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Compassion or Control

Family disturbance calls, many of which involve violence between spouses, constitute the single largest category of calls received by the police each year. In the last few years, the method of police intervention has changed from apparent indifference or compassionate mediation to firmer control and mandatory arrest. The change has occurred even though there are but two empirical studies that indicate that control strategies might be effective in reducing wife beating and there have been no formal evaluations of the theory underlying the alternative approaches police might use to intervene in cases of wife abuse. This article examines the change in intervention strategies. We critically analyze the reasons for the change to controlling interventions and then examine the assumptions, goals, advantages, and disadvantages of each alternative approach. Finally, we develop the theoretical aspects of each strategy.