Abstract
This study considers the factors contributing to a range of police actions in domestic violence cases: doing nothing, mediating the couple, providing transportation to the victim, forcing the batterer to leave, and arresting the batterer. Shelter intake interviews administered to 3,208 battered women who contacted the police prior to seeking shelter are used as the data base. The batterers' antisocial conduct (e.g., other arrests, alcohol abuse, and general violence) appears to be most influential in determining the police action, according to a series of discriminant functions using a variety of background and abuse variables. The findings support the notion that police are more likely to respond to the antisocial behavior, that is, to “handle” the immediate situation, than attend to the wife abuse.
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