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Dual Arrest Research Paper

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Dual arrest occurs when both parties involved in a domestic violence altercation are arrested. With the enactment of mandatory or preferred arrest laws, a disproportionate increase in the arrests of females, either individually or as part of a dual arrest, occurred (Hirschel, Buzawa, Pattavina, and Faggiani 2008). In the years prior to the enactment of mandatory arrest laws, arrest data collected revealed a 7% to 15% arrest rate while current research studies revealed a 30% or greater arrest rate (Hirschel et. al. 2008). Among the statistics released, the percentage of the dually arrested vary across states and jurisdictions revealing a low of 4.9% to a high of 33% or greater (Hirschel et. al. 2008). To fully comprehend the wide variances, …show more content…

The feminist movement and women’s advocacy groups identified domestic violence as a serious issue and demanded for a change in the police response (Feder and Henning 2005). In conjunction with the release of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment’s research findings that arrest deterred future acts of violence and aided in lowering recidivism rates, many states enacted the new police policies to facilitate the arrest of domestic violence perpetrators. Previously, officers assessed the scene and interviewed the parties then decided the best course of action based on the facts collected. Historically, police officers used discretion in “street-level decision making ranging from decisions on whom to stop, when to write a ticket, and when to follow agency policy” (Phillips and Sobol 2010:100). Yet, some research has suggested that the enactment of mandatory arrest laws “require a specific action, eliminating an officer’s discretion to ignore, stretch, or only provisionally apply criminal law” (Phillips and Sobol 2010:100). The dichotomy of such laws eliminated officer discretion thus leading to the increase of arrests of victims and perpetrators alike. Hirschel et. al. (2008) found that the existence of mandatory arrest laws produced higher arrest rates across all three relationship categories of intimate …show more content…

Hirschel and Buzawa (2012) indicate that 34 states have primary aggressor laws giving officers further latitude to identify the perpetrator in domestic violence incidents thereby limiting the arrest of the victim. In determining the primary aggressor, there are four factors that officers use. The four factors that Rajah, Frye, and Haviland (2006) identified are: (1) whether either party is threatening or has threatened future harm toward household members; (2) comparative injuries; (3) prior history of domestic violence if determinable; (4) whether either party acted defensively to protect himself/herself. Despite these indicators, research conducted by Hirschel and Buzawa (2012) indicates that these factors are not uniform throughout those states with primary aggressor determinates contained in their statutes rather, wide latitude is given to the officer and dual arrests still occurred despite the changes. Still, research conducted in New York state where both mandatory arrest laws and primary aggressor determinates are enacted, Rajah et. al. (2006) found that many officer chose not to arrest the perpetrator in certain circumstances thus leaving victims unprotected and therefore chose to not report the violence in future occurrences. To ensure proper application of primary aggressor determinations, officers need specialized training in

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