On Good Authority

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The impact of domestic
violence probation
programs
On Good Authority
Vol. 6, No. 3
October 2002
On Good Authority is a periodic
briefing on trends and issues in
criminal justice program evaluation.
This report was written by staff
Research Analyst Sharyn Adams. It is a
summary of an evaluation of the
domestic violence probation programs
in Sangamon, Peoria, and Tazewell
counties. The evaluation was
conducted by the Center for Legal
Studies at the University of Illinois at
Springfield. Copies of the evaluation
are available from the Authority’s
Research and Analysis Unit.
The Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority is a state
agency dedicated to improving the
administration of criminal justice in
Illinois. The basic functions of the
Authority are criminal justice research,
federal and state grants administration,
and information systems development
and support.
For more information, or for copies of
this or other publications, contact the
Authority at (312) 793-8550, or visit
our website at www.icjia.state.il.us.
The evaluation was supported by grant #00-
DB-MU-0017 awarded by the Bureau of
Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs,
U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in
this document do not necessarily represent the
official position or policies of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois,
October 2002. Printing order #03-076.
George H. Ryan
Governor
Peter B. Bensinger
Chairman
Candice M. Kane
Executive Director
ILLINOIS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
INFORMATION AUTHORITY
Domestic violence incidents
account for a large proportion of
service calls received by local
police departments. In recent years, the
calls have resulted in more arrests and
more referrals for prosecution. Efforts by
prosecutors, judges, domestic violence
shelters, and women’s advocacy organiza-tions
have increased the proportion of
charges that go to trial or result in a
defendant pleading guilty. As a result,
probation departments are dealing with
growing numbers of domestic violence
offenders.
Evaluators with the Center for Legal
Studies at the University of Illinois at
Springfield conducted a process and
impact evaluation of the domestic
violence probation projects in Sangamon,
Peoria, and Tazewell counties. The
probation departments of these counties
implemented the projects to improve their
ability to supervise domestic violence
probationers and hold the offenders
accountable for their behavior. The
Authority supported development of these
programs with federal Anti-Drug Abuse
Act funds.
Sangamon County
The Sangamon County Domestic Vio-lence
Probation Program (DVPP) began
in January 1999. The program was
designed to prevent and reduce future
battering and victimization. The goals
included:
• Expanding the surveillance of
domestic violence offenders placed on
probation.
• More effective integration of batterer
intervention programs by making
completion of a program a condition of
all orders of probation for domestic
violence offenses.
• More immediate and effective
intervention by probation officers in
response to non-compliance with proba-tion
conditions.
• More effective victim services from
the probation officer.
The DVPP utilized two strategies.
One mandated participation in a batterer
intervention program as a condition of
probation in every domestic violence
case. The other set up a fast-track system
within a court that heard only domestic
violence cases, which includes regularly
scheduled hearings to review the status
of DVPP probationers and consider
changes in their probation conditions to
allow quick responses to non-compliant
behavior.
Beginning in 1999 all new domestic
violence and violation of order of
protection cases were assigned to the
DVPP with two exceptions. Offenders
who were already on probation for a non-domestic
violence conviction that was
rendered more serious by the state’s
attorney’s office remained on the
caseload of their original probation
officer and conditional discharge cases
were assigned outside the DVPP, even
when completion of a batterer interven-tion
program was required. Two full-time
domestic violence probation officers were
on staff.