In a given year, the average American is nearly as likely to be assaulted by a member of his or her family as by anyone else, and the risk is especially severe for women, children, and the elderly by virtue of their economic and emotional dependence on their abusers. Police officers are routinely called to intervene in family crises and directly witness physical, emotional, and economic abuse. The author specifically discusses child sexual abuse, spousal and elderly sexual abuse, physical abuse, financial abuse, neglect, emotional abuse and control, murder, the spread and perpetuation of family abuse, the background of family abusers, family abuse investigation and prosecution, signs of family abuse, and personal and government responses to family abuse. The author indicates that police officers need to understand the dynamics of domestic violence and that prosecutors and judges must do their part to coordinate the criminal justice system's response. At the same time, he states that the criminal justice system alone cannot prevent domestic violence and that ending domestic violence requires commitment from all sectors of the community. Notes