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Iowa

State Overview - State Summary - State Projects
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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 Abuse 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.


State Projects

  • Iowa Sex Offender Treatment and Supervision Studies
    The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning established a task force to study sex offender-related issues. The task force released its first report, making recommendations and study plans for a variety of issues, including: electronic monitoring, updating addresses in the sex offender registry, risk assessments, treatment, and the impact of the special sentence (new 10-year or life-time supervision).


  • 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.



    • Available Reports

    General Crime

    Domestic Violence

    Sexual Assault

    Violence Against Women


    Sample Data Collection Forms

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

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


    Available Data

    General Crime

    Domestic Violence

    Sexual Assault

    Violence Against Women


    Links to State Agencies and Resources