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Is A Nuclear Weapon Really Needed in a Domestic Argument?
Think before using 911 for a domestic violence call
by Charles E. Corry, Ph.D., F.G.S.A.
The 911 emergency telephone service is a lifeline and should be
used in that fashion. Unfortunately, but certainly understandable
from a human perspective, it is used as well for everything from
a missing dog to a cat up a tree, as well as in domestic
arguments.
A woman in a domestic situation should think, however unlikely it
is she is going to do that in the heat of an argument, whether
she needs a nuclear attack to stop her partner, or whether she
should just walk away for awhile until things cool off.
In an intimate relationship, dialing 911 is the equivalent of a
nuclear attack. It may be needed but the same safeguards we use
to prevent an accidental missile launch should be considered
before the 911 call is made.
Once launched, there is no going back under current law. A simple
phone call can lead to a lifetime of regret, misery for the
children, and extreme financial hardship. And, as in any nuclear
attack, the level of violence may well increase. Like a missile
launch, police response isn't instantaneous, but they cannot be
recalled. It will take the police anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes,
or longer, to respond. If real, immediate danger exists from
one's partner, it is probably better for a person to leave if
they can.
If a police response is necessary, it is certainly safer to call
them at a distance from the danger. No rational person would step
inside a burning building to call 911 about a fire. However, if a
person can't get out, then there is the consideration of whether
calling 911 will further enrage the partner and result in greater
danger before the police can arrive. The current laws requiring
mandatory arrest and "no drop" have been found to increase the
level of violence in three out of seven cities studied.
The problem is that people don't behave rationally when dealing
with an intimate partner,. particularly if there is a history of
abuse in the relationship. However, if there is such a history of
abuse, a person can plan a response to the next occurrence. It is
likely that calling 911 isn't the best solution a person can come
up with to deal with intimate partner violence and abuse.
In a November 12, 2000, editorial in the Denver Post, Ms. Billie
Stanton examined the "mandatory arrest" policy that has been in
effect in Denver since 1984. She found that most domestic
violence calls do not result in an arrest because police don't
find probable cause of a crime when they arrive. Ms. Stanton
states that Denver police got 16,080 domestic violence calls from
October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000, but made only 4,619
arrests in those cases. She claims the same has held true in
other jurisdictions in Colorado in spite of the state law. Thus,
when police are called there is only about a 30% chance that an
arrest will be made even under the current draconian laws.
There are many possible explanations for such a low arrest rate
but a lifeline isn't any good if all the lifebuoys have already
been thrown over the side. Though a woman is hardly likely to be
prosecuted for false reporting, making an unjustified nuclear
attack on one's partner is very likely to end the relationship,
and it isn't likely the termination is going to be amicable.
Use 911 if you really need it, but the odds are that by placing
the call to 911, it isn't going to solve your immediate problem,
and it may well make the situation worse. As with a nuclear
attack, it is Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) in most cases.
What happens if the police do make an arrest? Based on FY
1997-1998 figures, 12,166 domestic violence cases were filed in
Colorado state courts as a class 6 felony or lower. About 4,331
people were convicted, or 36% of those charged. It is estimated
that the very large majority of those convicted pled guilty or no
contest. Thus, an individual has a very substantial chance of
winning if they take their case to trial. If a person obtains
competent counsel, and the facts support their case, it is
estimated that an individual has a better than 90% chance of
acquittal in a jury trial on charges involving domestic violence.
Using the figures above, for 1997-1998 there were approximately
40,000 calls to 911 in Colorado concerning domestic violence. In
response to these calls ~12,000 arrests were made, and ~4,300
people, mostly men, were convicted. There is thus about a 10%
chance a call to 911 will result in a domestic violence
conviction. If the person arrested can afford competent counsel,
and takes the case to a jury, the odds of conviction after a 911
call are probably less than 1%.
Conversely, it is estimated that 80% to 90% of the time a call to
911 leads to a breakup of the relationship, though it may be as
low as only half the time, and the breakup may not occur
immediately after the first call. As a result of these calls we
estimate that between 32,000 and 36,000 intimate relationships
ended in that year, resulting in broken homes, acrimony,
heartbroken men, women and, especially, children as a result of
what may have been a reflexive moment of anger or panic.
Lawyers, courts, and domestic violence and divorce industries
thrive in these circumstances, but the individuals involved are
destroyed. Mutually assured destruction is no saner in an
intimate relationship than between nations. Is a nuclear weapon
really what is needed in a domestic argument?
Think before you use 911 for a domestic violence call!
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