Wife Assault, Costs of Arrest, and the Deterrence Process

Kirk R. Williams

42 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

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Intimate Partner and Family Violence Criminal Justice and Penology Crime Patterns and Interventions

Abstract

Drawing from a reconceptualization of deterrence, this article explores a measurement strategy that distinguishes between the social costs of illegal acts and those produced by legal sanctions. The validity of the measurement strategy is empirically evaluated using data from a national panel survey of violence between married or cohabiting partners. Respondents were asked to estimate the likelihood of assault costs (i.e., those resulting from the perpetration of assaultive acts against partners) compared to arrest costs (i.e., those resulting from an arrest for such behavior). Social costs include loss of attachments, loss of respect from significant others, and loss of self-respect. The preliminary evidence reported is consistent with the claim that perceived arrest costs, more than assault costs, significantly influence the deterrence process, at least for this type of illegal behavior. The implications of the findings for further research and policy are discussed.

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References

1979Measuring Intrafamily Conflict and Violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales 2014The Reasoning Criminal: Rational Choice Perspectives on Offending 1984The Specific Deterrent Effects of Arrest for Domestic Assault 1990Conscience, Significant Others, and Rational Choice: Extending the Deterrence Model 1990Physical violence in American families: risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families 1989The Development of a Measure of Psychological Maltreatment of Women by Their Male Partners 1987The deterrent effect of the perceived certainty and severity of punishment: A review of the evidence and issues 1986Crime, Deterrence, and Rational Choice

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2000The Effect of Perceptions of Sanctions on Batterer Program Outcomes 1995Policing Domestic Violence: Dilemmas and Contradictions*2005Arrest and intimate partner violence: Toward a more complete application of deterrence theory 2015Deterrence Theory: Crime 2009Deterrence Effect of Four Legal and Extralegal Factors on Online Copyright Infringement

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