Evaluation of Law Enforcement Training for Domestic Violence Cases in a Southwestern City in Texas, 1997-1999

This study was an outcome evaluation of the effects of the
Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project Training Model for Law
Enforcement Response on police officer attitudes toward domestic
violence. Data on the effectiveness of the training were collected by
means of an attitude survey of law enforcement officers (Part
1). Additionally, two experimental designs (Part 2) were implemented
to test the effects of the Duluth model training on (1) time spent by
police officers at the scene of a domestic violence incident, and (2)
the number of convictions. Variables for Part 1 include the assigned
research group and respondents' level of agreement with various
statements, such as: alcohol is the primary cause of family violence,
men are more likely than women to be aggressive, only mentally ill
people batter their families, mandatory arrest of offenders is the
best way to reduce repeat episodes of violence, family violence is a
private matter, law enforcement policies are ineffective for
preventing family violence, children of single-parent, female-headed
families are abused more than children of dual-parent households, and
prosecution of an offender is unlikely regardless of how well a victim
cooperates. Index scores calculated from groupings of various
variables are included as well as whether the respondent found
training interesting, relevant, well-organized, and
useful. Demographic variables for each respondent include race,
gender, age, and assignment and position in the police department.
Variables for Part 2 include whether the domestic violence case
occurred before or after training, to which test group the case
belongs, the amount of time in minutes spent on the domestic violence
scene, and whether the case resulted in a conviction.