Crime, Punishment, and Stake in Conformity: Legal and Informal Control of Domestic Violence

TLDR

Deterrence and labeling theories predict conflicting effects of legal and informal controls on post‑arrest criminal activity. The study examines whether arrest influences domestic‑violence recidivism depending on individuals’ stake in conformity. Researchers conducted a controlled experiment with police contacts for domestic‑violence offenses in Milwaukee. Arrest did not reduce overall domestic‑violence recidivism, but increased it among those with low conformity stakes (unemployed and unmarried), with no effect of race or prior offenses, and the pattern matched similar experiments in Omaha, Miami, and Colorado Springs. Abstract adapted from American Sociological Review, 1992; © 1992 American Sociological Association.

Abstract

Deterrence theories and labeling theories offer inconsistent predictions about the relative impact of legal and informal controls on the subsequent criminal activities of arrested persons. In a controlled experiment using police contacts for domestic violence offenses in Milwaukee, we test whether the effect of arrest on recidivism is conditional on key individual characteristics indicating a in conformity. Contrary to deterrence theories, arrest had no overall crime reduction effect in either the official or victim interview measures of repeat domestic violence. Consistent with labeling theories, arrest increased recidivism among those with a low stake in conformity: the unemployed and the unmarried. Neither race nor a record of prior offenses conditioned the effect of arrest on subsequent domestic violence. The results are consistent with findings from similar experiments in Omaha, Dade County (Miami), and Colorado Springs. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1992. Copyright © 1992 by the American Sociological Association) Wisconsin Nebraska Florida Colorado Arrest and Apprehension Arrest Effects Deterrence Police Intervention Law Enforcement Intervention Police Response Domestic Violence Offender Spouse Abuse Offender Partner Violence Violence Against Women Adult Male Adult Offender Adult Violence Offender Arrest Male Offender Male Violence Offender Recidivism Labeling Theory 07-02