Situational Ambiguity and Gendered Patterns of Arrest for Intimate Partner Violence

• NCJ Number: 239190
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2012 Pages: 64-84
• Author(s): Alesha Durfee
• Date Published: January 2012
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis focuses on the impacts that domestic violence mandatory arrest policies have on arrest outcomes in "situationally ambiguous" cases: cases where both the female and male partners have been identified by police as both a victim and an offender.

Abstract

Using data from the 2005 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this analysis focuses on the impacts that domestic violence mandatory arrest policies have on arrest outcomes in "situationally ambiguous" cases: cases where both the female and male partners have been identified by police as both a victim and an offender. Results indicate that although officers arrest male partners more frequently than female partners, after controlling for incident and individual factors, mandatory arrest policies disproportionately affect women. Furthermore, correlates of arrest differ for male-only arrests versus female-only arrests. These findings are discussed in the context of changing legal responses to domestic violence. (Published Abstract)