The authors begin with a brief history of the recent trend toward the criminalization of domestic assault. They then describe the law as a manifestation of the culture of power. The culture of power is contrasted with relational culture, the context in which battered women make decisions. Discussed next are the assumptions that police (and all law enforcement officers), as agents of the culture of power, bring to battering situations. These assumptions are contrasted with the lives of battered women and the contingencies that inform their responses to violence. One author's participant-observation and interview study of the police is then described to illustrate the cultures discussed earlier in the paper. The authors conclude that empowering battered women involves recognizing the diversity of needs and the competence of women to identify the appropriate strategies for their survival. They do not adopt a pro or con stance on mandatory arrest, but rather focus on the larger context in which policing occurs. The authors argue that abstracting criminal sanctions from the current social and political context detracts from the overall empowerment of women. 59 references