Domestic Violence: Let’s Not Back Away From Reform

More than a decade ago, Los Angeles city officials determined that something had to be done to improve police responses and the options that officers had in dealing with domestic violence cases. If a charge was to carry weight, officers generally had to witness the violence or the victim had to file a complaint. All too often, the police ended up taking no action at the scene, merely leaving in the hope that the two parties could somehow work things out peacefully.

Clearly, these constraints did not foster lasting resolution of domestic abuse cases. Victims (women in the vast majority of cases) often are too psychologically or physically traumatized to see the wisdom of filing charges against their tormentors. As a result, several states and localities, including the city of Los Angeles, enacted mandatory arrest laws for domestic violence.

Some officers argue that the laws have tied their hands. We disagree and maintain that the changes actually have given investigators more discretion and a greater range of options.

Mandatory arrests force action by local authorities and increase an investigating officer’s importance and discretion by allowing him or her to size up a situation and make an arrest without agreement from the victim and without being required to witness the violence.

Now, a new report says that more and more women are being arrested for domestic violence here in Los Angeles and around the country. The report, by the National Center on Women and Family Law, has added fuel to the long debate over whether mandatory arrest laws help or hurt female victims. We think too much is being made of these findings.

Police officers who oppose the mandatory arrest laws on the ground that their discretion has been stripped away contend they have to arrest someone even if it might be the wrong person. Sorry, we’re not buying it. Policing involves investigation. More emphasis must be placed on the kind of training that helps officers recognize the defensive wounds a woman might suffer in trying to protect herself, the kind of training that helps an officer determine the “primary aggressor.”

Yes, there have been cases in which men have faked injuries and used the laws to get women falsely arrested. But there will always be those who attempt to use laws for purposes never envisioned by legislators. That doesn’t mean the mandatory arrest laws should be thrown out. Besides, exactly what do the opponents and second-guessers want--a return to requiring the victim to file a complaint before official action can be taken in most cases?

Mandatory arrest laws were never meant to make the investigation of domestic abuse cases easy. Enforcement can be improved and tightened to prevent misuse, and that is exactly what should be done.