UNTITLED

    The aim of my research paper will be police discretion. I will explore the different stages of the criminal process that police exercise discretion. I will also discuss whether police use the right about of discretion or not and the limits to law enforcement.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Dawson and Dinovitzer address the role of victim cooperation in the prosecution of domestic violence cases in a specialized court in Toronto Canada. The results show that, even in a court designed to minimize reliance on victim cooperation through the use of other evidence, the odds that a case will be prosecuted are seven times higher than if a victim is not perceived to be cooperative. I agree that this is the case in most domestic violence situations.

In Missouri, steps are being taken to protect and provide services to domestic violence victims. These programs are more than just anger management; they focus on the offenders’ interpersonal relationship involving their significant others, family, children, and other household members. These programs really get to the heart of the problem. It is a great tool to teach nonviolence in domestic situations.

Susan Edwards speaks about the lack of accountability that the courts give in reforming violators of domestic violence. She claims that the problem lies not in the justice system but in the judicial intransigence to structural reforms ensuring accountability. This article is written to help woman to seek out prosecutions against their victims of domestic violence.

Humphries addresses some of the problems that haven arisen from the police policies advocating mandatory and presumptive arrests for domestic violence perpetrators. These are several other measures that policymakers could adopt that would result in reductions in domestic violence if implemented. I think that these will be good for the reduction of domestic violence.

This article is a study of the National Violence Against Women Survey to examine factors associated with criminal justice system involvement in incidents of male physical violence and stalking against women. The findings show that physical domestic violence and stalking are two unique crimes and should be considered separately in any analysis of factors affecting legal decisions and responses to domestic violence.

Originally, the criminal justice system condoned a man’s right in managing his home and family. Later, society began to view domestic violence as a private family problem, but not a matter serious enough for criminal court intervention. Eventually, the nation began to see how big of a problem it was getting to be and decided to crack down on domestic violence crimes.

Kenney writes about the research that was conducted on the issue of domestic violence. This research investigates how the problem of domestic violence has changed over the years of policing and the different steps that are needed to overcome this problem. It looks into the public policy process for changes as the problem progresses.

Feeney et al observe that arrests not resulting in convictions may nonetheless receive substantial punishment through reliance on alternative, less formal, means of imposing sanctions. Utilizing a sample of 1427 domestic violence cases supplemented by interviews with prosecutors, Kingsnorth analyzes this phenomenon. This is an interesting subject and thus far it seems to be true.

Lutze and Symons discuss how domestic violence policies that were created and implemented within gendered institutions become distorted in ways that undermine its effectiveness. A view on the three distinct periods of domestic violence policy is also presented. The criminal justice system has evolved from openly protecting abusive men against their wives to mobilizing the power of arrest to protect victims.

The problem of domestic violence is a problem that just recently come to the attention of the criminal justice system. Police have not used the intervention needed to reduce this problem. Due to this, new policies have been made to promise more satisfaction in such situations. The criminal justice system was in need of new policies to let violators know that they are serious about this issue.

Romary discusses lawyers’ failure to see the potential to recover civil damages in domestic abuse or assault cases. Plaintiff lawyers need to consider how the law can provide compensation for injuries caused by domestic abuse to both help clients and battle blight on society.
The evaluation of the Domestic Violence Coordinated Response Team pilot project revealed structural, procedural, and personnel difficulties that complicated the process of evaluating program efficacy. Whetstone and Tewksbury offer suggestions for avoiding difficulties, producing meaningful results, and improving the quality of future criminal justice program evaluations. The evaluations are an important tool in improving the justice system. Meaningful results could produce more satisfaction in the control of domestic violence crimes.

METHODOLOGY 

Table 1 presents descriptive statistics concerning crime reporting and type of police response, formal versus informal, for both physical assault and stalking incidents. The first three columns of Table 1 refer to physical assault victims. In more than half the incidents in which the police were contacted, the respondent had a household income above $35,000. In less than half the incidents, the respondent was female, was victimized by an intimate offender, a weapon was involved, and the victim was injured. Also, a threat was made in more than half the incidents in which the police were called and the offender was using drugs or alcohol in almost three-quarters of the episodes. The majority of the respondents who received a formal police response were white. More than half the members of this group had incomes over $35,000 and 46.5% said a weapon was involved. Approximately one-third was female, was victimized by an intimate offender, and was injured (39.2%). Just fewer than half the respondents who received an informal police response had household incomes exceeding $35,000, 53.7% were victimized by an intimate offender, and 57.5% reported a threat being made. Almost half the individuals receiving an informal response were females.

Table 2 displays the results for predicting police notification and type of police response for both physical assault and stalking incidents. Looking at the first column, the model for calling the police in physical assault incidents is significant. In other words, these variables provide a significant fit to the data. Physical assaults are more likely to be reported to the police if the victim is female and if the offender makes threats. Police are less likely to be contacted if the offender is an intimate partner or if the victim was using drugs and/or alcohol. It may be that victims who used drugs or alcohol think they are more to blame for the incident, that the police would be less willing to help them, or fear the police will arrest them because of their illegal behavior.

The second and third models in Table 2 examine the police response, formal vs. informal, to reported incidents. The model in the second column excludes the victim-offender relationship and the model in the third column eliminates respondent gender. The values indicate that both models provide significant fits. In both models, incidents involving older victims have a greater propensity to generate a formal law enforcement response. Additionally, a formal response has greater odds of occurring when the victim had used drug and/or alcohol Finally, the first model shows that incidents involving female victims have a lower odds of acquiring an official police response, while the last model for physical assault shows that a formal police response is more likely to occur when the victim does not know the offender.

Reference Page

Dawson, M., Dinovitzer, R. (Sep 2001). Victim cooperation and the prosecution of
domestic violence in a specialized court. Justice Quarterly : Jq 18 (3), p. 593-
622 (30 pp.). Highland Heights Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice
Periodicals database. (Accession no.:80417494).


Duffy, M., Nolan, A., Scruggs, D. (April 2003). Addressing issues of domestic violence
through community supervision of offenders. Corrections Today 65 (1) p. 60-65
(5 pp.). Columbus Retrieved October 4, 2003, from Criminal Justice Periodicals
database. (Accession no.:287573931).


Edwards, S. (Autumn 2000). Battered Women in the Courtroom: The Power of Judicial
Responses The British Journal of Criminology 40 (4), p. 761-764 (3 pp.) London
Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice Periodicals database.
(Accession no.:64912053).


Humphries, J. (Nov 2002). No easy answers: Public policy, criminal justice, and
domestic violence Criminology & Public Policy 2 (1), p. 91-96 (5 pp.).
Columbus Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice Periodicals
database. (Accession no.:275450481).


Jasinski, J., Mustaine, E. (Fall 2001). Police response to physical assault and stalking
victimization: A comparison of influential factors American Journal of Criminal
Justice : Ajcj 26 (1), p. 23-41 (19 pp.). Louisville Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,
from Criminal Justice Periodicals database. (Accession no.:115172140).


Johnson, R. (Apr 2002). Changing attitudes about domestic violence Law & Order 50
(4), p. 60-65 (5 pp.). Wilmette Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice
Periodicals database. (Accession no.:120959596).


Kenney, D. J. (Nov 2002). Research and the public policy process Criminology & Public
Policy 2 (1), (6 pp.). Columbus Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice
Periodicals database. (Accession no.:275450341).


Kingsnorth, R., MacIntosh, R., Sutherland, S. (Aug 2002). Criminal charge of probation
violation? Prosecutorial discretion and implication for research in criminal court
processing Criminology 40 (3), p. 553-577 (25 pp.). Beverly Hills Retrieved
October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice Periodicals database. (Accession no.:
158379941).


Lutze, F., Symons, M. (Feb 2003). Addressing issues of domestic violence policy through
masculine institutions: From discipline to protection to collaborative
empowerment Criminology & Public Policy 2 (2), p. 319-328 Columbus
Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice Periodicals database.
(Accession no.:330793191).


Margaret, M. (1997). Policy promise: community policing and domestic violence victim
satisfaction Policing 20 (3), p. 519 Bradford Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from
Criminal Justice Periodicals database. (Accession no.:86062508).


Romary, P. (Aug 2003). Recovery for domestic abuse Trial 39 (8), p. 30 Washington
Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice Periodicals database.
(Accession no.:405876811).


Whetstone, T., Tewksbury, R. (Jun 2000). Desperately seeking significance: Problems
and difficulties associated with evaluating the efficacy of domestic violence
response programs Social Pathology 6 (2), p. 102-120 (19 pp.). Albany
Retrieved October 4, 2003 ,from Criminal Justice Periodicals database.
(Accession no.:64912053).