Impact evaluation and economic benefit analysis of a domestic violence and abuse UK police intervention

Yiannis Karavias; Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay; Christine Christie; Caroline Bradbury-Jones; Julie Taylor; Eddie Kane; Heather D Flowe

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1063701

Impact evaluation and economic benefit analysis of a domestic violence and abuse UK police intervention

Front Psychol. 2023 Feb 16:14:1063701. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1063701. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yiannis Karavias¹, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay¹, Christine Christie², Caroline Bradbury-Jones^{3

4}, Julie Taylor^{3

4}, Eddie Kane⁵, Heather D Flowe⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Economics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
² Chanon Consulting Ltd., Epsom, United Kingdom.
³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
⁴ Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
⁵ Centre for Health and Justice, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
⁶ School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact and economic benefit of Cautioning and Relationship Abuse (CARA), an intervention which aims to reduce re-offending of first-time low-level domestic violence and abuse perpetrators. The analysis was based on two samples drawn from separate UK police force areas. CARA's impact was assessed using a matched sample of similar offenders from a time when CARA was not available. The matching was based on a host of offender and victim characteristics and machine learning methods were employed. The results show that the CARA intervention has a significant impact on the amount of recidivism but no significant reduction in the severity of the crimes. The benefit-cost ratio in both police force areas is greater than one and estimated to be 2.75 and 11.1, respectively, across the two police force areas. Thus, for each pound (£) invested in CARA, there is an economic benefit of 2.75-11.1 pounds, annually.

Keywords: Crime Harm Index; batterer intervention program; domestic violence and abuse; economic evaluation; evidence-based policing; intimate partner violence; machine learning.

Grants and funding

This report details work commissioned by the Home Office by the Domestic Abuse Perpetrators Research Fund. The authors would like to thank the Home Office for supporting this project.