Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Arresting developments: trends in female arrests for domestic violence and proposed explanations
Other Titles:	Violence against women
Authors:	Binsbacher, Ruddyard DeLeon-Granados, William Wells, William
Keywords:	Statistics;Theories of violence;Policy;Policing;Perpetrators;Criminal justice responses
Year:	2006
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	12 (4), April 2006
Notes:	This US article discusses the increase in female arrests for domestic violence despite criminal justice policies aimed at increasing victim safety. It refers to the possibility that the system confuses victim and offender, thereby undermining the very intent of domestic violence policy. Evidence is presented on the rate at which women were arrested for felony domestic violence, as well as proposed hypotheses that may provide an understanding of the observed trends. A descriptive analysis is provided of felony domestic violence arrests in California between 1987 and 2000. Several explanations are posed for the observed trends, paying specific attention to the policy climate of policing. Arrest rates and arrest ratios were calculated to compare relative changes in arrest among men and women. Aggregate felony domestic violence arrest rates more than doubled from 1987 to 1997 in California and then declined 23% from 1997 to 2000. Disaggregating by gender revealed that arrests of men and women exhibited differential growth rates. Female arrest rates for domestic violence increased more than 500%, from 13.70 to 74.80 per 100,000 adult women, while male rates increased 136%, from approximately 247 to 338 per 100,000 adult men. Women composed 5% of all domestic violence arrests in 1987 and 18% of all such arrests in 2000. Potential explanations for this development were explored by using existing theory and research. Two explanations were posed. The first referred to the behaviour of the population: (a) women are engaging in more violence against their intimate partners; (b) men are engaging in less violence against their intimate partners; and (c) male batterers are able to manipulate the system to their advantage and further victimise their partners. The second explanation was system-based: (d) the system has become more egalitarian in that the criminal justice system was reluctant to take action against women in the past and now is more fair in the use of discretion; (e) the observed rate increases indicate enhanced sensitivity and an overall net-widening effect; and (f) the criminal justice system is limited in its ability to adequately identify, respond to, and reduce this type of social problem primarily through police practice. The explanations are explored further in the article, but no definitive reasons were given to explain why arrests of women have increased under policies designed to increase batterer accountability. The available evidence highlighted the need to engage in a process of systematically gathering and analysing data on the unintended outcomes, negative and positive, of criminal justice domestic violence policies.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13454
ISSN:	1077-8012
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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