The violence within the American domicile has been recognized for decades by elements of government and society with little done to correct the problem. Only recently has this phenomenon begun to receive the attention it deserves. In an effort to understand, identify and treat the incidents of abuse occurring in the home, the State of New Jersey, through its legislature, has provided the means to gain a meaningful insight into this issue. In 1982, the Domestic Violence Act was instituted to protect battered victims and study the complex problems that spark such aggressive behavior. This legislation also provided the opportunity to identify the causes of violence in the home and put forth a more comprehensive effort to combat the crime of Domestic Violence. Improvements since the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act are continuing. Pursuant to a change in N.J.S.A. 2C:25-24 enacted June 9, 1999, arrest data is presented by county. Domestic Violence restraining order violations are now captured and reported. Revised investigation and reporting procedures by the police; improved processing of domestic complaints by the courts; mandatory in-service training for police and court personnel have all enabled the victim to come forward and implement the constitutional rights granted to all Americans.

The following pages of narrative and graphics in this chapter are the result of gathered data displaying the

complexities of domestic violence found within the State of New Jersey. It is through analysis of this data that, hopefully, the keys to preventing future violence can be found.

Highlights of the 2008 domestic violence statistics are listed below:

• There were 70,613 domestic violence offenses reported by the police in 2008, a 2 percent decrease compared to the 71,901

reported in 2007.

• Murders increased 50 percent in 2008 (57) when compared to 2007 (38).

• Assaults accounted for 43 percent (30,429) and harassment accounted for 43 percent (30,023) of the reported offenses in

2008.

• Arrests were made in 31 percent (21,665) of the offenses reported for 2008, a decrease of 3 percent when compared to arrests

made in 2007.

• The most frequent day of domestic violence occurrences was Sunday (12,397).

• For the twenty-sixth consecutive year, the most frequent hours of domestic violence incidents were between 8:00 p.m. and

midnight, when 26 percent (18,679) of the offenses were reported.

• Children were involved or present during 33 percent of all domestic violence offenses occurring in 2008. Specifically, 5 percent

(3,519) were involved and 28 percent (19,583) were present.

• Wives were the victims in 19 percent (13,637) and ex-wives were the victims in 3 percent (2,406) of the reported domestic

violence offenses in 2008. Overall, females were victims in 76 percent (53,810) of all domestic violence offenses.

• The number of domestic violence complaints that had prior court orders issued against the offender decreased from 14,339 in

2007 to 13,872 in 2008. This is a decrease of 3 percent.

• Alcohol and/or drugs were involved in 28 percent (19,691) of the reported offenses occurring in 2008. Alcohol involvement

alone accounted for 25 percent (17,808) of the total domestic violence offenses reported.

• Persons age 60 or over were victims in 3 percent (2,345) of all reported domestic violence offenses that occurred in 2008.

Elderly were the victims in 21 percent (12) of the domestic violence murders (57).

• Domestic violence does not occur at a regular frequency, but when viewed as a ratio of its occurrence to a fixed time interval, one

act of domestic violence would occur every 7 minutes and 26 seconds.

• Domestic violence offenses arising from a dating relationship accounted for 15 percent (10,468) of the state total.

• There were 2,966 total arrests involving domestic violence restraining orders reported by police in 2008. Of these, 1,793 were

arrests for violations of a restraining order only, while 1,173 were arrests for violations of a restraining order with an offense

arrest.