Victims arrested for domestic violence: unintended consequences of arrest policies

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Hovmand ◽  
David N. Ford ◽  
Ingrid Flom ◽  
Stavroula Kyriakakis
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Arrest Policies

scholarly journals Presumptive Arrest in Partner Assault: Use of Discretion and Problems of Compliance in the New Zealand Police

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Cross ◽  
Greg Newbold
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arrest Rates ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Incident Reports ◽  
Arrest Policies ◽  
Partner Assault

Since pro-arrest policies in domestic violence became popular in the United States in the 1980s, numerous western countries have followed suit. In most cases, research has shown that implementation of the policies has fallen short of expectations, with arrest rates that are surprisingly low. In New Zealand, pro–arrest strategies have been employed since 1987 and results have been similar. This article argues that one of the reasons for noncompliance in New Zealand (and probably elsewhere), is that the complexities of domestic violence situations make pro–arrest difficult to apply in practice. Moreover, in order to protect themselves from official criticism for deviating from policy, in this study frontline police sometimes filed incomplete or inaccurate incident reports. This made it hard to determine exactly how well the policy was being implemented and whether or not it was working.

The Voices of Domestic Violence Victims: Predictors of Victim Preference for Arrest and the Relationship Between Preference for Arrest and Revictimization

2003 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hirschel ◽  
Ira W. Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Mandatory Arrest ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Domestic Violence Victims ◽  
Offender Characteristics ◽  
Arrest Policies ◽  
The Relationship

This article focuses on what female victims of domestic violence expect the police to do when they call for assistance during an abusive incident and whether there is an association between their desire for formal intervention and subsequent victimization and offender aggression. The 419 victims interviewed in this study had a variety of expectations ranging from simply warning to arresting the offender. A combination of victim characteristics, offender characteristics, and incident characteristics was predictive of victim desire for arrest, and victim desire for arrest was significantly associated with subsequent threat of abuse and actual abuse of the victim. The implications of these findings for preferred and mandatory arrest policies are discussed.

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