SAGE Journal Articles
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Article 1: Russell, M. & Light, L. (2006). Police and victim perspectives on empowerment of domestic violence victims. Police Quarterly, 9(4), 375-396.
Summary: This study examines both police and victim perspectives to determine which dimensions of police interventions impact victim empowerment in cases of domestic violence. Using data from interviews, the authors find that each group – police and victims- had three distinct dimensions of empowerment. Respondents also discuss ways in which police interventions can improve to promote victim empowerment.
Questions to Consider:
1. Is victim empowerment a good way to determine the efficacy of police interventions? Why or why not?
2. How might these results be generalizable to U.S. jurisdictions? How might they be different from results generated from an American study?
3. How can police interventions be improved to promote victim empowerment?
Article 2: Miller, S.L. (2001). The paradox of women arrested for domestic violence: Criminal justice professionals and service providers respond. Violence Against Women, 7(12), 1339-1376.
Summary: This article examines the phenomenon of increasing rates of females being arrested for domestic violence as part of incidents of dual arrest. Using data from interviews, the author analyzes responses from criminal justice professionals and service providers to determine if women are arrested due to offending or as a result of mandatory/pro-arrest laws.
Questions to Consider:
1. Explain how overly cautious police practices can be both beneficial and harmful to victims of domestic violence?
2. How can the percentage of female victims that call police for intervention be increased?
3. In what way(s) can the criminal justice system be changed to more appropriately address and respond to women as offenders in cases of dual arrest?
Article 3: Hirschel, D. & Hutchison, I.W. (2003). The voices of domestic violence victims: Predictors of victim preference for arrest and the relationship between preference for arrest and revictimization. Crime & Delinquency, 49(2), 313-336.
Summary: This article examines the desire of police intervention of female victims of domestic violence. The relationship between the desire for intervention and subsequent victimization and offender aggression is examined by using victim interviews. Results show that various characteristics are related to the desire for arrest, and that threats of abuse and abuse of the victims are associated with the desire for arrest.
Questions to Consider:
1. Should women have a choice in the decision to make an on-scene arrest in cases of domestic violence? Why or why not?
2. How might different, perhaps suburban and rural, areas evince different results from the present study? Would you expect the effects of demographic characteristics in the desire to arrest to change as a result of the jurisdiction in which the study is conducted?
3. What might explain the association between a victim’s desire for arrest and subsequent threats of abuse and abuse?