NCJ Number
14375
Date Published
Unknown
Length
20 pages
Annotation
POLICE-CITIZEN ENCOUNTERS INVOLVING HUSBAND-WIFE DISPUTES NOT CONNECTED TO A VIOLENT CRIME (ASSAULT, SHOOTING) ARE ANALYZED WITH RESPECT TO THEIR ORIGINS, FREQUENCY, AND NATURE OF POLICE-CITIZEN INTERACTION.
Abstract
THE DATA ANALYZED ARE DERIVED FROM A PARTICIPANT-AS-OBSERVER STUDY OF 1,978 RANDOMLY SELECTED POLICE-CITIZEN ENCOUNTERS OCCURRING IN A LARGE MIDWESTERN CITY. THE ANALYSIS REVEALS THAT THESE ENCOUNTERS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD TO EMERGE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PERCEIVED VIOLATIONS OF THE COUPLE'S RELATIONAL RULES (EXPECTED AND ACCEPTABLE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR WHICH EXIST BETWEEN THEM). DOMESTIC DISPUTES DEFINED IN THIS WAY WERE FOUND TO BE LESS FREQUENT THAN OTHER STUDIES HAVE SHOWN. THE INTERACTION OCCURRING IN THESE ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN CITIZEN AND POLICE WAS FOUND TO BE PRIMARILY POLICE, NON-VIOLENT, AND DELIVERED IN THE ABSENCE OF DISPLAYS OF TEMPER ON EITHER SIDE. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)