Spouse Assault Replication Program: Studies of Effects of Arrest on Domestic Violence

Spouse Assault Replication Program:

• Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice.
• Attempts to replicate the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (Sherman and Berk, 1984).

Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment:

• Employed randomization to compare the effectiveness of different police responses to domestic violence.
• Findings: arrest was almost twice as effective as other police actions in reducing recidivism.

Replication studies:

• Done in Omaha, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Metro-Dade (Florida), Colorado Springs, and Atlanta from 1985 to 1990.
• All dealt with cases in which there was probable cause for a misdemeanor arrest.
• Studies varied somewhat in police responses used and in consequences of arrest.

Results:

• Some studies showed an initial deterrent effect of arrest, but it often faded by the end of one year.
• Omaha, Charlotte, and Milwaukee: arrest was not more effective than other options in reducing recidivism by abusers.
• Metro-Dade and Colorado Springs: arrest had deterrent effects according to victim data but not according to official recidivism data.
• Omaha: issuing a warrant when the offender was absent was a deterrent.
• Some of the studies indicate that arrest was a deterrent only for offenders who were employed.

Criticisms of the studies:

• Some of the studies do not explicitly take into account the context in which arrest takes place.
• Studies were clearly not focused on coordinated criminal justice responses to domestic violence.
• Fail to consider moral issues and message that arrest gives to everyone involved, including children.

Overall summary:

• No police intervention has consistently been shown to be more effective than arrest.