Mandatory Arrest for Domestic Violence Research Paper

Mandatory Arrest for Domestic Violence - Research Paper Example 644). Hoctor (p. 644) discusses that by the time officers respond to domestic violence calls, they often end up being mediators in the dispute. Such mediation can take on various approaches, including reconciliation attempts by officers for the parties involved or the use of formal resolution programs. Mediating the domestic violence did not assist in resolving these issues; moreover, these incidents have often escalated to more incidents of violence and even deaths. Moreover, these incidents often disturbed the neighborhood peace and violent outbreaks often ended up involving other parties (like neighbors or bystanders attempting to break up the fight). Because of the escalation of these incidents, as well as the public disturbance that these incidents often caused, some territories have implemented mandatory arrests for incidents of domestic violence. ... It shall discuss research evidence in its application; and it shall also present a critical discussion of the merits and the demerits of the program. The suggested policy is based on the guidelines set forth by the Wisconsin Coalition against Domestic Violence. In any case, the suspect must be atleast 17 years of age having a relationship with the victim described as: spouse, former spouse, adult with whom a child was created, and adult with whom the suspect resides or has formerly resided with. The following acts are all grounds for mandatory arrest: intentional infliction of physical pain, physical injury or illness; intentional impairment of physical condition; sexual assault, physical act that may cause a person to fear imminent engagement of the above acts (Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, p. 1). The arresting officer may also find reasonable grounds to believe that the person committing the act is or has committed domestic abuse; that the person’s actions c onstitute a crime; the officer believes that continued domestic abuse is likely; there is evidence of physical injury on the victim; and the suspect is the main aggressor (Wisconsin Coalition against Domestic Violence, p. 2). This mandatory arrest policy can also apply if the violence is reported to the law enforcement authorities within 28 days from the time the abuse occurred. In this policy, the law enforcement officer must arrest the suspect if he has reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect is committing or has already committed domestic abuse and his actions are considered crimes (Wisconsin Coalition against Domestic Violence, p. 2). The predominant aggressor in this case is the first and the most