From these data the following conclusions were drawn. First, in general, police agencies in urban and rural areas displayed a tendency not to take any action in domestic dispute incidents. Second, in incidents in which criminal complaints were not initiated there was a tendency for police in all areas not to take any action. Third, when the police jurisdictions' populations were similar, there was a difference between their dispositions of domestic disputes in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Fourth, domestic disputes reported to police agencies in urban, suburban, and rural areas produced a tendency not to result in criminal complaints. Fifth, the traditional police response to family violence, i.e., referring the disputants to other agencies in lieu of arresting the offenders, has been inappropriate. Thus, police policies and practices for intervention in disputes must change before family violence victims receive the protection they have the right to expect from the one contemporary public service agency with the authority and capability to protect them, i.e., the police. 29 references, 3 tables. (Publisher abstract)