A Note on Police Response to the Female Complainant

Police treatment of domestic violence has generated considerable debate between feminists and the police. Feminists attribute the low arrest rate in domestic assaults to sexist attitudes about the marriage relationship and the credibility of female complainants. Conversely, police explain failure to arrest by noting that criminal law precludes warrantless misdemeanor arrests (the most frequent type of assault) uless the crime was committed in an officer's presence. This research analyzes police treatment of domestic assaults. It is based on an examination of police reports from three jurisdictions. Additionally, survey data on police perceptions of female complainants in domestic assaults and the effect of such perceptions on self-reported police treatment of these assaults is also presented. The results indicate a discrepancy between the actually handling of reported domestic assaults and the respondents' verbal reconstructions of their behavior in such cases. The data demonstrate partial support for the contentions of both groups.