State study shatters stereotypes about abusers State study
shatters stereotypes about abusers
By Maureen Boyle
Standard-Times staff writer
When researchers in Massachusetts tried to develop a profile of a typical batterer, a few illusions were shattered.
``The type of person we were looking at was already in the system,'' said Donald Cochran, state commissioner of probation.
Contrary to earlier studies - drawn from small samples - this study of men who were served restraining orders found that nearly three quarters had a prior criminal record and nearly half had a record of violent crime.
The study, conducted by the state probation office, examined restraining orders issued against 18,369 men between Sept. 8, 1992 and March 9, 1993.
The analysis, considered one of the most thorough in the country, came up with a few interesting findings:
More than three quarters of the defendants were younger than 40.
73 percent were in their 20s and 30s, an age bracket that makes up only 45.7 percent of the state's population.
74 percent of the men with restraining orders have prior criminal records.
48.1 percent have histories of violent crime.
22 percent had an arrest record involving drugs.
15 percent violated the restraining order within six months.
29 percent of those accused of violating restraining orders were charged with another violent crime while the restraining order was in effect.
But the study noted that the numbers only give a profile of the men who were issued restraining orders.
``This does not imply that all batterers have criminal records or that a man without a criminal record could not be abusive,'' the study's authors noted.
What the study does is help those who deal with batterers, Mr. Cochran said.
``What we're eventually looking for is how to identify this type of person, and see what are the variables that set off alarms,'' he said.
``We're at a point where this is an overwhelming problem that is not going to go away,'' he said. ``We better find a way to address the problem.''
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