Even before domestic violence was studied, research on the police decision to arrest revealed the importance of the victim/offender relationship. Since then, domestic violence has attracted increased attention. More recent studies consistently find low rates of arrest when police respond to domestic assault, supporting the belief that police underenforce the laws against domestic violence. However, without comparison to nondomestic assault incidents, there can be no meaningful discussion on disparity. Accordingly, this study compared police handling of domestic and nondomestic assaults in one jurisdiction and found evidence that police are not responding less vigorously to domestic assault calls.
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