Police decision making in wife abuse: The impact of legal and extralegal factors.

The impact of legal and extralegal information on patrol officers' decision-making policies for wife abuse was investigated using regression analysis. Individual differences in officers' propensity to arrest abusive husbands were also examined. Thirty-six police officers made responsibility and prescriptive judgments based on simulated police reports describing seven sources of information (“cues”). Regression analyses indicated that victims' extralegal behavior generally was the primary determinant of responsibility assigned to both victims and assailants. However, legal prescriptions were based primarily on legally relevant information. Implications of the obtained judgment policies as well as use of the regression methodology in legal decision-making research are discussed.