Article
The Influence of Legal Reform on the Probability of Arrest in Domestic Violence Cases
Justice Quarterly
(2006)
Abstract
Using domestic violence incidence and arrest data from Maryland (1991–1997), this research examines whether the proportion of incidents that result in arrest increased due to a legislative initiative implemented in 1994 and, if so, whether this change is uniform across different types of offenders (race and gender) and offense characteristics. Using interrupted time‐series analysis (ARIMA), we observe an increase in both the number of incidents reported to police and the percent of reported cases resulting in arrest. The legislative intervention has a significant positive impact on arrest likelihood above and beyond the increase over time for the state as a whole. While arrest probabilities increased across the board for males and females, African American and Whites, the ARIMA models do not suggest that the legislation differentially impacted arrest probabilities for these groups.
Keywords
- Criminolgy -- Research,
- Family violence -- Research,
- Law reform -- United States
Disciplines
Publication Date
September, 2006
Citation Information
Sally S. Simpson, Laura J. Hickman, Leana Allen Bouffard and Joel Garner. "The Influence of Legal Reform on the Probability of Arrest in Domestic Violence Cases" Justice Quarterly Vol. 23 Iss. 3 (2006) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/laura_hickman/22/