Alabama

State Overview

State Summary

The State of Alabama does have legislation in place defining domestic violence in the state, including same-sex romantic relationships. The Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center currently collects incident-based crime data from local law enforcement agencies, but the state has not been certified by the FBI. As a result, only summary counts of data are currently available at the national level. Alabama does collect two additional data elements that may pertain to domestic violence and sexual assault offenses: (1) whether a rape exam has been conducted and (2) whether the victim received treatment for an injury. Alabama has also expanded their location codes. In addition to the NIBRS data elements, location codes include:

victim's car offender's car victim's residence offender's residence apartment complex vacant lot vacant house/building dirt road

residence of friend/relative of offender residence of friend/relative of victim trailer park hospital railroad tracks prison/corrections facility cemetery lake/beach

The Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence collects information from its 18 member shelter organizations and statewide hotline using a networked system called Alice. Although Alice has been developed for national use, the Coalition has expanded the system to collect additional information. Additional information includes data from Project SAIL (Special Assessment Intervention and Liaison) and Cut It Out Program. Through Project SAIL, a domestic violence specialist is placed in the Department of Human Resources offices to screen clients for possible domestic violence. Cut It Out, now a national organization funded by the Salons Against Domestic Abuse Fund, trains salon professionals to recognize domestic violence indicators and refer clients to available resources, where needed.

The Alabama Coalition Against Rape also collects information from 15 rape crisis centers in the state. The member centers complete forms via a Microsoft ACCESS program, which are then transmitted electronically to the Coalition. The information is then included in the Coalition's Medquest system. These data are also shared with the Department of Public Health but are not included in the Department's yearly publication.

Since Alabama has a separate domestic violence offense statute, the Alabama Sentencing Commission is able to track domestic violence as well as sexual assault charges through the court database. Although some offenses that could be charged as domestic violence are instead being charged as assault, the domestic violence charges are included in the Commission's yearly report listing the 25 offenses most often charged each year.

State Projects

No current projects.

Available Reports

General Crime

• Criminal Justice Information Center. (Annual).Crime in Alabama.
• Alabama Sentencing Commission. (Annual). Alabama sentencing commission annual report.
• Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission. (2006).  2005 annual report.

Domestic Violence

• Statistical Analysis Center. (2008).  2007 domestic violence in Alabama. Criminal Justice Information Center.
• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2006).  2005 domestic violence in Alabama.
• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2005).  2004 domestic violence in Alabama.
• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2004).  2003 domestic violence in Alabama.
• Alabama Department of Public Health. (2004).  Intimate partner violence.
• Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (2003). Domestic violence victims aided by Project SAIL.

Sexual Assault

• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2004).  Rape in Alabama: A statistical analysis of rape 1999-2003.
• Alabama Coalition Against Rape. (2003). Pathway to hope - Breaking the silence: A guide to knowledge, understanding, and survival of sexual assault.
• Alabama Department of Public Health. (2004).  Sexual assault prevention plan.

Violence Against Women

• Council on Violence Against Women. (2002).  Violence against women: Alabama state plan.

Sample Data Collection Forms

This is the incident report form provided by the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center for law enforcement:

•  Alabama Uniform Incident/Offense Report

These are examples of forms used by the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

•  Adult Shelter Client Intake Information
•  Child Shelter Client Information
•  Outreach Client Information (Adult & Child)
•  Victim Contact Information
•  SAIL Information

The Department of Public Health uses this software to gather sexual assault information:

• Sexual Assault Surveillance Software (Zip file)
• 2007 Crisis Call Module, File 1 and File 2 (Zip file)
• 2007 Program Module, File 1 and File 2 (Zip file)
• 2007 Victim Module, File 1 and File 2 (Zip file)
• 2007 Follow-Up Module, File 1 and File 2 (Zip file)

This is the form collected by the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission:

•  Application Form

Available Data

Domestic Violence

• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2006).  2003 state of Alabama domestic violence offenses by county.
• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2005).  2004 state of Alabama domestic violence offenses by county.
• Criminal Justice Information Center. (2004).  2003 state of Alabama domestic violence offenses by county.

Links to State Agencies and Resources

• Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center
• Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Alabama Coalition Against Rape
• CUT IT OUT
• Alabama Department of Health - Injury Prevention Division
  • Intimate Partner Violence/Domestic Violence
  • Sexual Assault/Rape
• Alabama Sentencing Commission