Law Enforcement and Judiciary: Domestic Violence Response Analysis

This essay examines the roles of law enforcement and the judiciary in domestic violence cases. It identifies key actors within the law enforcement system and analyzes how their work impacts the judiciary's decisions. The essay explores the importance of police response in domestic violence situations, highlighting the need for improved practices to bridge the gap between victims and justice. It emphasizes the critical roles of judges and the need for collaborative efforts between law enforcement and the judiciary to improve their response to family violence. The essay suggests actionable steps to overcome legal system obstacles, improve law enforcement practices, and promote cooperation with other professionals to ensure better outcomes for victims of domestic violence. It also mentions that the laws, departments, and processes for conducting criminal justice are not similar in all jurisdictions and that the state criminal justice arrangement and federal criminal justice arrangement are the two categories of criminal justice arrangement.

Running head: INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
Interpersonal Violence
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

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The system of criminal justice is the collection of institutions and mechanisms that are
developed by the governments to regulate crime and impose punishment on those who breach the
laws. It has been observed that no consolidated criminal justice arrangement is available in the
United States, but several related and specific systems are present. The operation of the criminal
justice arrangement in every sector depends upon the jurisdiction of the city, constituency, state,
federal or tribal government or military installation. The laws, departments, and processes for
conducting criminal justice are not similar in all jurisdictions. It differs from one jurisdiction to
another (Malleson, 2016). The criminal justice arrangement can be divided into two categories,
namely the State criminal justice arrangement and federal criminal justice arrangement. Almost
all the criminal justice arrangements include five ingredients, namely law enforcement,
prosecution, defense attorneys, courts and corrections. Among them, law enforcement is the first
and most crucial ingredient, which helps to control the people of the society. Many authors are of
the view that, in the United States, the law enforcement is considered to be one of the most initial
and apparent ingredients of the criminal justice arrangement which includes police, courts and
corrections. In some cases, police, court and corrections are also called as subsystems. From this
point of view, these elements of the law enforcement are considered to be as pertinent, reciprocal
and aiming to attain a single objective.
In cases of domestic violence and abuse, the police play a vital role. However, sometimes
it has been observed that frontline officers do not respond in a proper way and for this reason,
victims always might not get the help from polices at the time when need it the most. This
inappropriate behavior of the police creates a gap between the victims and justice. In spite of the
criticism, the police prevail one of the vital frontline services which can be used by the victims to
prohibit and avoid violent and abusive activities (Gracia, Garcia & Lila, 2014). After the

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happening of any criminal event, the law enforcement agents take the statements from the area,
where the incident arises. After making the statements, the police start an investigation and
collect and protect the evidence. Police have the authority to arrest wrongdoers, testify during the
court proceedings and if it thinks proper conduct follow-up investigation. Based on the inquiry
made by the police, the judiciary applies the appropriate laws to a specific case in case of
violation of a particular law. The work of police has a significant impact on the decisions made
by the judiciary (Salzman & Ramsey, 2013).
The roles of the judges are very crucial in case of domestic violence, and their decision
affects the lives of the victims and their family members. For improving the response of law
enforcement and judiciary towards family violence, the below-mentioned steps must be
followed:
 Identify the obstacles of the legal system which affects the ability of women to get justice
in a domestic violence case;
 Identify various critical factors of the law enforcement system in domestic violence cases
and its impact in the judiciary;
 Develop planning and techniques and arrange training programs to defeat the obstacles of
the legal system, stay empowered to remove the barriers and if possible, cooperate with
other professionals (Roberson & Wallace, 2016).

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References
Gracia, E., Garcia, F., & Lila, M. (2014). Male police officers’ law enforcement preferences in
cases of intimate partner violence versus non-intimate interpersonal violence: Do sexist
attitudes and empathy matter?. Criminal justice and behavior, 41(10), 1195-1213.
Malleson, K. (2016). The new judiciary: The effects of expansion and activism. Routledge.
Roberson, C., & Wallace, P. H. (2016). Family violence: Legal, medical, and social
perspectives. Routledge.
Salzman, R., & Ramsey, A. (2013). Judging the judiciary: Understanding public confidence in
Latin American courts. Latin American Politics and Society, 55(1), 73-95.

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