Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment

The results of the study, showing a deterrent effect for arrest, had a "virtually unprecedented impact in changing then-current police practices."[2] Subsequently, numerous states and law enforcement agencies enacted policies for mandatory arrest, without warrant, for domestic violence cases in which the responding police officer had probable cause that a crime had occurred.Domestic violence historically has been viewed as a private family matter that need not involve government or criminal justice intervention.[1] Statistics on incidence of domestic violence, published in the late 1970s, helped raise public awareness of the problem and increase activism.[9] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, feminists and battered women's advocacy groups were calling on police to take domestic violence more seriously and change intervention strategies.[10] In some instances, these groups took legal action against police departments, including in Oakland, California and New York City, to get them to make arrests in domestic violence cases."[19] Before the laws were put into effect, police officers were required to witness the abuse occurring first hand prior to making an arrest.This "mediation" consisted of a variety of approaches, including attempts by officers to convince the parties to reconcile immediately at the scene or to use formal alternative dispute resolution programs.Police Officers are trained to deduce who the primary aggressor is in a domestic violence dispute, leading to the arrest of the assailant and not the victim.The officer must also be able to identify the "predominant aggressor" [24] Research has consistently reported an increase in the use of arrest for domestic violence in the United States.[29] In addition, the Minneapolis Experiment did not measure whether being arrested increased the offenders' fear of future sanctions, a crucial element in deterrence theory.First, a meta-analysis of the published findings based on official police records from the Minneapolis and the SARP experiments reported a deterrent effect for arrest.
policedomestic violenceMinneapolis, MinnesotaLawrence W. ShermanPolice FoundationMinneapolis Police DepartmentNational Institute of Justicelaw enforcement agenciesarrestwarrantprobable causecriminal justicepolice in the United StatesmisdemeanorassaultNew York Cityclinical psychologistsactivismhomicidesfeministsOakland, CaliforniaNational Academy of Sciencessocial controldeterrencecalls for serviceoffenderre-offendingThe New York TimesNew York City Police DepartmentBenjamin Wardcohabitantssame-sexHoustonDallas Police DepartmentsU.S. Attorney GeneralDistrict of ColumbiaNew ZealandViolence Against Women ActlegislationwitnessCalifornia Law ReviewassailanttraumaJournal of Family ViolenceAlaskaWisconsinsame-sex relationshipsheterosexualintimateaggravated assaultcausal effectsrational decisionsOmaha, NebraskaCharlotte, North CarolinaMilwaukee, WisconsinMiami-Dade County, FloridaColorado Springs, ColoradoWayback MachineJournal of Aggression, Maltreatment & TraumaJournal of Quantitative CriminologyJournal of Criminal Law and CriminologyCriminologyJournal of Research in Crime and DelinquencyAmerican Sociological ReviewSherman, Lawrence W.Criminology & Public PolicyChiefsMedaria ArradondoTony BouzaBrian O'HaraDerek Chauvintrial protestsBob KrollJamal MitchellOfficer-involvedhomicidesFong LeeJamar ClarkJustine DamondGeorge FloydDolal IddLeneal FrazierAmir LockeList of incidents of civil unrest2021 Minneapolis Question 2Timeline of race relations and policing in Minneapolis–Saint Paul