This study examines how the availability of suspects at the scenes of domestic violence incidents influences arrest decisions and the case characteristics predictive of those decisions. It also tests the relative efficacy of rational systems and social structural decision-making models in explaining arrest decisions. Data were collected from domestic incident reports in three cities in upstate New York. The research indicates that case characteristics related to offense seriousness were more explanative of arrest decisions when the suspect was present at the scene. The absence of the suspect significantly reduced the probability of an arrest and attenuated the relationship between traditional measures of offense seriousness and the arrest decision.
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