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November 23, 2011

ULM's Hanser serves on statewide task force

Dr. Robert Hanser, associate professor and department head of criminal justice at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, has been asked to serve on a statewide task force studying domestic batterers and intervention programs for the same.

During the 2011 General Session, the Louisiana Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 86 which impaneled a task force to study Batterer's Intervention Programs.

The goal of the task force is to evaluate Louisiana's existing programs throughout the state, review best practices throughout the nation, and propose standards for court approved domestic abuse intervention programs in Louisiana.

Hanser was asked to serve on this task force due to his experience in and knowledge of working with the domestic batterer population

He has conducted research on batterers and interventions for these offenders, including his own dissertation work as well as book chapters and articles related to intervention programs targeting these offenders.

In addition, he worked with this population as a co-facilitator for psycho-educational groups in the Houston area before coming to ULM.

Currently, Hanser serves as the lead facilitator of the Batterer Intervention Program with the Fourth Judicial District, working with that court's probation personnel to ensure that offenders fulfill their obligation to complete this aspect of their sanction.

It is expected that the work of the BIP Task Force will shape the future operation of all similar programs around the state.

The need to have consistent and up-to-date guidelines has been cited, and the BIP Task Force will be responsible for generating such guidelines.

In response to this responsibility, Hanser said "I am truly honored to have the opportunity to work with a project that will have such far-reaching impact on this important aspect in reducing domestic violence in Louisiana."

It is expected that the final recommendations and guidelines will be submitted to the legislature sometime during the first half of 2012.

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