables includes information about the victim's reactions to the crime and the criminal justice system. Victims were asked to assess the impact the crime had on them in terms of physical injury, financial losses, psychological effect, and behavioral effect (i.e., changes in behavior resulting from the experience). They were also questioned about their experiences with the criminal justice system. The researchers inquired about their participation in the sentencing decision, their satisfaction with the outcome, and how they felt they had been treated by various court officials. Victims were asked whether they felt that court officials were aware of and were concerned about the effect the crime had on them. They were also asked whether victims should have a greater role in the court proceedings and whether court officials should be aware of victim impact as part of the sentencing procedure. Finally, the researchers investigated whether the victims believed that going to court was a waste of time.

Curated

Victims' Needs and Victim Services, 1988-1989: Evanston, Rochester, Pima County, and Fayette County (ICPSR 9399)

Released/updated on: 2005-11-04

Geographic coverage: United States, Illinois, Kentucky, New York (state), Arizona

Time period: 1988-01-01--1989-01-01

This data collection examines the needs of burglary, robbery, and assault victims and the responses of local victim assistance programs to those needs in four metropolitan areas: Evanston, Illinois, Rochester, New York, Pima County, Arizona, and Fayette County, Kentucky. Four issues were explored in detail: the needs of victims, where they seek help, the kinds of help they receive, and which of their problems do and do not get resolved. Variables include (1) demographic information such as city of residence, length of residence, birth date, marital status, race, work status, education, and income, (2) information on the crime itself, such as type of crime, when the crime happened, and details of the attack and attacker, and (3) consequences of the crime, such as problems encountered as a result of the crime, emotional responses to the crime, and reactions to the crime on a practical level.