IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT PERCEPTION IN THE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY THE PRIMARY AGGRESSOR IN A FAMILY VIOLENCE DISPUTE BY GENDER, RACE, AND RANK?

Abstract

When law enforcement responds to a family violence incident, it is not always clear who the primary aggressor was at the incident and it typically ends up being a “he said, she said” incident. The purpose of this study is to understand factors associated with determining the primary aggressor when responding to family violence. The introduction is covered in chapter one and it describes the issues that law enforcement officers have when they respond to a family violence call and if law enforcement responses to the questions being analyzed vary based on gender, race, and rank. Chapter two offers a literature review. The literature review is an overview and analysis of law enforcement perceptions of family violence victims, mandatory arrest policies and factors that influence likelihood of arrest and dual arrests. Chapter three covers the research methods for this project and includes several sections: research design, setting and participants, measures, activities, and data analysis techniques. Chapter four identifies the results of the study. Within the results chapter, figures and tables are provided that help identify the results of the study. Chapter five covers the discussion and goes into further detail about the results of the study.