NCJ Number
90226
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Certain domestic assaults, particularly assaults on separated wives and lovers by their former partners, should be prosecuted on indictment before higher courts so as to make a public statement that the community considers these offenses to be serious.
Abstract
The unwillingness of the police to do anything more than try to calm the situation in cases of domestic violence is a reflection of the community's preference for dealing with domestic conflict by means other than criminal processing; however, there is growing awareness that domestic violence is widespread and that approaches currently used to deal with the problem are ineffective. Since the police will generally be the first public agency called to intervene, they should be given some policy direction regarding the approaches to adopt. A particular problem is assaults on separated wives and former lovers by their husbands and previous partners. Generally, such assaults are treated as domestic matters that do not receive traditional criminal processing and sanctions. Unless someone has been severely injured, the police view their role as that of calming the situation, and the courts tend to seek conciliation between the parties and an injunction from the family courts. There is widespread dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of these injunctions. As general policy, the police should treat all assaults and violence between separated couples as nondomestic and as akin to assaults upon a stranger, often involving trespass upon private property and willful property damage. Certain of these cases should be prosecuted on indictment before the higher courts so as to give publicity to the problem and cultivate public sentiment for more severe sanctions and more effective protective action for victims, many of whom have been repeatedly assaulted by their separated spouses. Seventeen footnotes are provided.