Domestic violence has always been an ongoing issue in human society. Relationships within family units are complex, and people might have numerous motivations for using physical power to affect their family members. This problem was disregarded for years and even centuries; however, due to the unique features of modern society and the significant societal shift towards humanism, tolerance, and equality, increased attention has been paid to domestic abuse in recent years. At the moment, the civilized world condemns domestic violence and has introduced different measures to protect people from this remnant of the past. As one of the main powers that protect the lives and wellbeing of citizens, the police are expected to play the main role in this process.
In addition to domestic abuse, the issues that police face are complex, as there are also non-crime calls that require police attention. In fact, these calls could be important and help improve the police’s functioning. The crime prophylactic model states that such calls might help prevent crime and defuse violent situations; the police knowledge model states that non-crime calls improve cooperation with the community and help police officers solve crimes; the social work model proclaims a latent power that prevents lawbreakers from committing a crime; and the community cooperation model suggests that these calls help establish better relations with the community (Walker and Katz 241).
Nevertheless, when investigating the problem of domestic violence, it is crucial to admit that the problem is complex. The close relationship that exists between the victim and the perpetrator is one of the main causes for the increased complexity of this issue. According to the latest statistics, only 28% of people facing domestic violence report it to the police (Walker and Katz 245). Besides, the approaches to this problem vary in various departments across the United States and may include arrest, mediation, separation, referral to social services, or even no action at all (Walker and Katz 244). For this reason, the need for a unified approach became obvious, and mandatory arrest was suggested as this approach.
Mandatory arrest vests a police officer with the authority to arrest a person any time that abuse is reported, without determining whether the person is really guilty or not. The emergence of the mandatory arrest policy coincided with a rise in the movement against domestic violence and was expected to deter it. However, there is still no clear data that either proves or refutes the positive impact of the mandatory arrest on misdemeanor domestic violence. The Minneapolis domestic violence experiment conducted in 1981-1982 showed positive shifts in statistics related to domestic abuse and stated that the adherence to mandatory arrest contributed to an improvement in the situation and a decrease in the number of repeat offenses (Walker and Katz 246). However, the results of this experiment have come into question recently as investigators are confident that it was conducted in an inappropriate way. At the moment, the impact of mandatory arrest remains unclear. First of all, it might discourage people who just want a police officer to calm the situation and suppress the development of violent conflict. Additionally, there are numerous facts that state that people who go through mandatory arrest often become even angrier and may further injure family members (Craig). Finally, adherence to a mandatory arrest might also have a negative impact on people’s desire or willingness to call the police due to the fear of being arrested.
To maintain peace, police officers might need help from different members of the community, including streetwalkers and call girls, who could also help police accomplish this task. Streetwalkers work in the street and know a great deal about the local community, making them good sources of important information about crimes. Call girls, on the other hand, are called by phone and may be able to provide vital data about the dangerous inclinations of a certain individual. For this reason, their help might be very useful.
Works Cited
Craig, Lisa. “Mandatory Arrest Laws May Hurt Domestic Violence Victims.” uakron.edu, Web.
Walker, Samuel and Charles Katz. The Police in America. An Introduction. McGraw-Hill Education, 2012.