Few patrol officers have the training to know how to respond properly to calls involving spouse abuse, although they must frequently respond to such calls. For many years, police responses to these calls have varied widely and have emphasized crisis intervention and reconciliation of the parties. Women's rights groups have criticized officers' refusals to make arrests in these situations and have also instituted class action lawsuits charging negligence and the violation of the victims' civil rights. A 1979 report from the Police Executive Research Forum concluded that law enforcement agencies should revise their policies and operational procedures for these calls. The report recommended that agencies' policy statements cover the proper use of law enforcement actions against the assailant, the attention and protective services for the victim, the use and enforcement of civil remedies, the use of civilian social service aides, and the relationships with social service agencies and battered women's groups. The Chicago Police Department has specified that arrests be made if any of the following factors are present: serious conflict, use of weapons, previous injury or damage, previous court appearance, previous attempt to sever the relationship, second call to the police, and involvement of children or mentally deficient or intoxicated parties. In many jurisdictions, officers may use misdemeanor citations or other actions if they choose not to arrest an assailant. Such approaches constitute effective and humane law enforcement approaches to the problem. Thirteen reference notes are provided.