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Twenty Years of Mandatory Arrest: Police Decision Making in the Face of Legal Requirements

Buffalo State College

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: phillisw{at}buffalostate.edu.

	Abstract

More than 20 years ago, state legislation began moving toward a mandatory arrest approach for police officers who handle domestic violence. It is expected that officers have shifted from an "underenforcement" orientation toward proenforcement. To examine this hypothesis, this study integrated elements of New York State domestic violence legislation into vignettes. Officers from one large department in New York State completed surveys with multiple vignettes. More than 80% of the officers were likely or very likely to arrest in all vignettes. Arrest was more likely when there was a visible injury, when there was an order of protection, and when the suspect was disrespectful. The victim’s preference for no arrest is not significant in officers’ decision making. Policy implications and directions for additional research are discussed.

First published on August 11, 2008
Criminal Justice Policy Review 2008, doi:10.1177/0887403408322962


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