Problems with Problem-Solving Approaches: The Case of EM for DV/IPV

• In Event: Dealing with Domestic Violence. Responses and Interventions

Abstract

Problem-solving strategies in criminal justice, on the one hand, and the transformation of domestic violence (DV) into an object worthy of serious public concern, on the other, emerged contemporaneously. These two developments have converged in the case of electronic monitoring (EM) for DV, generating mismatches that exacerbate issues problem-solving strategies are meant to address, or unwittingly creating new burdens altogether. Problem-solving approaches that are rooted in technology may be especially prone to encountering or generating mismatches, because their presumed adaptability to diverse circumstances means they will be deployed in ways that belie the institutional underpinnings of the programs that house them. The present analysis is based on studies that addressed the use of two generations of EM for DV (radio frequency [RF] and global positioning satellite [GPS]), drawing from insights gleaned through a national survey of GPS for DV pretrial programs and field research conducted at a smaller number of agencies across the U.S. Participating programs included a mix of victim-centric and victim-perimetric orientations. The paper discusses the implications of observed mismatches for policy and practice involving victims.

Authors

• Peter R. Ibarra, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Oren M Gur, Penn State Abington

• Edna Erez, University of Illinois at Chicago