NCJ Number
101232
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1986) Pages: 171-183
Date Published
1986
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examines the legal and public response to the 1983 Manitoba (Canada) attorney general's directive for police to bring charges in all reported cases of spouse abuse having reasonable and probable grounds that an assault occurred.
Abstract
Analysis of the legal response was based on a study of reported and charged wife abuse cases in 1983. Data came from 1983 police statistics; a study of the first 373 completed 1983 wife abuse cases, based on police reports and court records; patrol call sheets for a 6-month period; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police quarterly reports. Analysis of the public response to the directive was based on a 1984 Winnipeg area study, which used a random sample of 741 households supplying 575 completed questionnaires. The directive produced a greater number of wife abuse cases before the courts than in the past. The conviction rate in these cases did not differ substantially from other assault cases. Eighty-five percent of the public sample supported the new directive, and 92 percent viewed wife abuse as a serious and pervasive social problem. Tabular data and 24 references.