Coming Together in the Fight Against Intimate Partner Violence: Lessons Learned From a Researcher–Practitioner Collaboration Evaluating Cincinnati’s Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT)

• Date: 01 May 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986221999861
• Published date: 01 May 2021
• Subject Matter: Article

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986221999861

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2021, Vol. 37(2) 221 –243

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/1043986221999861

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Article

Coming Together in the

Fight Against Intimate

Partner Violence: Lessons

Learned From a Researcher–

Practitioner Collaboration

Evaluating Cincinnati’s

Domestic Violence Enhanced

Response Team (DVERT)

Michelle L. T. Wojcik1, Batya Y. Rubenstein1,

Amber A. Petkus1, Maria Racadio1,

Valerie R. Anderson1, Bonnie S. Fisher1,

Pamela Wilcox2, and Amy Bleser3

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an insidious public health concern that affects

people of all demographic backgrounds. In the city of Cincinnati, Ohio there has

been a significant increase in IPV-related homicides over the past 5 years. Women

Helping Women (WHW), a nonprofit organization that works to prevent gender-

based violence, collaborated with Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) to create

the Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT). Researchers from

the University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice were invited to work with

WHW to evaluate the program. This article discusses the history of the DVERT

program and collaboration, obstacles that ensued, lessons learned, and successes of

the relationship between the researchers, WHW, and CPD. Implications for other

researchers and practitioners looking to form partnerships are discussed.

1University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

2The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

3Women Helping Women, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Michelle L. T. Wojcik, School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, 550S Teacher-Dyer Hall, 2610

McMicken Circle, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.

Email: wojcikml@mail.uc.edu

999861CCJXXX10.1177/1043986221999861Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeWojcik et al.

research-article2021

222 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 37(2)

Keywords

violence against women, intimate partner violence, police–community partnerships,

researcher–practitioner relationships, research collaboration, second responder

programs

Introduction

Intimate partner violence (IPV) can be characterized as acts of physical, sexual, or

psychological violence; threats; coercion; or stalking carried out by a current or former

intimate partner (Breiding et al., 2015). Recent results from the National Crime

Victimization Survey (NCVS) indicate that, in 2018, nearly 900,000 Americans expe-

rienced IPV; accounting for an average of nearly 8% of all violent crime in the United

States from 2014 to 2018 (Morgan & Oudekerk, 2019). The most violent cases of IPV

result in homicide. Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System indicates

that about 10% of all homicides occurring between 2003 and 2015 were IPV related.

Women were disproportionately victimized, encompassing 77% of all IPV homicide

victims during this time period (Velopulos et al., 2019).

In addition to its national impact, consequences of IPV can be seen at state and

local levels. More than 65,000 people in Ohio were victims of domestic violence

(DV)1 incidents during 2018, with more than 16,000 injured as a result (Ohio Bureau

of Criminal Identification and Investigation, 2019). Tragically, between July 2015 and

July 2019, 389 Ohioans were killed as a result of IPV, including six responding police

officers (Ohio Domestic Violence Network, n.d.). Reflecting national trends (Velopulos

et al., 2019) in 2018, 77% of deceased IPV homicide victims in Ohio were women2 (n

= 41; Ohio Domestic Violence Network, n.d.).

In Cincinnati, the site for this study, reported DV increased each year from 2015 to

2019, when nearly 2,000 incidents were reported (Cincinnati Police Department

[CPD], 2020). However, the real number of DV incidents in the city is likely twice that

number as national survey research has consistently shown that less than half of IPV

victimizations are reported to police (Morgan & Oudekerk, 2019). DV-related homi-

cides nonetheless represent a significant problem for the city. In 2016, almost a quarter

of Cincinnati homicides (n = 16) were committed as part of a DV incident or by an

offender with a history of DV or sexual assault (Brookbank, 2017). A recent investiga-

tion by the Cincinnati Enquirer further found that four of the nine women killed in

Cincinnati in 2019 were murdered by an intimate partner, estimates that reflect national

trends (Knight & Saker, 2020).

In response to these issues, police and a nonprofit service provider in Cincinnati

partnered to implement Cincinnati’s Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team

(DVERT). The DVERT initiative is an example of a collaborative effort between local

police and community service providers, which frequently consists of so-called sec-

ond responder programs. These efforts involve follow-up visits with IPV survivors

during or after police response to a 911 service call. They aim to decrease incidents of

repeat IPV, improve IPV survivor experiences and outcomes, and strengthen responses

to IPV survivors in crisis during crucial opportunities for intervention (Davis et al.,