Police Intervention in Cases of Domestic Violence

Abstract

The researcher sought to investigate the problem of domestic violence cases and the relationship these cases have with police officers. Arrest rates, corresponding recidivism rates, as well as officer opinions on threat assessment, current policies, recidivism rates, and future polices were investigated. An open ended intervention orientated survey and a likert-style survey regarding threat assessment were distributed to the Cloquet, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin police agencies. Both agencies reported their most practiced intervention tactics (mandatory arrest followed by resource and domestic violence center referrals). There was a significant positive correlation between what officers look for at a scene of domestic violence and methods of intervention within the Superior agency. There was also a significant positive correlation between the effectiveness of threat assessment for predicting future criminality and the effectiveness of threat assessment impacting intervention methods within the Superior agency. These findings implicate that threat assessment has a relationship with the interventions that officers choose to use when they encounter suspected domestic violence. What officers see on the scene relates to the policies that are in place within their agency. The policies that are implemented often correspond to ways of predicting future criminality and using these responses to work towards reducing future crime.