Partner Violence in the Air Force: Evaluating Reporting Behaviors and Recidivism.
Abstract
Much recent research effort has been targeted toward choosing certain domestic violence interventions to decrease recidivism in offenders receiving these 'treatments'. The differences in recidivism across these interventions have usually been found to be small or nonexistent. However, little research has examined the effects of these expected official responses on victim reporting behaviors. Also, little research has been done on desistance in military domestic violence offenders who are not reported. This research examines victim reporting behaviors and this unreported offender desistance rate in the US Air Force. It looks at the selection of options targeted to create change in victim reporting rates and assesses the relative impact of changing this rate versus changing the reported offender recidivism rate. This study specifically looked at married Air Force couples living in the United States. The data for this study was collected using a mailed questionnaire, which used the GTS2 to collect the spouse violence data, with appended questions allowing respondents to define actions as self-defense. The response rate was 30% (n=255) The recidivism rate among unreported offenders was 63%. Self-reported likelihood of reporting was found to be significantly affected by several anticipated official agency responses. Mandatory arrest was a significant deterrent to reporting. Protection of first-time, minor offenders from career-affecting actions was found to significantly improve the reporting rate, as were privacy safeguards and mandatory counseling policies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 27, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA331013
Entities
People
- Elliot H. Graves
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology