National campaign to end mandatory arrest

Started by Teri, Dec 03, 2010, 12:39 PM

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Teri

Join the national campaign to protect victims from harmful mandatory arrest laws -
and bring an end to senseless false arrests!

DV Mandatory Arrest Laws: http://www.saveservices.org/protect-victims-stop-mandatory-arrest/

Mandatory arrest laws that ignore probable-cause standards:*

1. Place victims at greater risk of violence - every month, 50 Americans are killed as a result of mandatory arrest policies**
2. Silence the many victims who want their abusers to get treatment, not a police record
3. Trample on fundamental Constitutional rights of the accused
4. Waste limited law enforcement resources and rob the true victims of needed protections

For these reasons, the 2005 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act wisely removed its mandatory arrest policy. But 5 years later, these states still have mandatory arrest policies on the books:

* Allegations of assault: AK, AZ, CO, CT, DC, IA, KS, LA, ME, MS, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, UT, VA, and WA (21 states)
* Allegations of violation of a restraining order: AK, CA, CO, DE, GA, HI, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MN, MS, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT,VA, WA, WV, and WI (34 states)

Take Action Now:

Call Senate Judiciary Chairman Leahy NOW! Tell him to make sure the upcoming reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act includes strong incentives to get these states to remove their mandatory arrest policies. These states need to re-establish the "probable-cause" standard for arrest -- that's what the Fourth Amendment says, and that's what victims are demanding!

Contact Sen. Leahy TODAY:

* Phone: 202-224-4242
* Email: http://leahy.senate.gov/contact/ -- for the Message Topic, select "Law Enforcement"

Discuss with Others: http://www.saveservices.org

* Victims and Survivors
* Policymakers
* Persons Falsely Arrested
* DV Service Providers

Read More: http://www.saveservices.org/protect-victims-stop-mandatory-arrest/

* Policy Briefing: Why Did VAWA Change from a Mandatory to a Pro-Arrest Stance?
* Policy Briefing: What are the State Laws that Mandate Arrest for DV Assault?
* Special Report: Arrest Policies for Domestic Violence

Act Now:

Call Senator Leahy at 202-224-4242.Tell him that removing mandatory arrest should be his #1 priority, before any more persons get hurt. Every call makes a difference - one call only takes 2 minutes -- call now!

* The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution requires that "probable-cause" must exist before a person can be arrested. SAVE supports arrest when there is probable cause of violence. SAVE opposes mandatory arrest policies that ignore due process requirements.

** According to a Harvard University study, when states enact mandatory arrest policies, the intimate partner homicide rate increases by 57%. (Source: Iyengar R. Does the certainty of arrest reduce domestic violence? Evidence from mandatory and recommended arrest laws. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2007.) This translates into 602 persons a year, or 50 persons each month, whose lives are lost due to harmful mandatory arrest policies.
   

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