Anticipating Rank and File Police Reactions to Arrest Policies Regarding Spouse Abuse

• NCJ Number: 112554
• Author(s): M Steinman
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: Sam Houston State University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Criminal Justice Research Bulletin, V 4, N 3, 1988

Annotation

This article discusses spouse abuse and police reactions to mandatory arrest policies adopted by 46 percent of the police departments in cities with populations of more than 100,000.

Abstract

Studies involving police reactions to spouse abuse, and describing police attempts to mediate family disputes using counseling techniques are cited. Responses of officers to mandatory arrest policies in spouse abuse cases are discussed in the context of police professionalism and bureaucratization. Research indicates that police officers ignore calls for service and fail to arrest abusers because they believe 'arresting offenders invites more violence,' and that 'the man is the boss and the female is the subordinate.' Arrest policy proponents argue that protecting domestic assault victims is as important as protecting people who are assaulted by strangers, and that criminal law does not distinguish between violence among strangers and violence among intimates. 59 references.