The Response of Law Enforcement to Violence and Abuse - The Police Response

The police are often an abuse victim's initial contact with the judicial system, making the police response particularly important. The manner in which the police handle a domestic violence complaint will likely color the way the victim views the entire judicial system. Not surprisingly, when police project the blame for intimate partner violence on victims, the victims may be reluctant to report further abuse.

According to the 2002 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the police came to the aid of victims for about three-quarters (76%) of all violent crimes. In about two-thirds of incidents of rape and sexual assault, police came to victims (63.8%); 12.4% of victims went to police. Table 7.1 shows that police came to the aid of more victims of aggravated assault, simple assault, and robbery than victims of rape and sexual assault.

Family disturbance calls constitute the majority of calls received by police departments throughout the country, and historically such calls have not been taken seriously. In the mid-1960s, Detroit police dispatchers were instructed to screen out family disturbance calls unless they suspected "excessive" violence. A 1975 police guide, The Function of the Police in Crisis Intervention and Conflict Management, taught officers to avoid arrest at all costs and to discourage the victim from pressing charges by emphasizing the consequences of testifying in court, the potential loss of income, and other detrimental aspects of prosecution.

Arrest policies have changed significantly in the past twenty-five years. By 2002 all but one state (West Virginia) had moved to authorize probable cause arrests—arrest before the completion of the investigation of the alleged violation or crime—without a warrant in domestic violence cases. Police departments have adopted proarrest or mandatory arrest policies. Pro-arrest strategies include a range of sanctions from issuing a warning, to mandated treatment, to prison time.