Ten years later, President Bill Clinton signed a major federal crime bill that included the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This law specifically provided millions of dollars in grants to states that passed pro-arrest or mandatory detention laws. In light of these important events, mandatory detention has become an increasingly popular alternative in the mission of deterring domestic violence. As mentioned above, the police must make an arrest if there is a probable reason for domestic violence. You cannot be charged with domestic violence just because you assaulted another person. Offences under the Domestic Violence Act have a very limited scope. The first thing the police need to determine is whether the alleged victim was a member of your family or household. A victim of family violence can only be a spouse, ex-spouse, a person with whom you share a child, a person with whom you share a blood relationship, or a current or former intimate partner. If you don`t have any of these relationships with the alleged victim, it can`t be domestic violence. The policy of forced detention also takes into account the rights of the accused. Unless the law states that there must be probable grounds for the arrest, such as evidence of injury or testimony, law enforcement must apprehend the alleged attacker regardless of any factor. The possibility of abuse of this type of law can be enormous, as even a neighbor misinterpreting sounds heard through a wall can result in mandatory arrest.
Because domestic violence charges can cause significant damage to personal and professional reputation, critics argue that safeguards must be put in place to protect the rights of the accused. In addition to mandatory arrest and non-dropping prosecutions, many states require offenders to remain in jail for twenty-four to forty-eight hours before bail can be set. This time acts as a period of reflection for the offender, giving the victim time to make temporary arrangements for accommodation and other necessities. In addition, many states require judges to issue an injunction or protection order in all cases of domestic violence. Therefore, as soon as charges are laid, an injunction is imposed. A violation of the injunction is grounds for immediate arrest. The consequences of these guidelines are that a person may be arrested by the police on a quick and/or biased call for a judgment, which errs on the side of caution based on mandatory arrest laws. In general, reports are also written to support the arrest.
Whether an adequate investigation into the facts or other relevant circumstances took place is not considered at the arrest stage. Our best advice: Follow the officer`s advice when he stops you: „Everything you do or say can be used against you.“ Stop talking, you won`t stray from it and you run the risk of your words being taken out of context. Keep them together until you or your family hire a lawyer and can talk to them about the consequences of being arrested in a domestic violence case and what you should do. Thus, the debate on the appropriate response to domestic violence continues. As a result, States continue to use other solutions to improve their response to cases of domestic violence. For example, it is common for states with mandatory arrest provisions to include no-fall law enforcement laws. Laws prohibiting falling do not allow a victim of domestic violence to unilaterally dismiss the charges against the perpetrator. On the contrary, depending on the jurisdiction, the judge, prosecutor or law enforcement officer must approve the dismissal of the case.
Like mandatory arrest, laws prohibiting falls reflect an appreciation of the dynamics of domestic violence. Given the cyclical nature of abusive relationships, victims are often in the „honeymoon“ phase during the screening phase. At this point, the victim is plagued by requests for forgiveness, promises of change, and insinuations that the victim is tearing the family apart by suing law enforcement. Victims are often unable to resist pressure and try to close the case. In states where non-abandonment laws are prohibited, victims cannot do so. The underlying purpose of non-abandonment laws is to protect the victim from pressure to drop charges. There is also a policy of double arrest. Double arrest forces officers to arrest both sides and let the judge determine who the victim is.
Again, such directives significantly reduce the discretion of public servants in these cases. In cases where both parties have serious injuries and a primary aggressor cannot be identified, this may be a satisfactory response, but it is not an ideal approach in all cases.