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Police Response to Mandatory Arrest Laws

NCJ Number
157472
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (October 1995) Pages: 430-442
Author(s)
S I Mignon; W M Holmes
Date Published
1995
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This research examined how police officers responded to mandatory arrest statutes in Massachusetts.
Abstract
A stratified random sample of 24 police departments across Massachusetts constituted the study. Reports on domestic violence cases were provided by the individual police agencies over a 3- month period from December 1991 through February 1992. Officers who intervened in the domestic disputes completed a one-page questionnaire. A total of 861 domestic violence cases were reported during the time period. Follow-up, indepth interviews were conducted with police leadership in five departments and with staff of four women's shelters. The study was conducted within months of the implementation of the new mandatory arrest statute for violation of a restraining order. The implementation of a mandatory arrest law significantly increased arrests of offenders, especially those in violation of a restraining order. Factors that fostered arrest were injury to the victim, use of a weapon, use of alcohol, and the presence of a witness. Police training was crucial to the implementation of the mandatory arrest statute. More needs to be known about the effects of training on police attitudes and behavior in domestic violence interventions. 32 references and 4 tables