Of the 146 departments surveyed, 46 percent reported that arrest is their preferred policy, compared to 31 percent reporting this policy preference in 1985. The percentage of departments reporting more actual arrests in domestic violence cases has also increased over the past 2 years, from 24 percent in 1984 to 35 percent in 1985. A significant number of the departments indicated that the Minneapolis experiment in the effectiveness of various police responses to domestic violence influenced their decision to use arrest as the preferred policy in such cases. Other influences fostering an arrest policy include the recommendations of the U.S. Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, changes in a number of State laws, several major media events, and a series of widely publicized lawsuits pertaining to police liability in the handling of domestic assault cases. A table shows each department's policy preference under the headings of 'arrest,' 'mediation,' 'separation,' and 'no policy.' 5 references.