92 -1 Police and Law Enforcement—Family F'orensicsThe police response to domestic violence is regarded as a controversial and ever-
changing social problem. Traditional responses to such disputes have several distinct
characteristics. They include case screening, avoidance of intervention by police.
and bias against arrest. Research indicates that historically less than 10% of domestic
violence incidents were reported to the police (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1997). This sug-
gests that due to socioeconomic and racial factors only a small minority of incidents
were ever reported. Violence in middle to higher socioeconomic groups was often
communicated to medical or religious personnel. The research also suggests that
victims of domestic violence were often advised to contact social service entities
instead of expecting the assistance of police officers. One study found that in a sam-
ple of cases, over two-thirds of domestic violence incidents were "solved" without
the dispatch of officers (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1997). Because of the pervasive lack of
social concern, these practices were unofficially accepted.
Historically, in regard to police attitudes and perceptions of domestic vio-
lence, research consistently shows that most police officers, regardless of individ-
ual or departmental characteristics, strongly dislike responding to domestic vio-
lence calls (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1997). There are several reasons for this which
include organizational impediments, lack of training, police attitudes, and fear of"
injury.
Prior to the 1970s and 1980s almost all 50 states limited the police in. arresting
misdemeanor and domestic violence assaults. Police could only intervene with an
arrest if they directly witnessed the assault. This policy affected police officers'
perceptions regarding their role in domestic disputes. Many felt that their role was
merely peripheral. Without being able to make arrests, they were limited in their
abilities. In addition to organizational constraints, many officers have experienced
a lack of training in the areas of domestic violence and conflict mediation. This
further impedes their efforts to effectively combat the issue.
Traditionally, police departments denied the importance of their role in domes-
tic violence because of society's view, organizational and legislative constraints, as
well as a general lack of training and knowledge in the area; however, modern
policies have changed dramatically. The catalyst to such change involved pioneer
legislation in the state of Pennsylvania enacted in 1977. As a result, all 50 states,
including the District of Columbia, passed domestic violence reforms. Depend-
ing on the jurisdiction, arrests were encouraged or even mandated by legislation.
New statutory-specific domestic violence offenses have been incorporated into the
criminal code. In contrast to traditional policing, punitive solutions are currently
being emphasized.
Today some jurisdictions have mandatory arrest laws in which both the victim
and the offender are taken into custody. Mandatory arrest laws have been studied
by Mignon and Holmes (1995). Their research indicates that police officers were
much more likely to arrest offenders when mandatory arrest laws were in place,
particularly in cases of violation of restraining orders. In addition, it was discovered
that two-thirds of offenders were not arrested and that physical assaults provided the