Morrison Institute for Public Policy Publications Archives

Many Arizona street-level police officers and sheriff’s deputies report that they are skeptical of the ability of Arizona’s “pro-arrest” policy to reduce domestic violence, frustrated by a perceived lack of follow-up from prosecutors, and often at odds with victims whose predicaments they may not fully understand.

Domestic violence is a major social problem throughout Arizona, and a major daily challenge for law enforcement officers. Every day in Arizona, domestic violence injures victims, damages property, destroys families, breeds further crime and anti-social behavior, and perpetuates itself in younger generations. Like most states, Arizona has "criminalized" domestic violence (DV) by adopting laws and policies that bolster law enforcement officers’ arrest powers and require them to arrest suspects under certain circumstances.

Do Arizonans trust the police? How do we best describe the police/public relationship in Arizona? These and related questions are the subject of this report, which was commissioned by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST). National surveys, as well as an Arizona poll commissioned for this report, indicate that most Americans do trust police.

This study summarizes and analyzes the findings of a statewide survey conducted last year of samples of homeless individuals in the Phoenix and Tucson areas and across the state. The aim of this report is to join with other, ongoing efforts to develop effective policies concerning such issues as job training, treatment for the mentally ill and Arizona’s critical need for affordable housing. Hopefully, it will help politicians and policymakers talk more openly and productively about a pervasive social problem that is both glaringly obvious and largely invisible.