Police Advocacy for Battered Women: Are Mandatory Arrest Policies the Pinnacle of Reform? (From Public Policing in the 21st Century: Issues and Dilemmas in the U.S. and Canada, P 185-215, 2005, John F. Hodgson and Catherine Orban, eds. -- See NCJ-209717)

• NCJ Number: 209725
• Author(s): Debra S. Kelley
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 31 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines the future of battered women and the value of mandatory arrest policies as an effective strategy in serving victims of battering.

Abstract

The battering of women within marriage and intimate partner relationships will continue to be a social problem of significance as long as women’s position in wider society remains basically unaltered. With no quick solution, mandatory arrest policies have proven to be an effective strategy. If a behavior warrants arrest, then it must be criminal. Mandatory arrest strategies are seen as serving victims of battering in many ways. In addition, mandatory arrest strategies have been joined to the use of civil protective orders. This chapter addresses whether or not police officers will continue to rely on mandatory arrest and/or pro-arrest policies as the preferred policy in domestic violence incidents. The chapter examines the literature on police attitudes, current police practices in domestic violence, public opinion on domestic violence, and the police role, as well as the attitudes of the police to domestic violence incidents, and the actual behavior of police in responding to domestic violence incidents. It addresses the preferences and experiences of victims concerning the law enforcement response. Mandatory arrest is argued as linking victims and offenders to needed services and agencies. Discussion questions and references