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1 Twenty‐seven intelligent volunteers took part in a classroom experiment on two occasions to assess subjectively, ordinally related volumes of sound (offered in random sequence), using the visual analogue scale. 2 It was simple to use and largely acceptable. Big differences were significant by parametric tests but small ones were sometimes significant only with ordinal ones. Within‐subject comparisons were more accurate and more sensitive than those between‐ subjects. The t‐test was very robust. 3 Five out of 49 results were erroneously significant; they remained so no matter how the data were handled. It was concluded that this was due to a shift in either perception, cognition or scoring between the two sessions. 4 Arcsine transformations made little difference. The mechanism of these is fully discussed. A conversion to proportional scores resulted in very much improved sensitivity. 5 It is recommended that authors using the visual analogue scale: have valid reason in their own setting for using a transformation; present the distribution, or at least the medians and ranges of their raw scores; also use a simple but different measure so as to demonstrate internal consistency between them.

Issues and Findings Discussed in this Brief: An analysis of 4,032 incidents in which males assaulted their female intimate partners, comparing the number of repeat offenses when batterers are and are not arrested.

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Research Summary:This research addresses the limitations of prior analyses and reviews of five experiments testing for the specific deterrent effect of arrest on intimate partner violence by applying to individual level data consistent eligibility criteria, common independent and outcome measures, and appropriate statistical tests. Based on 4,032 cases involving adult males who assaulted their female intimate partners, multivariate regression analyses show consistent but modest reductions in subsequent offenses targeting the original victim that is attributable to arresting the suspect. Although the reductions attributable to arrest are similar across all five studies, other factors, such as the suspect's prior arrest record, are stronger predictors of subsequent offenses. The effect of arrest is also modest compared with the general decline in offenses toward the same victim during the follow-up period. Policy Implications:These results lend limited support for policies favoring arrest over informal police responses to intimate partner violence. However, the analyses also show that despite police intervention, a minority of suspects repeatedly victimize their partners and that factors other than formal sanctions play larger roles in explaining the cessation or continuation of aggressive behavior between intimates. These findings suggest that new policies replacing or enhancing arrest that targetIn the past quarter-century, many alternatives for the appropriate law enforcement response to intimate partner violence have been proposed, studied, recommended, adopted as policy, and enacted in federal and state laws. These alternatives have varied from doing nothing to on-scene counseling, temporary separation, and more formal criminal justice sanctions such as arrest, restraining orders, and coerced treatment (Fagan, 1996). The rationales for these policies were based on theories about deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation, victim empowerment, officer safety, and a general concern for the efficacy of criminal law regarding intimate private relationships (Fagan and Browne, 1994:3; Zimring, 1989:ll). Until the 198Os, the empirical base for assessing the extent to which the alternative policies fulfilled the promises of their theoretical rationales was thin. In the foreword to a domestic violence research report that showed domestic violence was repetitive and highly visible to police, James Q. Wilson asserted that the criminal justice field lacks "reliable information as to the consequences of following different approaches" when responding to intimate partner violence. He argued that "gathering such information in a systematic and objective manner ought to be a high-priority concern for local police and prosecutors" (Wilson, 1977:~).For the past 25 years, the law enforcement and research community has addressed Wilson's challenge by gathering systematic and objective information about alternative police responses to intimate partner violence. However, gathering information alone has not led to a clear understandi...

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This study examines how patrol officers respond to citizens' requests that officers control another citizen—by advising or persuading them, warning or threatening them, making them leave someone alone or leave the scene, or arresting them. Data are drawn from field observations conducted in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1996 and St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1997. Officers granted the request for the most restrictive form of control requested by the citizen in 70% of the 396 observed cases. Several factors were modeled to determine their influence on officers' decisions to grant or deny the most restrictive request. These factors include legal considerations, need, factors that attenuate the impact of law or need, the social relationship between the requester and target of control, and personal characteristics of the officer. Multivariate analysis shows that the most influential factors were legal considerations. When citizens requested an arrest, the likelihood that the police would be responsive dropped considerably. However, as the evidence of a legal violation against the targeted citizen increased, so did the odds of an arrest. Officers were less likely to grant the requests of citizens having a close relationship with the person targeted for control, disrespectful of the police, or intoxicated or mentally ill. The race, wealth, and organization affiliation of citizen adversaries had little impact on the police decision. Male officers, officers with fewer years of police experience, and officers with a stronger proclivity to community policing, had significantly greater odds of giving citizens what they requested. The implications of the findings for research and policy are discussed.

Published reports from seven jointly developed experiments have addressed whether or not arrest is an effective deterrent to misdemeanor spouse assault. Findings supporting a deterrent effect, no effect, and an escalation effect have been reported by the original authors and in interpretations of the published findings by other authors. This review found many methodologically defensible approaches used in these reports but not one of these approaches was used consistently in all published reports. Tables reporting the raw data on the prevalence and incidence of repeat incidents are presented to provide a more consistent comparison across all seven experiments. This review concludes that the available information is incomplete and inadequate for a definitive statement about the results of these experiments. Researchers and policy makers are urged to use caution in interpreting the findings available to date.