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Iowa

State Overview - State Summary - State Projects
Available Reports - Sample Data Collection Forms - Available Data - Links

State Overview

Domestic Violence Legislation:	Yes (Chapter 236.2)
NIBRS Status:	Certified
Additional IBR Elements:	Yes
Law Enforcement DV System:	Incident-based
Service Provider DV System:	Summary
Service Provider SA System:	Summary

State Summary

Iowa's domestic violence legislation includes same-sex romantic relationships. The state is NIBRS certified, covering 94% of the state population with all but 14 law enforcement agencies reporting incident-based data to the Iowa Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Reporting Program, covering approximately 93% of the state population. These data are published in annual reports. Additional data elements have been added to the state system, and a check box to indicate domestic violence incidents has been added to the incident report form. Other new elements include:

type of referral (legal, medical, counseling, shelter, financial, other);
children (present - not harmed, present - abused, none present);
report received from (victim, other);
name and address of victim; and
name and address of offender.

The Department of Public Safety also maintains the Sex Offender Registry, which is available to the public. The Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning maintains the Justice Data Warehouse, which includes data from the Iowa Court Information System and the Iowa Corrections Offender Network. The Warehouse is available online and is accessible to the public. The most recent statewide victimization survey was conducted in 1997.

The Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence does not collect data from local service providers but is a member of the Domestic Violence Death Review Team. The team, whose members include representatives from state agencies, reviews intimate partner deaths. Using data from the Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Medical Examiner, as well reports from the media and victim's family, the team attempts to identify gaps in services. A report of findings was published by the Department of Public Health. The Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault collects summary information on victims who receive services from local providers that receive Coalition funding. Currently, 20 agencies report information, with another 27 member agencies expected to start submitting information once the Coalition's system is enhanced. The information is used to respond to public requests and will be used in reports once the system upgrade is complete.

The Rape Victim Advocacy Program collects information on the services it provides in four counties (Johnson, Iowa, Washington, Cedar) and the number of hotline callers. This information is entered into a database and shared with the Coalition Against Sexual Assault. The Iowa Attorney General's Crime Victim Assistance Division collects information from victims applying for compensation either through the Crime Victim Compensation Program or the Sexual Assault Examination Program. The Division also collects summary information from all local domestic and sexual violence service providers in the state. These agencies can enter the information directly into the appropriate Program's database or can send a hardcopy form. The information is included in an annual report and is available upon request.

The Iowa General Assembly created the Sex Offender Research Council within the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning. Since 2006, the Council has released annual reports on a variety of topics, including electronic monitoring, updating addresses in the sex offender registry, risk assessments, treatment, and the impact of the special sentence (a new 10-year or life-time supervision).

State Projects

National Resource Sharing Project
Created by the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the project helps state sexual assault coalitions across the country access resources. The project is designed to provide technical assistance and support, and to facilitate peer-driven resources for all state and territorial sexual assault coalitions.

Iowa Protective Order Notification for Domestic Abuse Program (IPONDA)
A statewide automated victim information and notification system that provides domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment and stalking victims with information and notification on the service status of their protective or no contact orders, as well as notification when a protective or no contact order is about to expire. This system enables transmission of a new no-contact order directly from the courts to law enforcement to permit immediate notification of the protected party.

Available Reports

General Crime

Iowa Department of Public Safety. (Annual). Iowa uniform crime report.
Iowa Judicial Branch. (2010). Iowa courts work for Iowans.
Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning. (2004). Statistical overview of crime and justice in Iowa.
Lutz, G. M., Fahrney, K., Crew, B. K., and Moriarty, M. (1998). The 1997 Iowa adult crime victimization survey. Center for Social and Behavioral Research, University of Northern Iowa.

Domestic Violence

Crime Victim Assistance Division. (Annual).Iowa Department of Justice, Attorney General's Office Crime Victim Assistance Division annual report. Iowa Department of Justice.
Public Safety and Advisory Board. (2011). The effectiveness of domestic abuse protective orders and court practices in sentencing violators.
National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2008). Domestic violence counts 07: Executive summary for Iowa.
National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2007). Domestic violence counts: Executive summary for Iowa.
Ryan, R. and Petrzelka, P. (2004). Protective Order Enforcement Team (POET) evaluation. NCJ 203980. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Erez, E. and Ammar, N. (2003). Violence against immigrant women and systemic responses: An exploratory study. NCJ 202561. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Downs, W. R. (2001). Alcohol problems and violence against women. NCJ 188266. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Hartley, C. C. and Ryan, R. (1998). Prosecution strategies in domestic violence felonies: Anticipating and meeting defense claims. NCJ 194075. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Stageberg, P. (1998). Uniform Crime Reports as a vehicle for reporting state wide data on domestic violence and sexual assault. Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.
Moore, R. G. and Hudik, T. (1996). Evaluation of the batterer's education system and process. Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.
Iowa Judicial Branch (1994). The final report of the Supreme Court Task Force on Courts' and Communities' Response to Domestic Abuse.

Sexual Assault

Crime Victim Assistance Division. (Annual). Iowa Department of Justice, Attorney General's Office Crime Victim Assistance Division annual report. Iowa Department of Justice.
Iowa Sex Offender Research Countil. (Annual). Task Force report to the Iowa General Assembly.
Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (2006). Iowa sex offender treatment and supervision task force: Report to the Iowa General Assembly.
Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (2000). The Iowa sex offender registry and recidivism.
Stageberg, P. (1998). Uniform Crime Reports as a vehicle for reporting state wide data on domestic violence and sexual assault. Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.

Sample Data Collection Forms

The Iowa Attorney General Crime Victim Assistance Division collects victim information, including relationship to the offender, using this form:

Application for Crime Victim Compensation

The Rape Victim Advocacy Program collects detailed information, which is collected in this database template:

Database Template

Available Data