FROM AN EXAMINATION OF AN INCREASE IN THE REPORTED CRIMES OF VIOLENCE IN ENGLAND, WALES, AND SCOTLAND IN COMPARISON WITH THE SIMULTANEOUS INCREASE OF VIOLENCE IN FAMILIES IN THESE COUNTRIES OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS, IT IS THEORIZED THAT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IS AN INCREASING RESPONSE TO CONFLICT AND STRESS IN PERSONAL AND GROUP INTERACTIONS. UNTIL RECENTLY, HOWEVER, FAMILY VIOLENCE HAS BEEN HIDDEN FROM POLICE STATISTICS BECAUSE OF THE RELUCTANCE OF FAMILY MEMBERS TO REPORT 'FAMILY PROBLEMS' TO POLICE AND THE DISPOSITION OF THE POLICE NOT TO INTERVENE IN FAMILY DISPUTES. DATA ARE REPORTED FROM AN ENGLISH SURVEY OF SOME 15,000 CASES OF VIOLENCE KNOWN TO THE POLICE, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO CRIMES OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED WITHIN THE FAMILY. IT WAS FOUND THAT APPROXIMATELY 15 PERCENT OF ALL INDICTABLE CRIMES OF VIOLENCE WERE COMMITTED WITHIN THE FAMILY. ALMOST THREE-QUARTERS OF THE VICTIMS WERE FEMALES, AND ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF THE CASES INVOLVED DISPUTES BETWEEN SPOUSES OR COHABITEES. THE MAJORITY OF THE CRIMES OCCURRED IN FAMILIES LOCATED IN SOCIOECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED AREAS. THE DEGREE OF INJURY TO THE VICTIM VARIED GREATLY FROM CASE TO CASE, WITH VICTIMS DYING IN 4 PERCENT OF THE CASES. PREVIOUS CRIMINAL RECORDS OF THE OFFENDERS APPARENTLY HAD LITTLE BEARING UPON THEIR PRONENESS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. A SCOTTISH SURVEY IN THE GREATER GLASGOW AREA CONSIDERED CRIMES OF VIOLENCE KNOWN TO THE POLICE IN 1972. THERE WERE 190 INCIDENTS INVOLVING MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY. THE PATTERNS OF VIOLENCE REVEALED IN THIS SURVEY ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND IN THE ENGLISH STUDY, EXCEPT THAT DRINKING WAS A MORE FREQUENT CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO FAMILY VIOLENCE IN SCOTLAND THAN IN ENGLAND OR WALES. IN THE ENGLAND AND WALES SAMPLE, ONLY 2 IN 3 FAMILY INCIDENTS RESULTED IN A CONVICTION, AND IN THE SCOTTISH SAMPLE, 109 OF THE 190 WERE CONVICTED OF AN OFFENSE CLASSIFIED AS A CRIME OF VIOLENCE. IN SCOTLAND, IMPRISONMENT IS MORE FREQUENTLY IMPOSED ON THOSE CONVICTED OF FAMILY VIOLENCE THAN IN ENGLAND AND WALES. DATA ON FAMILY VIOLENCE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE DISPOSITIONS ARE REPORTED FOR THE SAMPLES STUDIED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)