The Influence of Domestic Violence in Homicide Cases
| Published date | 01 May 2018 |
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1088767917751673 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2018
Article
Homicide Studies
2018, Vol. 22(2) 145 –160
The Influence of Domestic
© 2018 SAGE Publications
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https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767917751673
DOI: 10.1177/1088767917751673
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Amaia Iratzoqui1 and James McCutcheon1
Abstract
Domestic violence may be less representative of a unique form of violent behavior
and more indicative of an overall tendency toward violence. This article explores
this issue with two years of police data from a Mid-South city. Findings revealed
that domestic violence histories were more likely in any type of homicide case, and
that there were both similarities and differences in predicting general and domestic
violence homicide cases. Further implications of these findings within the context of
law enforcement strategies and responses to domestic violence are discussed.
Keywords
intimate partner, victim–offender relationship, victimization, prevention, public policy,
methodology
Introduction
Domestic violence has historically been considered a unique form of violence, both
within criminological research and in the violence prevention strategies developed and
implemented by criminal justice practitioners. This characterization is partially tied to
the belief not only in the privacy of the family to handle matters occurring within the
home, but also in the assumption that domestic violence was a type of deviant behav-
ior not tied to any other crime. Accordingly, criminological theories such as “learned
helplessness” and the battered woman syndrome were developed solely to address
domestic violence (Walker, 1979), and policies were designed to target the prevention
and treatment of this specific form of violence, including the Minneapolis Domestic
Violence Experiment that spawned the mandatory arrest policies within policing
1The University of Memphis, TN, USA
Corresponding Author:
Amaia Iratzoqui, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, The University of Memphis, 325
McCord Hall, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
Email: ratzoqui@memphis.edu
146
Homicide Studies 22(2)
(Sherman, Schmidt, & Rogan, 1992). More recently, however, researchers have recog-
nized that there is more evidence of similarities between domestic and general forms
of violence. Applications of mainstream criminological theories such as general strain,
risky lifestyles, and the victim/offender overlap, among others, hold value for explain-
ing domestic and intimate partner violence (see, for example, Gover, 2004; Tjaden &
Thoennes, 2000). Evidence also suggests that domestic violence and general forms of
violence share common risk factors, including gender, race, an overlap between vic-
timization and offending, and prior domestic violence history (see, for example, Boyle,
O’Leary, Rosenbaum, & Hassett-Walker, 2008; Gomez, 2011; Gover, 2004; Tjaden &
Thoennes, 2000; Truman & Morgan, 2016).
Despite this evidence, there is still limited discussion of how research findings
should guide the treatment of domestic violence in terms of developing and imple-
menting criminal justice policy, based on whether it should be targeted as a unique
phenomenon or within a general discussion on preventing violent behavior.
Consequently, a full comparison between general and domestic violence is still war-
ranted, in two ways: (a) to examine to what extent domestic and general forms of
violence share common risk factors, including a history of domestic violence (victim-
ization or perpetration); and (b) whether those comparisons can provide foundation for
policy recommendations that will more effectively prevent violence on a larger scale.
The current study addresses both these limitations by examining the extent to which
there is overlap in predicting domestic violence and other types of homicide as phe-
nomena through the lens of domestic violence case histories, using a sample of two
years of police data from a Mid-South city in the United States.
Similarities and Differences Between General and
Domestic Homicide
Criminological research has identified several consistent predictors for violence,
termed correlates of crime, including gender, age, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic
status (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2016). Multiple types of violence, including experiences of
violent victimization and the perpetration of delinquency, share many similarities in
risk factors and patterns of behavior (Braithwaite, 1989). The greatest sex differences
in crime are in violent behavior (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2016). Men are more likely to
commit and be victims of crime (Agnew, 2006), particularly adolescent males
(Farrington, 1986). These individuals are more likely to, among other factors, have
low self-control, be impulsive, be aggressive, engage in risky behavior, and are less
fearful of punishment (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2016). There is also evidence of race differ-
ences across patterns of victimization, in which African American and other minority
males are the most vulnerable (Truman & Morgan, 2016). These effects are particu-
larly magnified for minorities from low socioeconomic backgrounds (Lauritsen &
Heimer, 2010). Victimization and offending behaviors themselves are also related in a
reciprocal fashion (Ousey, Wilcox, & Fisher, 2011). Patterns of repeat behavior are
similar for violent forms of victimization and offending; those who have a history of
victimization or offending are largely at risk of either event, such that (a) victims of
Iratzoqui and McCutcheon
147
crime are more likely to have a higher risk of offending, (b) offenders have a higher
vulnerability to victimization, and (c) individuals may be equally likely to be victims
or offenders within a single event (Gottfredson, 1981; Jennings, Piquero, & Reingle,
2012; Mustaine & Tewksbury, 2000).
Thus, the research, at large, suggests the predictors for violence can be used to pre-
dict both violence perpetration and violence victimization. In addition, the predictors of
domestic violence have traditionally been examined separately from work examining
the predictors of general forms of violence. Although the concept of domestic violence
has been operationalized in many different ways, this article uses the blanket term
“domestic violence” to refer to either victimization by or offending against a spouse or
romantic partner, unless otherwise specified. One reason is that domestic violence is
often thought to be primarily contained within the home, and has been studied more on
how negative family relationships, such as the perpetration and experiences of domestic
violence, affect psychological functioning and personal behavior, rather than as a crime
that begets more crime. Within criminological research, domestic violence has been
treated as a separate entity, because domestic violence is largely seen as a “uniquely
female” phenomena, since females are overwhelmingly the victims of this form of vio-
lence, especially over time (Gover, 2004; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000).
However, evidence suggests domestic violence and other forms of violence share
much more similarities, for both offenders and victims (Piquero, Brame, Fagan, &
Moffitt, 2006). These risk factors include age (i.e., younger offenders/victims), offense
characteristics (i.e., a prior relationship between victim and offender), a prior domestic
violence history, an overlap between victims and offenders in the people themselves
(i.e., a bidirectional nature between victimization and perpetration), and the risk of
recidivism (i.e., an increased risk, as either victim or offender, for continued violence;
Boyle et al., 2008; Gomez, 2011; Truman & Morgan, 2014). The latter is especially
highlighted in domestic violence; domestic violence victims and abusers may be the
same people in different or the same incidents (Graves, Sechrist, White, & Paradise,
2005; Jennings, Park, Tomsich, Gover, & Akers, 2011; Muftić, Finn, & Marsh, 2015;
Renner & Whitney, 2012; Tillyer & Wright, 2014). Factors that increase the likelihood
of lethal outcomes as a whole include domestic violence histories, background crimi-
nal record for the offender/victim, and a prior relationship between the victim and the
offender (Broidy, Daday, Crandall, Sklar, & Jost, 2006; Dobrin, 2001). In cases in
which the homicide involved a known offender, gun ownership was also a positive
contributor to homicide (Siegel et al., 2014). Analyses of domestic homicide identify
similar characteristics, and also focus on gun use as the weapon of choice and a prior
romantic relationship between victim and offender, especially for women (Campbell,
Glass, Sharps, Laughon, & Bloom, 2007; Catalano, 2013; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000).
As a whole, the evidence suggests that domestic and general forms of violence may
not benefit from separate analyses, and that the similarities between violence victim-
ization and perpetration that exist generally also exist within domestic violence. A
smaller body of literature has examined both general and domestic homicides within
the same study. These findings suggest that predictors remain fairly consistent, with
structural disadvantage, residential mobility, and domestic violence histories
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Homicide Studies 22(2)
structuring both general and intimate partner homicide rates, particularly across race
and gender groups (Avakame, 1998; Haynie & Armstrong, 2006)....
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