Document Type

Research Report

Publication Date

3-31-2025

Abstract

In late 2018, the Northeast Central Judicial District, in collaboration with the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) and numerous community stakeholders, implemented the first domestic violence court in North Dakota. Since inception through the end of 2023, the Grand Forks Domestic Violence Court (GFDVC) successfully processed about 250 perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) through their court-ordered programming. A team of researchers from the University of North Dakota, in collaboration with CVIC, examined case records to determine the extent to which the GFDVC was effective in reducing recidivism compared to a sample of IPV perpetrators prior to the court’s implementation. Using propensity score matching to generate the best possible comparison groups, the authors found little difference in the likelihood of recidivism between the two groups regardless of the follow-up interval examined. That said, samples were modest at 33 per group for a three-year fixed follow-up, 49 for a two-year fixed follow-up, 71 for a one-year fixed follow-up, and 76 for a six-month fixed follow-up review period. At best, a 4% reduction was observed at the two-year fixed follow-up (29% vs. 33% for the comparison group), though not statistically significant. However, there was evidence to suggest that the GFDVC did improve case processing efficiency. The average length of time from incident to completion of the GFDVC was 14 months compared to 18 months for the comparison group of matched IPV probationers. A reduction of roughly four months on average, while experiencing similar rates of recidivism, suggests the court was successful in improving efficiency without jeopardizing public safety.

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