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Police Family Violence Services

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Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

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Overview

In recent years a number of programs have been developed in which the initial police response to a family violence incident is followed by a visit from a trained team of officers or by an officer and a social worker. These “second responders” attempt to help victims find long-term solutions to recurring abuse (e.g. see Dean et al. 2000; Mickish 2002).

Second responder programs are based on the premises that family violence often recurs and that victims are likely to be especially receptive to crime prevention opportunities immediately following victimization. That is, there is a “window of opportunity” during the first hours or days after a crime during which victims feel vulnerable and are willing to seriously consider behavioral and lifestyle changes (Davis and Smith 1994; Anderson et al. 1995). The response often takes the form of a home visit but other times consist of a phone call to the victim. The team provides the victim with information on services and legal options...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RAND Corporation, 1200 South Hayes Street, 22202, Arlington, VA, USA

    Robert C. Davis & Sarah Greathouse

Authors
  1. Robert C. Davis
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  2. Sarah Greathouse
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert C. Davis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  2. VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  3. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David Weisburd

  4. Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Weisburd

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Davis, R.C., Greathouse, S. (2014). Police Family Violence Services. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_371

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_371

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2

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