This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stalans, L. J. Articles by Finn, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Public’s and Police Officers’ Interpretation and Handling of Domestic Violence Cases

Divergent Realities

Loyola University Chicago, lstalan{at}luc.edu

Mary A. Finn

Georgia State University

The public’s and police officers’interpretation and handling of realistic hypothetical domestic violence cases and their stereotypic views about domestic violence are discussed. A sample of 131 experienced officers, 127 novice officers, and 157 adult laypersons were randomly assigned to read a domestic violence case. Experienced officers were more likely to arrest only the husband than were laypersons or rookie officers even when respondents inferred that the husband was primarily responsible or had used violence before. Experienced officers considered their stereotypic beliefs about battered women’s propensity to use self-defense in arriving at their arrest decision whereas laypersons and rookie officers did not. These findings indicate that the public and police officers have not adopted the feminists’ message that arrest is the best response to handle all domestic violence cases. Policy implications are discussed.

Key Words: public opinion • domestic violence • police decision making • arrest decisions

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?