An analysis of data for 1974 through 1983 indicates that domestic disturbances rank eighth among incidents resulting in police officer deaths. Thus, the danger of such incidents appears to have been greatly exaggerated. An examination of the widespread implementation of police crisis intervention units suggests that social science research was used as a politically useful resource for the production of consensus and/or loyalty to strategic coercive agencies by the state during a period of hegemonic crisis. In the past 20 years, there has been a shift in the way wife abuse has been socially constructed by agents of the state. The interaction-gone-wrong, underlying-psychological-causes approach has been replaced by a view of wife abuse as a criminal offense for which criminal sanctions are appropriate. Stopping criminal violence has become the primary concern of law enforcement officers. This shift in police policy can be largely explained by the emergence of a new, politically relevant constituency -- women. 42 references.