MENU TITLE: Drugs, Alcohol, and Domestic Violence in Memphis.
Series: NIJ Research Preview
Published: October 1997
5 pages
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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
National Institute of Justice

Research Preview
Jeremy Travis, Director
October 1997

Research in Progress Seminar Series

Drugs, Alcohol, and Domestic Violence in Memphis

Summary of a Presentation by Daniel Brookoff, M.D.,
Ph.D.

A 1995 study of domestic violence in Memphis,
Tennessee, revealed that almost all assailants had
used drugs or alcohol during the day of the
assault; two-thirds had used a dangerous
combination of cocaine and alcohol. The vast
majority of those assaulted were repeat victims of
the current assailants. Two-thirds of assailants
were on probation or parole at the time of the
assault. In addition, a majority of battering
incidents involved the assailant's use or display
of a weapon, and a number of victims suffered
injuries severe enough to require immediate medical
attention. 

These and other findings emerged from a month-long
pilot study funded by the Methodist Hospital
Foundation of Memphis. This collaborative community
study sought to determine the city's prevalence of
domestic violence and factors contributing to it. A
survey team of medical personnel and University of
Memphis researchers accompanied officers from the
Memphis Police Department as they responded to
nighttime calls for assistance. On average, the
police received more than 15 calls per 7-hour shift
for domestic assault or other residential
disturbances. The survey team studied 62 incidents
fitting the legal criteria for domestic assault;
several involved multiple victims (a woman and her
child) or multiple assailants (a man and his
friend). The team privately interviewed persons who
were at the scene when police arrived, including
all 72 victims, two-thirds (42 of 64) of their
assailants, and 75 adult family members.

Characteristics of victims and assailants

In the Memphis study, 72 percent of victims were
female and 78 percent of the assailants were male.
Of the 20 male victims, 9 were the sons of female
victims who had tried to intervene in the assault
of their mothers. Of the female victims 40 percent
had been assaulted by cohabiting boyfriends, 29
percent by noncohabiting boyfriends, 20 percent by
cohabiting husbands, and 11 percent by estranged or
divorced husbands or former boyfriends. The
remaining incidents involved sibling or in-law
assault, parent-child or child-parent assault, and
wives battering their husbands. Eleven victims were
children.

Findings

Alcohol and drug use. Victims and family members
reported that 92 percent of assailants used drugs
or alcohol during the day of the assault. They also
reported that 67 percent had used a combination of
cocaine and alcohol, which forms cocaethylene, a
substance that produces heightened and prolonged
intoxication. Nearly half of all assailants (45
percent) were described by families as using drugs,
alcohol, or both daily to the point of intoxication
for the past month. Nine percent of assailants were
either under treatment or had previously received
treatment for substance abuse. According to their
own reports or reports of family members, about 42
percent of victims used alcohol or drugs on the day
of the assault; 15 percent had used cocaine. About
half of those using cocaine said that their
assailants had forced them to use it. 

Previous assaults. In an overwhelming majority of
incidents (89 percent), the primary victim had
suffered a previous assault by the current
assailant; 91 percent of those victims had reported
a prior incident to the police (73 percent within
the previous 2 weeks). Most prior victims reported
daily (35 percent) or weekly (55 percent)
battering. Of the 45 women assaulted by a current
or former sexual partner, 44 percent reported an
assault by that man during pregnancy. 

Weapons and injuries. In 42 (68 percent) of the
domestic assault episodes, assailants had used or
displayed weapons, including 19 blunt instruments
(hammers, baseball bats, etc.), 17 knives, and 6
guns. About 15 percent of victims suffered serious
injuries requiring immediate medical attention.

Arrests and court action after the incident. Two-
thirds (28 of 42) of those assailants who were
present when police arrived were arrested, mostly
for domestic assault. The survey team reviewed
arrest and court records 8 weeks after the police
calls and found that 33 percent of those arrested
on the scene for domestic assault had pleaded
guilty, 8 percent had charges dismissed, and 58
percent were released and awaiting case
disposition. Of arrested assailants, 75 percent
were out of jail in less than 18 hours; half of
these did not have to post bond. All assailants who
pleaded guilty were given suspended sentences of 30
to 90 days with 1 year of probation; 50 percent
were ordered to participate in an anger management
program; and 25 percent were ordered to perform 3
days of community service. In 23 percent of cases
in which the assailant fled the scene before police
arrived, the victim later swore out a warrant for
his arrest. All victims were told how to obtain a
warrant, but most refused--possibly because of the 
$50 fee, fear of escalating violence and
retaliation by the assailant, or reluctance to
expose the assailant to punishment. 

Involvement of children. Eleven victims (15
percent) were younger than 18 years; most were
assaulted after witnessing assaults on their
mothers. A total of 90 children directly witnessed
53 (85 percent) of the assaults. In many cases,
researchers observed small children emulating
violent behavior on the scene. When child abuse
occurred in conjunction with the battering of an
adult, the adult victim did not bring the child
abuse to the attention of the police. None of the
children in the survey was referred to treatment or
child protective services as a result of the police
visit.

Postsurvey results and suggestions

As a result of the survey, the medical and criminal
justice communities in Memphis are collaborating to
ease the plight of domestic violence victims and
increase the penalties for assault in cases where
alcohol, drugs, or weapons are used or children are
present. A small crisis center has been established
within the police department to provide immediate
medical care. Victims are brought to the center
without having to initiate action themselves and
are automatically referred to counseling and
support services. In addition, supplemental reports
of victim and assailant interviews are sent to
prosecutors so that drug or alcohol problems are
known at arraignment and rehabilitation can be
ordered. Finally, the fee for obtaining an arrest
warrant has been waived. Suggestions for future
action include:

o Testing assailants at the time of arrest for
alcohol or drug intoxication. 

o Detoxifying arrested drug- or alcohol-dependent
assailants prior to release from jail. 

o Assessing children who directly witness domestic
violence to determine if psychological treatment
is needed.

o Allowing domestic assault victims to swear out
arrest warrants at the assault scene. 

o Providing emergency counseling or psychiatric
treatment for women whose self-esteem has been 
eroded by the manipulative and coercive behavior of
a batterer.

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This summary is based on a presentation at the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) by Daniel
Brookoff, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Director of
Medical Education at the Methodist Hospital in
Memphis, Tennessee, to an audience of researchers
and criminal justice practitioners. The seminar,
Drug Use and Domestic Violence, is available as a
60-minute videotape for $19 ($24 in Canada and
other countries). Use the order form on the next
page to obtain this videotape, NCJ 163056, and any
of the others available in NIJ's Research in
Progress Seminar Series.

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Points of view in this document do not necessarily
reflect the official position of the U.S.
Department of Justice.

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