NCJ Number
195645
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 278-307
Date Published
2002
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This article examines police decision-making in cases where mentally ill suspects may either be arrested or civilly committed following a domestic violence dispute.
Abstract
Using schema theory as a framework, the authors systematically test why police officers choose either arrest or civil commitment when faced with mentally ill suspects in domestic violence disputes. The main question the authors sought to answer was how officers arrived at their decisions in these cases. Several hypotheses, drawn from previous studies, were systematically tested. First, the authors hypothesize that novice police officers are more likely to hold idealistic notions about the efficiency, effectiveness, cooperativeness, and adequacy of the mental health system and its willingness to admit violent persons when compared to more experienced police officers. The second hypothesis under consideration was that novice and experienced officers used their perception of the mental health system’s willingness to accept violent persons when deciding whether to civilly commit the suspect. Finally, the authors hypothesized that when police officers suspected that the victim of the domestic violence would likely receive severe injuries if the suspect remained in the home, the police were more likely to arrest or civilly commit than to handle the case informally. In order to test these hypotheses, the authors presented 257 police officers with 1 of 12 scripts, which were randomly assigned. The scripts described domestic violence disputes that varied according to three variables: the suspect’s mental state, the degree of cooperation versus antagonism between the disputants, and the presence or absence of victim injury. After reading one script each, the officers answered closed-ended questions concerning their decision about the case and why they arrived at that decision. Results of ANOVA statistical analysis revealed that if the police officer believed the mental health system would accept violent persons and that severe harm would come to the victim if the abuser was not removed from the home, the officer was more likely to civilly commit rather than arrest the suspect. Similarly, the more cooperative the suspect, the more likely the officer was to civilly commit the suspect rather than use arrest. In conclusion, the authors note that stereotypes and personally held beliefs play an important role in police decision-making, and therefore should be addressed in the training of new recruits. Tables, notes, and references