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Teresa Miranda
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Acting Program Manager and Senior Attorney, Violence Against Women Program
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In 2000, 1,247 women were murdered by an intimate partner. More than 500,000 women require medical treatment for injuries caused by domestic violence every year, incurring costs reaching approximately $1.8 billion. Clearly, the social and economic costs of domestic violence are enormous.
Across the country, prosecutors have found creative ways to reduce the human toll of domestic violence. Prosecutors work with victim advocates and victim witness assistance personnel to ensure that victims are safe and receive the support they need. When victims recant or decline to participate, prosecutors have learned to do evidence-based prosecutions. Cases that would have once been dismissed are now being tried and won.
Despite this progress, problems with domestic violence prosecutions persist. According to a recent study in North Carolina, only one-third of domestic violence crimes reported to law enforcement between January 1997 and October 2002 resulted in convictions. Compare this figure with the national conviction rate for all types of crimes, which was 87.8 percent in 2001. In fact, nationwide, only 20 percent of victims who make a domestic violence complaint with police follow through with a court appearance.
How can we improve the way we prosecute domestic violence? As a start, prosecutors must understand its dynamics as well as the barriers to successful prosecution. In the next year, APRI’s Violence Against Women Program at the American Prosecutors Research Institute will develop a national institute on the prosecution of domestic violence. Using a highly interactive format involving hypothetical case problems, role-plays, small-group discussions, and faculty demonstrations, the institute will enable prosecutors from different jurisdictions and levels of experience to learn from one another. Prosecutors will leave their training with new ideas and techniques for keeping victims safe and holding offenders accountable.
Although we will build upon our prior training programs, we are looking for new solutions and input from prosecutors across the country who personally face the frustrations and difficulties of domestic violence cases. What topics need to be addressed? What resources would be helpful? What can APRI do for you? Please contact Teresa Scalzo with any ideas or suggestions at 703-549-4253, or vawa@ndaa-apri.org.
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