Criminology Class

The Virginia police is required to make an arrest in most of the domestic violence cases. The police are required to identify the primary aggressor and make an arrest. I support mandatory arrest for domestic violence because this can prevent future tragedies. There have been some cases where people disagree with mandatory arrest because abusers can lie and make it seem like the victim is the actual abuser to make the police take the wrong person, but not because of this it means that this is wrong. When a victim looks for help from the law it should be taken seriously and the law should always be there to help no matter the gender of the victim or age. Domestic violence can be between couples, kids, elders and more. This type of violence can lead to traumas, suicidal thoughts and tragic events when is not taken seriously. An article of Marion Wanless says that there is evidence that in the United States millions of women are battered each year. He talks about how this law helps the victim to avoid making charges and limits or eliminate police discretion. It wants to inform to the people that domestic violence is very real and it should be taken serious, supporting this law can make people take it serious instead of ignoring the victims and make them believe that they are in fault. With this article he wants to demonstrate the need of this law and how it is wrong to enacted it because people think that this law will only increase domestic violence.

         An article by Machaela M. Hoctor also supports my decision of agreeing with the mandatory arrest. She talks about how this law is needed to lay an effective foundation for coordinated communities to provide better protection for the victims of this violence and how this is a need in the state of California. She pointed how domestic violence should be eradicated and this is the main cause of women dying every day. There are police officers that does not follow the law in many states when it comes to domestic violence just because they are men. Even though we live in a world where mindsets are changing, some people still believe that domestic violence is not real, or that the victim deserve what they are getting, or that it is just a “hit”. Domestic violence sometimes leaves a child without a parent, leave a child in the system, leave a mother without their kids, leave grandparents without their kids and grandkids, and this is wrong in all ways. Mandatory arrest for this should prevent domestic violence in the future. 

References

Wanless, Marion. (1982, June 19) Mandatory arrest: A step toward eradicating domestic violence, but is it enough?

Hoctor, Machaela M. (May 1997) Domestic Violence as a Crime against the State: The Need for Mandatory Arrest in California