RESPONDING TO CRIMES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - GENDER DIFFERENCES VERSUS ORGANIZATIONAL IMPERATIVES

Whether the police response to domestic assault differs from how they handle incidents involving strangers continues to be a topic of debate and research. Based on a 1-year sample of cases from a midwestern cit y, the hypothesis that an inverse relationship characterized the assoc iation between level of intimacy and arrest was tested. Notwithstandin g relevant elements of probable cause such as the presence of weapons, witnesses, injury, and the offender the results confirmed the hypothe sis.