Effects of Research on Legal Policy in the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (From Family Violence: Research and Public Policy Issues, P 205-227, 1990, Douglas J Besharov, ed. -- See NCJ-125593)

• NCJ Number: 125606
• Author(s): L W Sherman; E G Cohn
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: University Press of America
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The Minneapolis experiment that focused on police responses to domestic assault is examined in terms of whether its findings were released too soon and therefore unduly influenced public policy.

Abstract

The experiment involved a randomized test of police actions for misdemeanor domestic assault. The results showed that arresting the offenders produced a lower prevalence of repeat violence than did two alternative approaches. The study's results were publicized and appear to have caused police departments to change their arrest practices. Critics have argued that the research should have been replicated elsewhere before being publicized, in the same way that medical research undergoes extensive replication. However, further analysis of the Minneapolis experiment suggests that its policy influence was not premature nor inappropriate. Results indicate that legal researchers are fully justified in releasing and publicizing research results as soon as they have been favorably reviewed. Tables.