Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Evaluating criminal justice interventions for domestic violence
Other Titles:	Crime & Delinquency
Authors:	Dobash, Russell P Dobash, R. Emerson
Keywords:	Criminal justice responses;Perpetrators;Counselling;Perpetrator programs;Theories of violence;Legal issues
Year:	2000
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	46 (2), April 2000
Notes:	The authors argue against the view that experimental, randomised trials are the only valid methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions. As an example, they argue that American studies of the effectiveness of arrest policies, based on randomised trials, are problematic because they are methodologically driven, rather than based on current domestic violence knowledge and theory. They criticise these studies for inattention to ethical issues, such as seeking informed consent and the rights and safety of persons who may be put at risk through randomised allocation. They also critique the methodology used in the evaluation of perpetrator counselling programmes. In contrast, they describe the theoretical, ethical and practical concerns which informed the research design of their study of two court-mandated perpetrator programmes in Scotland. A comparative, longitudinal panel design was used to investigate the impact on domestic violence of different criminal sanctions. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. They found that all forms of criminal justice intervention appear to have some effect on elimination/reduction of men’s use of violence in intimate relationships; that court-mandated programmes were more successful after 3 months and one year; that such programmes are associated with a significant reduction in controlling and intimidating behaviour; and that improvements in the quality of life for both men and women partners were more likely to be associated with court-mandated programmes. (This study is further described in Dobash et al. 1999, ‘A Research Evaluation of British Programmes for Violent Men’, Journal of Social Policy, vol. 28, pp. 205-233 in this database.)
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14596
ISSN:	0011-1287
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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