The Impact of Primary Aggressor Laws on Single Versus Dual Arrest in Incidents of Intimate Partner Violence

• NCJ Number: 252231
• Author(s): David Hirschel, Lindsay Deveau
• Date Published: January 2017
• Length: 22 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: Explaining the Prevalence, Context, and Consequences

Annotation

In order to assess the impact of primary-aggressor laws on the likelihood of both single and dual arrest, this study examined 3,078 incidents of intimate partner violence reported to the police in 25 jurisdictions in four states.

Abstract

The study found that although dual arrests were just over twice as likely in a state without a primary-arrest statute, an arrest was nearly one-third less likely in a state with such a statute. The policy implications of this finding are discussed. (Publisher abstract modified)