Connecticut Set to End "Dual Arrests" in Domestic Violence Cases
A bill before the governor aims to limit the harm caused when victims are arrested along with their abusers.
by Sarah Smith, special to ProPublica May 8, 11:54 a.m. EDT
The Connecticut Legislature has sent a bill to the governor’s desk that seeks to end having victims of domestic violence arrested along with their abusers because they fight back during the course of an assault.
For years, Connecticut’s domestic violence victims have been at risk of “dual arrests” — instances in which police arrest both the victim and the perpetrator of domestic violence. The state has a dual arrest rate of about 18 percent in “intimate partner” incidents, a ProPublica analysis in early 2017 found. The average for the rest of the country hovers at about 2 percent.
The rates were much higher in certain communities. Using data from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, ProPublica reported that in Windsor, a town of 29,044, dual arrests accounted for 35 percent of intimate partner arrests in 2015. In Ansonia, a city of 19,020, the rate was 37 percent.
The new law will require law enforcement to determine which party is the dominant aggressor — that is, who initiated the abuse — in domestic violence situations.
“To know that this has been a 30-year-old problem that truly needed to be addressed, and to see this outcome is truly gratifying,” said Karen Jarmoc, president of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She expects to see impact from the new legislation immediately.
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https://www.propublica.org/article/connecticut-set-to-end-dual-arrests-in-domestic-violence-cases
