November 7, 2003

A Harmful Response to Domestic Abuse; A New Editor for 'Cell'

GO DIRECTLY TO COUNSELING: In every state except Arkansas, police officers who respond to domestic-abuse calls are encouraged to make an arrest if they believe that an assault has occurred -- even if the victim objects to the arrest. Many cities have also recently adopted "no drop" policies, in which prosecutors are encouraged to pursue such cases even if the victim requests that the charges be dropped.

Those mandatory-prosecution programs, which were largely designed and promoted by