Mandatory arrest in domestic violence call-outs causes early death in victims

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2014-03-09 07:44

Article here. Excerpt:

'New research from a major 'randomised' arrest experiment 23 years ago finds that domestic violence victims whose partners were arrested on misdemeanor charges – mostly without causing injury – were 64% more likely to have died early, compared to victims whose partners were warned but not removed by police.

Among African-American victims, arrest increased early mortality by a staggering 98% – as opposed to white victims, whose mortality was increased from arrest by just 9%. The research also found that employed victims suffered the worst effects of their partners' arrests. Employed black victims with arrested partners suffered a death rate over four times higher than those whose partner received a warning at the scene. No such link was found in white victims.

The study's authors say that causes are currently unknown but such health impacts are consistent with chronic stress that could have been amplified by partner arrest. They call for a "robust review" of US and UK mandatory arrest policies in domestic violence cases.

"It remains to be seen whether democracies can accept these facts as they are, rather than as we might wish them to be," said Professor Lawrence Sherman from Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology, who authored the study with his colleague Heather M. Harris from University of Maryland.'

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Comments

So, there's an argument. Maybe no one ever touches anyone else. Maybe there is "mild battery" or even just an implicit threat of violence (well, from the other person's standpoint) due to some destructive action taken (throwing something, etc.). Those are not good things to have happen in an argument. [Perhaps the single most important relationship skill is knowing how to argue constructively. It can be a very hard thing to do in the heat of the moment, even for those with explicit training in debate or making cases or points as dispassionately as possible. But it's a critical "life skill".] But the neighbor calls the police, or one of the arguers (probably the female) does. The police show up and *have* to make an arrest. Without a witness to say one way or another, of course the mandatory arrest guidelines point the police to arrest the man. (Assuming here, it's a heterosexual relationship; two men or two women, that may pose bit more of a challenge to the police. But one way or another, someone's got to get a ride in a squad car that night.)

The man posts bail or is held for however long it takes to get him arraigned and released. He needs to get a lawyer. He has had time to think. Especially if mrs. called the police and he hadn't laid a hand on her, he now realizes that even if he is usually a "constructive arguer", he is still in a very bad position. His wife has called the cops on him. This is now part of his record (gee, he didn't have one before!). He now has to ask himself: "Can I risk staying with her? My reputation is on the line here, and it could get me fired, or affect my ability to get a job, etc. Really, with her simply being able to pick up a phone and get the cops to come and take me away if I don't accede to what she wants in an argument or something else, do I dare stay with her?"

And the divorce rate just ticked up by that much more.

So maybe the formula is more like this: mandatory arrest --> divorce --> stress of divorce and fallout from it in life. And the later a divorce occurs in one's life (especially for women, for some reason), the less likely they are to re-marry and may have trouble even finding a steady romantic partner. For those who seem to really want or "need" to have that in their lives, the stress of not having it can lead to enough unhappiness that it affects their health adversely and maybe their longevity.

Another theory. They seem to be a dime a dozen though when it comes to such matters, but it's as good as any.

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Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2014-03-09 08:02