Implications for Law Enforcement
Law enforcement officers may find that the most severely traumatized victims behave the least as law enforcement officers expect of them. These victims may be among the least able to cooperate with law enforcement. (Research basis: Multiple victim studies have documented PTSD rates, although many studies obviously seek out samples likely to include the most severely abused victims, such as those in shelters.)
There is more research on what not to do than on what works. Specific studies suggest that the more prosecution-related burdens are placed on victims, the less likely they are to cooperate. In Milwaukee, a study found the majority of cases were dismissed when victims were required to attend a charging conference within days of the arrest of their abusers. However, absolved of this responsibility, Milwaukee prosecution rates increased from 20 percent to 60 percent. [38] In a similar vein, a comparison of protective order violation prosecutions across Massachusetts found a 66 percent dismissal rate when prosecutors routinely provided and encouraged victims to sign waivers of prosecution forms (often in front of defendants), compared to a 33-percent dismissal rate in an adjacent county in which victims were not provided this alternative.