Domestic violence victims may be hurt by mandatory arrest laws

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/uoa-dvv032615.php

Public Release: 26-Mar-2015
University of Akron

"Just call the police, they have to do something," is sometimes the advice given to a woman who reveals that she is a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV), more commonly called domestic violence. The thinking behind the advice is a positive opinion that mandatory arrest -- a policy that was created in an effort to curb domestic violence -- is an effective way to stop the abuse. The law, active in 22 states including Ohio, says that police officers responding to a call for help would no longer need to determine whether one person was truly violent or out of control; every time someone reported abuse, the police would simply be required to make an arrest. But research suggests that the law may be intimidating victims from actually calling the police to report an instance of abuse.

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"A reason a woman may not report abuse because of mandatory arrest policies is that they fear retaliation by the abuser may be worse because an arrest is mandatory," comments Novisky. Another reason is that a woman may believe the police will mistakenly arrest her as the aggressor, so she won't report it. This reasoning supports the data that mandatory arrest policies result in higher arrest rates of battered women, which could deprive them of the support they need.

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