Chapter 2 Coordinated Community Response: Toward a More Systematic Response to Domestic Violence in an Urban Setting

Abstract Purpose – Presents metrics and policy recommendations from the Dallas Domestic Violence Task Force (DDVTF) concerning the systemic response to domestic violence (DV) within this community. Design/methodology/approach – In June 2017, 47 private citizens, nonprofit, criminal justice, social service and religious organizations, and governmental officials who participated on the task force were invited via email to participate in an electronic Qualtrics survey. Findings – Both general annual metrics are offered as well as detailed monthly metrics and long-term trends for shelter and advocacy providers, police, the district and city attorney’s offices, and courts. In 2016–2017 alone, roughly 15,000 people were educated on DV, 246 victims were sheltered in emergency beds each night on average, roughly 8,000 victims were turned away due to lack of space, over 15,500 DV-related calls were handled by police, 11,000 county criminal cases were filed, and 7 intimate partner homicides occurred within the city of Dallas. Policy recommendations are offered. Originality/value – The DDVTF annual report is one of the largest and most comprehensive reports of its kind in the United States, with over 3,000 variables collected across the partners. Now in its third reporting year, this chapter offers an overview of key findings and policy recommendations and highlights the work of this coordinated community response team.