The evaluation of the domestic violence courts: their functioning and effects in the first eighteen months of operation, 1998 to 1999

296 Pages·2000·21.2 MB·English

by  Moyer, Sharon|Rettinger, Jill|Hotton, Tina|Ontario. Ministry of the Attorney General

ONTARIO ATTORNEY GENERAL LAW LIBRARY
000 526
THE EVALUATION OF THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURTS:
THEIR FUNCTIONING AND EFFECTS IN THE FIRST EIGHTEEN MONTHS
OF OPERATION, 1998 TO 1999
A report to: Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario
By: Sharon Moyer, Jill Rettinger, and Tina Hotton
Moyer & Associates
344 Bloor Street West, Suite 302
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1W9
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
March 2000
KF Moyer, Sharon
505.5 Moyer & Associates
M69 The evaluation of the domestic
2000 violence courts
c.l
DATE ISSUED TD
KF Moyer, Sharon
505.5 Moyer & Associates
M69
The evaluation of the domestic
2000 violence courts
c. 1
MINISTRY OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LAW LIBRARY
MnRNEV GENERA Off 1 s
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THE EVALUATION OF THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURTS:
THEIR FUNCTIONING AND EFFECTS IN THE FIRST EIGHTEEN MONTHS
OF OPERATION, 1998 TO 1999
A report to: Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario
By: Sharon Moyer, Jill Rettinger, and Tina Hotton
Moyer & Associates
344 Bloor Street West, Suite 302
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1W9
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
March 2000
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Ontario Council of University Libraries
https://archive.org/details/mag_00069526
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Two Approaches to the Processing of Domestic Violence Cases I
1. The Early Intervention Model 1
2. The Coordinated Prosecution Model 2
3. Similarities between the Two Models 2
Resources 3
The Logic Model for the Domestic Violence Courts Project 4
This Evaluation 6
The Organization of this Report 6
CHAPTER 2: RECENT RESEARCH FINDINGS ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE
PROCESSING OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES 8
Police Practices 8
Crown Decision-making 11
Specialized Domestic Violence Courts 12
Court-ordered Treatment Programs for Domestic Violence 14
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 16
Interviews with Project Personnel and Site Visits 16
File Data Collection from Crown Briefs and Victim/Witness Files 16
1. The Early Intervention Courts in Peel and Durham Regions 16
Entry Criteria 17
Background Characteristics of the Accused and Victim 17
Incident Characteristics 19
Summary 19
2. The Coordinated Prosecution Courts in Ottawa, London, and Hamilton 20
The Sampling of Project Cases 20
The Selection of Pre-program Comparison Groups 21
Interviews with Domestic Violence Victims 23
1. The Interview Guide and Pre-test 23
2. Sample Selection, Comparison Sites, and Sample Size 23
3. Procedures 25
4. Obstacles Encountered: The Generalizability of the Findings 27
5. Summary 28
The Abusive Men's Programs 29
1. Site Visits and Interviews 29
2. Data Collection 30
ii
Instrumentation 30
Design and Procedures 31
3. Sample Size 31
4. Obstacles Encountered 33
5. Limitations of the Data 34
CHAPTER 4: THE DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTIONING OF THE DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE COURTS PROJECT 36
Early Intervention Projects 36
1. The Peel Domestic Violence Project 36
Police Practices 37
The Process 38
Domestic Violence Court Monitoring Committee 39
Project Issues in Peel 40
2. The Domestic Violence Project in Durham Region 41
Police Practices 41
The Process 42
Local Coordinating Committee 43
Project Issues in Durham 43
3. North Bay Domestic Violence Project 44
Police Practices 44
The Process 46
Domestic Violence Court Project Steering Committee 47
Project Issues in North Bay 47
The Coordinated Prosecution Model 49
1. Ottawa Domestic Violence Court 49
Police Practices 49
The Process 51
Partner Assault Support Team (PAST) 52
Project Issues in Ottawa 53
2. London Domestic Violence Court
Police Practices
The Process 56
Domestic Court Advisory Committee 57
Project Issues in London 58
3. Hamilton Domestic Violence Court 59
Police Practices 59
The Process 60
Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee 61
Project Issues in Hamilton 62
Summary 63
1. Early Intervention Sites 63
2. Coordinated Prosecution Sites 63
Ill
CHAPTER 5: COMPARISONS OF CASE PROCESSING AND OUTCOMES,
PRE- AND POST-PROJECT 65
The Offences Dealt with by Project Courts 65
Police and Crown Practices: Have Investigations Changed? 68
Pre-trial Detention 76
Victim Contacts with Victim/Witness Staff and Crown Attorneys 84
1. Victim Contacts with VWAP Staff and Crowns
in the Early Intervention Sites 84
2. Victim Contacts with VWAP Staff and Crowns
in the Coordinated Prosecution Sites 85
Cases with Trial Dates and Trials in the Early Intervention Sites 88
Cases with Trial Dates and Trials in the Coordinated Prosecution Sites 89
Court Resources and Processing Times 98
1. Number of Hearings 98
2. Processing Times 100
Case Outcomes and Sentencing 104
1. Case Outcomes 104
2. Sentencing 106
CHAPTER 6: FACTORS AFFECTING CASE PROCESSING IN THE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURTS 115
Factors Affecting Victim Willingness to Testify 115
Factors Affecting Trial Dates 119
1. Victim Willingness and Other Factors 119
2. The Role Played by the Coordinated Prosecution Factors in Each Site
121
3. Summary 128
Factors Affecting Case Outcomes 129
1. Victim Willingness and Other Factors 129
2. The Role Played by the Cordinated Prosecution Factors in Each Site
130
3. Summary 133
Factors Affecting Processing Times 134
1. Ottawa 136
2. London 138
3. Hamilton 140
4. Summary 142
Factors Affecting the Sentence 143
Summary 144
CHAPTER 7: VICTIM EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES 146
IV
Respondent Relationship with the Accused 146
Respondent Experiences with the Police 148
Detention by Police and Judicial Interim Release 151
Videotapes of Victim Interviews 155
Victim Experiences with the Courts 157
1. Respondent Meetings with VWAP Staff and Crown Attorneys 157
2. Explanations of the Court Process 160
3. Frequency and Timing of Meetings with Crowns and VWAP Staff 161
4. Respondents' Feelings of Fairness and Support from Crowns and
VWAP staff 164
5. The Provision of Information to Respondents 169
Respondents Who Testified at Trial 171
Satisfaction with the Outcome of the Case 173
Respondents' Feelings of Safety and Use of Community Resources 175
Treatment Conditions: Partners of Respondents 178
Respondent Recommendations 180
1. Exercise of Discretion 180
2. Information Needs 181
3. Court Processing 181
4. Support from VWAP and the Community for Victims 183
5. Policing 184
6. Key Recommendations 184
Summary 186
CHAPTER 8: ABUSIVE MEN'S PROGRAMS 188
An Overview of the Programs 188
1, Peel Region 188
Family Services of Peel 189
Catholic Family Services of Peel/Dufferin 190
The Salvation Army 191
A Profile of Peel Region Clients 191
2. North Bay 193
3. Durham 194
A Profile of Durham Region Clients 196
3. Ottawa 197
A Profile of Ottawa Clients 200
4. London 201
A Profile of London Clients 203
5. Hamilton 204
A Profile of Hamilton Clients 205
Implementation and Operational Issues 207
The Characteristics of Program Participants and Program Process 208
V
1. Social and Demographic Characteristics 208
2. Program Process 219
Partner-completed Abusive Behaviour Questionnaires 226
1. The Association between Partner and Offender Reports of Abuse 226
2. Do Partners Report Changes in Offenders' Abusive Behaviour? 228
3. Summary 229
Offender Reports of Abusive Behaviour 230
1. Changes in Offender-reported Abusive Behaviour after Program
Participation 231
2. Changes in Offender-reported Abusive Behaviour by Site 231
3. Differences by Site in Offender-reported Abusive Behaviour 231
Victim Views of Abusive Men’s Programs 233
Comparison of Program Participants from Early Intervention
and Coordinated Prosecution Sites 234
Differences Between Program Completers and Non-completers 237
Offender Perceptions of their Justice System Experience and the Abusive Men's
Programs 238
Fees and Funding of the Abusive Men's Programs 244
Summary 245
CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 246
More Effective Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases 247
1. The Availability of Enhanced Prosecution Tools 247
2. Did the Enhanced Prosecution Tools Produce More Effective
Prosecutions? 248
3. Other Activities Related to this Objective 249
Early Intervention in Domestic Violence Cases 251
1. Case Processing Times 251
2. Prompt Treatment of Offenders 252
Improved Support for Victims 253
3. Contacts between Victims and Crowns and Staff of the Victim?
Witness Assistance Program 253
2. Services to Victims 253
3. Bail Conditions of Non-association with the Victim 255
4. Breaches of Bail and Probation Violations 255
Increasing Offender Accountability 256
The Achievement of Project Objectives 258
1. Faster Court Processing 258
2. More Guilty Pleas and Guilty Findings 258
3. Victims Who Are More Cooperative with Court Proceedings 260
4. More Domestic Violence Treatment 260
5. Greater Victim Satisfaction and Feelings of Safety 261
Recommendations 263
VI
Bibliography 267
Appendix A: Tables on Case Characteristics 270
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 The Logic Model 4
LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS
Table 3.1 The Early Intervention Courts: Differences in Entry Criteria
Pre- and Post-program 17
Table 3.2 The Early Intervention Courts: Differences in Background
Characteristics Pre- and Post-program 18
Table 3.3 The Early Intervention Courts: Differences in Incident
Characteristics Pre- and Post-program 19
Table 3.4 Victim Consents and Interview Outcomes 24
Table 3.5 Data Collection Instruments Received from the Abusive Men's
Programs, by Site 32
CHAPTER 5: A COMPARISON OF CASE PROCESSING AND OUTCOMES, PRE- AND
POST-PROJECT
Table 5.1 The Most Serious Charge in the Case 66
Table 5.2 The Number of Charges 67
Table 5.3 Crown Requests for Audiotapes of 911 Calls 68
Table 5.4 Videotaped Statements 70
Table 5.5 Number of Witness Statements Taken by Police 71
Table 5.6 Number of Witness Statements Taken in Comparison to the Number of
Witnesses 72
Table 5.7 Photographs of Victim Injuries: Victims with Visible Injuries 73
Table 5.8 Was the Victim Asked for Consent to the Release of Medical Records?:
Victims Who Received Medical Treatment 74
Table 5.9 Crown Requests for Past Domestic Incidents involving the Accused 75
Table 5.10 Police Detention of Accused Persons 76
Table 5.11 Judicial Interim Release Decisions 78
Table 5.12 Conditions of Judicial Interim Release, in Percentages 79
Table 5.13 Percentage of the Released Sample Prohibited from Associating with the
Victim 80