by Rebekah E. Bromberg and Brendan O. Kelley¹

Students and faculty of the Family Violence Clinic at the University of Missouri - Columbia School of Law have observed inconsistencies among Missouri counties in responses by the criminal and civil justice system to domestic violence victims. Clinic students teamed up with students from the university's School of Journalism during the 2002-2003 school year to conduct a geographically-defined investigation into the justice system's response in four counties.

This study looked at data in Cape Girardeau, Cooper, Boone and Callaway counties. Boone County alone has a coordinated domestic violence response team, including police, prosecutors, and victim advocates as well as an assigned domestic violence prosecutor. Boone County had more prosecutions, arrests, and protective order filings per capita than Callaway County. Cape Girardeau County has no domestic violence response team per se, but has a vigorous domestic violence prosecution protocol. It had the highest per capita number of civil protective orders sought and prosecutions for domestic assault. Cooper County had no coordinated response to domestic violence or a dedicated domestic violence prosecutor, and had strikingly low numbers of civil orders sought, arrests, and prosecutions.

These results led the students to the conclusion that, though some counties lack the resources to establish community-based programs that formally tie together the prosecutor's office and law enforcement in responding to domestic violence, all counties can benefit from a vigorous prosecutor's office working with its sheriff's department on a less formal basis.

I. The Study

At its most productive, the justice system responds immediately to emergency calls about an abusive incident, determines if the report has merit, arrests the perpetrator, offers services to victims, compiles physical evidence to be used in court, and vigorously pursues prosecution of the criminals utilizing evidentiary techniques for victimless prosecutions. Police and prosecutors work hand in hand with the single purpose of enforcing the law and protecting victims from their abusers.

At its most inefficient, the justice system can create a cycle of blamelessness for the non-prosecution of domestic assaults, where police lack adequate backgrounds in collecting evidence and in understanding the dynamics of domestic violence, where prosecutors are unwilling to pursue these difficult cases, where witnesses rarely exist and victims recant and/or are protected by marital immunity, and where judges fail to admit evidence under rules enabling such litigation. Police do not see their efforts in gathering evidence and endangering their own lives paying off when prosecutors do not aggressively prosecute arrestees. Prosecutors avoid filing criminal charges against abusers when the judges in their jurisdiction are unreceptive to the evidentiary techniques, including hearsay exceptions typically useful in domestic violence prosecutions where the victim will not testify or recants.

Each component in the system - law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges - can in good faith blame the shortcomings of another when the system does not work. This shifting of responsibility discourages victims from cooperating with prosecutors or reporting abuse to the police, and results in inadequate protection of domestic violence victims.

The goal of this UMC investigation was to analyze the response to domestic violence by prosecutors, judges, and police in Boone, Callaway, Cooper, and Cape Girardeau counties. The law and journalism student team conducted interviews with selected persons who were responsible for responding to domestic violence and collected statistics reflecting both the reported incidents of domestic violence in different counties and the responses of the counties to that violence. Complicated statistical analysis was not done, but each county's statistics were analyzed against its demographic data and then compared to the data from the other counties.

Boone and Callaway counties are both in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit and share judges. Students gathered statistics between the two counties for comparison to reflect different law enforcement personnel and prosecutors. Students gathered information from Cooper County because it is a rural county in close proximity to the Thirteenth Circuit. Students gathered statistics from Cape Girardeau County based on the belief that prosecution was vigorous there. This belief was based in part upon a recent article in the Journal of The Missouri Bar, and the presence of a former Family Violence Clinic student now practicing in the prosecutor's office.

The study began by gathering the populations for each county for the year 2000, the area it covers, and the size of the prosecutor's office and police force. Each is contained in Table 1.

The Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) provided figures regarding the number of prosecutions reported, the number of orders of protection sought, and the number of orders of protection disposed of in each county during a given year. Students sought Boone County and Callaway County law enforcement agencies' self-reported tallies regarding the number of domestic assault calls received, and the number of arrests made.

Because the statute containing criminal domestic assault² was enacted in 2000, only statistics after January 2001 could specifically include the number of prosecutions for domestic assault. Prior to 2001, assaults committed within the home, if prosecuted, were included in the number of general assault prosecutions in each county and were impossible to identify.

II. Prevalence of Domestic Violence Per Capita: Civil Protective Orders and MSHP Reports

The number of orders of protection sought per capita reflects the number of victims willing to use the legal system for protection against their abusers. The number of persons per order sought in each county shows comparatively how many persons are seeking Civil Protective Orders (CPOs). The average number of CPOs sought in each county from 1997-2001 is contained in Table 2.

Cape Girardeau County residents sought judicial intervention more frequently than those in Boone County; Boone County residents sought judicial intervention slightly more often than Callaway County residents; and residents of all three counties sought judicial-ordered protection much more often than residents of Cooper County.

In addition to the figures complied by OSCA regarding civil orders of protection, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) is required by statute to include all reported incidents of domestic violence in its Missouri Crime Index.³ The average number of persons in the county per incident reported for 1999 and 2000 are in Table 3.

These domestic violence incident reports show that domestic violence occurs in each county and that the per capita number of incidents in Boone, Callaway, and Cooper counties exceeds the number of orders of protection sought. Cooper County had the fewest police reports per capita and the highest disparity between the two figures, with one reported incident per 230 persons and only one order of protection per 1,123 people. Cape Girardeau County was the only county studied where a greater per capita number of residents sought orders of protection than incidents of violence reported to the MSHP. It should be noted that at the time the 2000 statistics were gathered, the Callaway County Sheriff's Department had not reported three months of figures, and the Cooper County Sheriff's Department had not reported any month's figures despite the statutory requirements to do so.

The statistics show that Boone County residents are almost twice as likely to seek police assistance for domestic violence as Callaway County residents, but residents of both counties seek orders of protection from their courts at about the same rate. The two counties use the same circuit and associate circuit judges, but have different law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. That Boone County residents seek police response more often than Callaway County residents may reflect the differences in law enforcement's response. That residents of both counties seek orders of protection at a similar rate may reflect a similar civil judicial response.

III. Prevalence of Arrests for Domestic Assault

A comparison between Boone County and Callaway County arrests for domestic violence proved problematic. While law enforcement agencies in Boone County were able to report the number of calls and arrests made during the time period, various Callaway County agencies were unable to report accurate statistics. For example, the Callaway County Sheriff's Department could only provide figures for domestic assault calls received between 1999 and 2001, and could not provide the number of arrests made during that time. The Holts Summit Police Department was the only law enforcement agency in Callaway County that could provide statistics for both calls and arrests from 1998 through 2001.

The lack of reliable arrest statistics in Callaway County from 1999 through 2001 may indicate the difficulties faced by victims there. The failure of the majority of Callaway County's agencies to keep these numbers may reflect the size of the law enforcement units and/or their seriousness and consistency in making and/or tabulating arrests and enforcing the law in domestic violence cases. Subsequent to the requests for this information, both the Fulton Police Department and the Callaway County Sheriff's Department reported beginning to keep regular statistics of calls and arrests.

IV. Prevalence of Prosecution for Domestic Assault

Because the law authorizing prosecution for domestic assault (D.A.) was new in 2000, it is impossible to determine annual prosecutorial trends. The raw numbers of prosecutions for each grade of domestic assault are shown in Table 4.

None of the jurisdictions has filed first degree domestic assault charges with regularity. These low charging rates may reflect few cases meeting the factual requirements of a charge of domestic assault in the first degree or unfamiliarity with the new law.

In each of the four counties, second degree assault - a class C felony - and third degree assault - a class A misdemeanor - are the most common domestic assault charges. Cape Girardeau County has the highest rate of domestic violence prosecution per population. Boone County has the second highest rate of prosecution per capita; Callaway County's prosecution rate is 50% lower than Boone and Cape Girardeau counties. Cooper County's prosecution rate is vastly lower than prosecution in the other three counties.

V. Comparing Prosecutions to CPOs Sought

A comparison between the numbers of domestic assault charges filed to the number of orders of protection sought would indicate the extent to which the criminal courts are protecting victims who complain of domestic assault. The raw numbers of prosecutions and orders for 2001 may be found in Table 5.

Cooper County's numbers of both CPOs and prosecutions are very low in comparison to the other counties, so a ratio in its case may not reflect protection in its criminal court. Callaway County's ratio is lower than that in Boone County. Callaway County CPOs and prosecutions are comparatively low per capita, which may produce misleading comparison. Callaway County's population is 1/3 the size of Boone County, but prosecution is 1/8 the number of Boone County prosecutions.

VI. Additional Factors

Several other considerations factor into the analysis of these statistics, including the number of law enforcement officers and prosecutors, and the size of the county (see Table 6).

Each county has a different number of officers, but the ratio of officers to county residents is similar in each county, with the exception of Callaway County, which is the lowest. Each Callaway County officer also patrols a large area. Because not all officers are on duty at the same time, the larger the county, the more difficult it is for a smaller police force to devote the time necessary to deal with all police calls.

In terms of the ratio of prosecutors per population, Cooper County has the highest ratio at 1:5,557 persons. Cape Girardeau County's ratio is 1:9,813 and Callaway County's ratio is 1:10,192. Boone County has the lowest number of prosecutors per person with a ratio of 1:13,545. Cooper and Callaway counties reported three and four prosecutors, respectively. While Cooper County's prosecutors had the fewest people to serve, Cooper County had only three prosecutors; that may necessitate different priorities within its prosecutor's office than in Boone County with its 10 prosecutors or in Cape Girardeau County with its seven prosecutors. Counties with more prosecutors may allow for specialized domestic violence caseloads, which smaller offices cannot accommodate.

VII. Dove Unit System

An example of an innovative community-based approach to responding to intrafamilial violence is the Boone County Domestic Violence Enforcement Unit (DOVE). The DOVE unit has been functioning since 1998 as a specialized unit comprised of three investigators, a victim advocate, and two assistant prosecuting attorneys. DOVE members include detectives from the Columbia Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff's Department. The mission of this very specialized group "is to decrease the level of domestic violence by investigating domestic violence cases, promoting deterrence of violence, assisting victims, and interrupting the cycle of violence."⁴

In order to accomplish this mission, the DOVE unit employs a variety of techniques. For instance, DOVE carefully investigates domestic violence incidents, assists the prosecuting attorney in the prosecution of the offender, aids the victim, assists with the arrest of the offender, works with other agencies, trains officers, and promotes education regarding domestic violence.⁵

VIII. Conclusions

All statistics reveal certain aspects of the responses to domestic violence in the different counties. Comparisons among the four counties highlight some inequities.

Cooper County had inexplicably low numbers of CPOs sought and criminal prosecutions for domestic violence compared to the other three counties. The number of Cooper County incidents of domestic violence reports to the Highway Patrol was lower per capita than in the other three counties. The reasons for these inequities is unknown, but the authors believe it is unlikely that Cooper County experiences less domestic violence crimes than Boone County. Cooper County figures do not suggest that the size of its law enforcement is out of line with its population (although it has the fewest officers per square mile), but it had the greatest number of prosecutors per capita.

Callaway County and Boone County residents sought CPOs at similar rates. This makes sense if residents are influenced by the responses of the judges to petitions for civil protective orders, because Boone and Callaway counties are in the same judicial circuit. Thus, the same judges are adjudicating CPOs and influencing residents similarly in both counties.

However, the Callaway County law enforcement agencies reported roughly half the number of domestic violence incidents per capita as their Boone County counterparts. Callaway County provided incomplete information regarding calls made. Callaway County's law enforcement operates at a disadvantage, because it has the fewest number of officers per capita.

Callaway County also reported a lower per capita prosecution rate than Boone County. Theoretically, the prosecution rate should bear some relationship to the number of domestic violence incidents reported to police, the number of domestic violence police responses, the number of arrests made, the adequacy of the evidence collected by the police, the size of the prosecutor's office, and the judicial response to domestic assault prosecution. The judicial response should be consistent between Boone and Callaway counties, because the same judges preside in both circuits. However, the smaller law enforcement forces and the diminished number of arrests made may provide fewer domestic violence cases for prosecutors to charge or poorly collected evidence with which to proceed. While the actual reasons for Callaway County's reduced prosecution rate is unknown, the authors believe it is unlikely that Callaway County experiences fewer domestic violence crimes than Boone County.

The size of Boone County's law enforcement community appears in line with the other counties, although its police calls and domestic disturbance arrests outnumbered those in the other three counties. Boone County maintains the fewest prosecutors per capita of any of the four counties, but those prosecutors charged twice as many domestic assault cases per capita as Callaway County; 13 times as many as Cooper County; and 84% of the domestic assaults prosecuted in Cape Girardeau County. The goals of Boone County's DOVE Unit may be reflected in their vigorous police and prosecutorial response to violence against women. The DOVE Unit's coordinated response appears to be effective in addressing domestic violence.

Cape Girardeau County residents filed more civil protective orders per capita than residents in the other three counties. The incidence of domestic violence reported to police was lower than in Boone and Callaway counties, but higher than Cooper County. The rate of domestic violence prosecution was highest in Cape Girardeau County. Cape Girardeau County's law enforcement enjoyed the best ratio of officers per capita and it has an average size prosecutor's office. The reasons for Cape Girardeau County's increased CPOs and its increased prosecution may reflect a serious commitment on the part of its judges, prosecutors and police to protect victims of intrafamilial violence in its county. Such a hypothesis is supported by the prosecutor's publication of Unhappy Families: Prosecuting and Defending Domestic Violence Cases in the Journal of The Missouri Bar.⁶ Importantly, Cape Girardeau's decreased domestic violence incidence may reflect the deterrent effect of its vigorous prosecution and increased number of CPOs.

IX. Limitations

The value of this study is constrained by its inclusion of only four counties and the fact that Callaway County was unable to provide proper numbers of police responses to domestic violence. Sophisticated statistical analysis is needed to analyze the relevance of the differences in the counties' numbers reflecting their citizens' seeking protection and their governmental offices' responses to domestic violence, and is needed to identify the causes. However, fewer police were associated with fewer domestic violence arrests and prosecutions in Callaway County; more prosecutors were not associated with a higher domestic violence prosecution rate in Cooper County; a coordinated domestic violence response team (DOVE Unit) was associated with more domestic violence prosecutions and arrests in Boone County; and more domestic violence prosecutions were associated with fewer related police calls and arrests in Cape Girardeau.

The most effective response to domestic violence may be community-based programs, such as Boone County's DOVE Unit; however, Cape Girardeau County shows that a committed prosecutor working with a cooperative police force also appears to be effective in assisting domestic violence victims.

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

Table 6

Endnotes

¹ Rebekah Bromberg and Brendan Kelley graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in May 2003. Fellow graduate Stanley Clark and School of Journalism students Kellie Applen, Julie Kroenig, and Amy Bradley also gathered statistics and conducted interviews for this project. The students would like to thank Kent Collins, chairman, broadcast news department at the School of Journalism, and Mary Beck, director of the Family Violence Clinic, for their guidance and dedication in commissioning and seeing this project through to completion.

² Sections 565.072-565.074, RSMo 2000.

3 The state highway patrol shall include in its voluntary system of reporting for compilation in the "Missouri Crime Index" all reported incidents of domestic violence, whether or not an arrest is made. . . . For purposes of this section only, "domestic violence" shall be defined as any dispute arising between spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, individuals who are presently residing together or have resided together in the past and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have resided together at any time.

Section 43.545, RSMo 2000.

⁴ City of Columbia, Domestic Violence Enforcement Unit, http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Police/Department/dove.html (accessed April 6, 2003).

⁵ For example, DOVE Unit Officer Jeff Westbrook teaches a class every semester to the Family Violence Clinic students.

⁶ H. Morley Swingle, Angel M. Woodruff, & Julia A. Hunter, Unhappy Families: Prosecuting and Defending Domestic Violence Cases, 58 J. Mo. Bar 220 (2002).