Home
About the Center
National Summary
State Profiles
State Summaries
Projects
Bibliography
Form Library
Contacts
Available Data
Contact JRSA
Search
Contribute Info
spacer
Notice of Federal Funding and Federal Disclaimer
spacer
  

Pennsylvania

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

State Overview

Domestic Violence Legislation:Yes (23, §6101)
NIBRS Status:Testing
Additional Data ElementsNo
Law Enforcement System:Incident-based
Service Provider DV System:Summary
Service Provider SA System:Summary


State Summary

The state statute defining domestic violence includes incidents between same-sex partners. The state is testing an incident-based reporting system that does not include any additional data elements other than what is required by NIBRS. Every law enforcement agency is required to submit data via the Web. Until the incident-based system is fully implemented, law enforcement agencies have the option of reporting either incident-based or summary data to the Pennsylvania State Police Uniform Crime Reporting Unit. No additional information is collected in regard to domestic or sexual violence incidents. Monthly and annual summary data are available through an online query system, as are annual reports.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence maintains a domestic violence fatalities database as collected from newspapers. Aggregate data are also collected from its 76 member programs. Information is collected for funding purposes only and is not currently available to the public. The Coalition also maintains the statewide Protection from Abuse Database, which connects all county, state, and local police officers, judges and court personnel. Aggregate data are available upon request. The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape collects monthly aggregate data from 52 sexual assault service providers in the state. The Coalition is developing an annual report and submits quarterly statistics to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.


State Projects

  • Evaluation of Victim Services Organizational Capacity Building Initiative

    • The National Center for State Courts is conducting an 18-month evaluation of the impact of organizational capacity building initiatives undertaken by five victim services agencies funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

  • Assessing the Use of Pennsylvania's Victim Compensation Assistance Program

    • The Justice Research and Statistics Association is conducting this study to identify ways to increase the utilization of crime victim compensation in Pennsylvania. The objectives of the study are to: 1) assess Pennsylvania's current rate of utilization of crime victim compensation and compare this to the rates of other states; 2) identify, via literature review and data analysis, factors that are related to utilization of compensation programs; and 3) develop recommendations for improving the program.

  • Domestic Violence in Later Life Project

    • The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and The Pennsylvania Department of Aging are currently engaged in a collaborative training project, funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, to enhance the safety and access to services for older victims of domestic violence throughout Pennsylvania. The project’s primary goal is to establish clear and concise direction to guide the direct service providers in both the Aging and Domestic Violence systems to establish a coordinated response to meet the needs of victims age 50 and older.

  • Battered Women's Justice Project

    • The Project is a collaboration of three national organizations to provide training, technical assistance and other resources on domestic violence-related issues. The Minnesota Program Development coordinates the Criminal Justice Office; the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence coordinates the Civil Justice Office; and the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women coordinates the Defense Office.

  • National Center on Full Faith & Credit

    • Staffed by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, this project promotes the timely, universal enforcement of protection orders in state and tribal courts throughout the country in accordance with the federal Violence Against Women Act.


    Available Reports

    General Crime

    Domestic Violence

    Violence Against Women


    Sample Data Collection Forms

    The Pennsylvania State Police collects monthly offense counts from law enforcement with this summary data collection form:

    The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape collects summary data from service providers using this data entry form:

    The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency collects information from victims applying for compensation using these online forms:

    This survey was developed for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence to provide health care providers a method for assessing domestic violence training needs:


    Available Data

    General Crime

    • Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's Center for Research and Evaluation. (Annual). Corrections Statistics.
    • Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's Center for Research and Evaluation. (Annual). Crime Statistics.
    • Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's Center for Research and Evaluation. (Annual). Criminal Justice Trends.
    • Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's Center for Research and Evaluation. (Annual). Sentencing Statistics.
    • Pennsylvania State Police. (Annual). UCR Query Facility.


    Sexual Assault

    Stalking


    Links to State Agencies and Resources