NCJ Number
102975
Journal
Capital University Law Review Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1985) Pages: 243-268
Date Published
1985
Length
26 pages
Annotation
After describing Ohio's 1979 Domestic Violence Act, this article critiques the proposal for mandatory arrest of alleged perpetrators of domestic assault and suggests alternatives to address domestic violence.
Abstract
Ohio's Domestic Violence Act creates a separate offense for domestic violence, authorizes a warrantless arrest on an officer's reasonable suspicion that domestic assault has occurred, and provides for a temporary protection order and a civil protection order. Although Ohio's law does not require mandatory arrest in domestic violence situations, some are advocating this, based on studies which demonstrate the deterrence effectiveness of arrest. Some problems with this approach are the assumption that criminal processing is always the most effective approach for handling domestic violence, the failure to gain convictions when the arrest is not supported by sufficient evidence, the acceptance of allegations of assault without evidence, failure to report assaults by women who do not want their husbands arrested, and the obstruction of other alternatives for addressing domestic violence. Mandatory arrest is an extreme and simplistic solution to a complex problem. It is wiser to make arrest discretionary and also make available such options as victim assistance services, mediation programs, and social services. Legislation can improve the criminal justice system's response to domestic violence, but it need not always dominate the response. 143 footnotes.