ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the issue of whether prosecution initiated by an on-scene warrantless arrest by police is more risky than prosecution following a victim complaint to the prosecutor. In the event of a victim-initiated complaint, the differential effects of bringing the batterer to court either by summons or by warrant are considered. The chapter analyzes differences in reactions stemming from four court outcomes: case dismissal, pretrial diversion to counseling, sentencing to counseling as a condition of probation, and sentencing to other sanctions. For wife battery and criminal justice, specific deterrence predicts that a man who batters his partner and is punished by harsh criminal sanctions will be less likely to batter again than if he experienced milder sanctions or no arrest. Advocacy for battered women is unwavering in its insistence on rigorous criminal-justice intervention to prevent continuing violence. One theory suggests that repetition of violence is prevented through deterrence and/or reformation; another suggests provocation to violence through anger with aggression-arousal.
