Upon review of the article entitled, “Domestic Violence and Mandatory Arrest Laws: To What Extent Do They Influence Police Arrest Decisions?” located in The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, by David Hirschel, Eve Buzawa, April Pattavina and Don Faggiani (2007), volume 98, number 1, research found that intimate partner violence arrest rates have risen as a direct result of the implementation of mandatory and preferred arrest domestic violence laws (p.255). However, this research also suggests in cases of domestic assault that part of this increase can be attributed to an increase in the arrest rate of females (p.255). This article focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of the mandatory arrest provision from the calendar year 2000. The written records of National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
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This research reveals this warrantless aggressive tactic has evolved a negative problem: too many victims arrested. This problem appears to arise in part from the practice of dual arrests – situations in which police arrest both parties involved in the altercation rather than trying to identify the primary aggressor. Since the implementation of the mandatory arrest law, female arrests increased due to the police arresting both parties. In order to lower these dual arrest rates, primary aggressor laws and policies need to be implemented. Another necessary step is to enhance officer training on how to identify the primary offender in an incident. Their training will help the officer distinguish between injuries inflicted in attacking someone and injuries inflicted in self-defense, such as biting an offender to make him/her let go of a stranglehold. “According to this report, the percentage of domestic violence offenders arrested who are women ranges in three jurisdiction from 30.8%, 17.4%, and 28% respectively” (p.
This research reveals this warrantless aggressive tactic has evolved a negative problem: too many victims arrested. This problem appears to arise in part from the practice of dual arrests – situations in which police arrest both parties involved in the altercation rather than trying to identify the primary aggressor. Since the implementation of the mandatory arrest law, female arrests increased due to the police arresting both parties. In order to lower these dual arrest rates, primary aggressor laws and policies need to be implemented. Another necessary step is to enhance officer training on how to identify the primary offender in an incident. Their training will help the officer distinguish between injuries inflicted in attacking someone and injuries inflicted in self-defense, such as biting an offender to make him/her let go of a stranglehold. “According to this report, the percentage of domestic violence offenders arrested who are women ranges in three jurisdiction from 30.8%, 17.4%, and 28% respectively” (p.