Domestic violence.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) presents Batterer Intervention Programs: Where Do We Go From Here?, which describes the most common types and evaluates two recent studies of programs in Broward County, Florida, and Brooklyn, New York. Both evaluations call into question such programs' effectiveness in changing batterer attitudes or behaviors. Researchers in the Broward study, however, found that batterers who were employed or married, owned their homes, or otherwise had a stake in the community were less likely to reoffend. The Brooklyn study showed that men who attended treatment sessions for a longer period (e.g., 26 versus 8 weeks) committed fewer new violent acts; however, batterers were more likely to complete the shorter program. This report is available electronically at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/195079.htm or by contacting the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420.