The Effects of Arrest on Intimate Partner Violence: New Evidence From the Spouse Assault Replication Program

This Research in Brief examines 4,032 incidents of male assault on female partners and compares the number of repeat offenses when batterers are and are not arrested. The researchers synthesized experiments conducted across five jurisdictions from 1981 to 1991, and the analysis gains statistical power from the pooling of data from the five sites. One key determination was that arresting batterers was consistently related to reduced subsequent aggression against the victim; this finding was consistent across jurisdictions.