Best Practice Assessment of Victim-Witness Services Response to Domestic Violence

The Domestic Violence Best Practice Assessment (the Best Practice Assessment) Guides have been designed to assist CCRs in answering such questions at particular points in the criminal legal system response to domestic violence crimes: 911, police patrol, police investigations, prosecution charging, victim-witness services, bail evaluation and pretrial release recommendations, and pretrial release supervision and enforcement. This guide details best practices in victim-witness services. The entire set of guides draws on the accumulated experience of communities that have completed a Safety and Accountability Audit (Safety Audit) over the last twenty years and the more recent development of The Blueprint for Safety. The Blueprint for Safety (Blueprint) is a coordinated justice system response to domestic violence crimes that positions this complex system to respond more quickly and effectively and enhance its capacity to stop violence, reduce harm, and save lives. The Blueprint is a distinct blend of approach, document, and process that together fully articulate the idea of a coordinated community response. The guides distill communities’ experiences with Safety Audits and the Blueprint principles and policies into specific guidelines for practice in the response to domestic violence.