Domestic Violence: Legal Sanctions and Recidivism Rates Among Male Perpretators (Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship)

Cosimo examines the effects of civil and criminal legal sanctions for domestic violence related offenses on recidivism and on whether the number of legal sanctions imposed by the courts influences non-recidivism status. With an overall recidivism rate of 30.3%, results show that the risk of recidivism is 45% lower for men who experienced two legal sanctions (arrest and probation) relative to men who experienced one legal sanction (civil protective order). Additionally, men with prior criminal court involvement for domestic violence offenses are more likely to recidivate. Rather than reducing opportunities to recidivate, incarceration for offenses committed during the follow-up period is a predictor of recidivism. It is possible that despite legal sanctions, some recidivists are actually emboldened and use whatever opportunities available to them to commit domestic violence.