Multiple parties in domestic violence situations and arrest

Analyses of domestic violence incidents in one jurisdiction indicate significant differences in police handling of single perpetrator events and incidents with more than one party as either perpetrator or victim. In this study a "multiple record" variable was constructed to indicate that an incident contained more than one perpetrator or victim.. The difference in arrest rates was then analyzed controlling for both legal and extralegal factors. Results indicate that in situations of domestic violence with more than one perpetrator or victim an arrest is more likely to occur when there is serious injury, although these multiple individual situations report less serious injury than single perpetrator incidents. Additional results show that when the relationship is spousal and the type of crime is assault or greater there is a greater likelihood or arrest than when the relationship is nonspousal. In general, the results indicate that the impact of extralegal factors is significantly different for multiple party incidents than single perpetrator incidents, and that these factors impact arrest differently. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.