The Changing Boundaries of the Criminal Justice System: Redefining the Problem and the Response in Domestic Violence

Domestic violence, particularly male violence against female partners, has been the focus of tremendous public and policy attention over the past two decades. It is now conventional wisdom that traditional criminal justice responses reflected indifference and even resistance to defining such incidents as crime, but as society’s values and beliefs about the acceptability of such violence have changed, expectations for criminal justice responses have evolved as well. This chapter examines what we have learned about boundary changes in criminal justice, across three domains: law, local criminal justice practices and policies, and the role of the Federal Government in promoting innovations. The conclusions suggest that while, in many respects, challenges to criminal justice boundaries on this topic reflect ongoing debates in other areas of crime policy, the outcomes of these debates have yet to be settled. BOUNDARY CHANGES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS