Mandatory Arrest Laws, Unintended Consequences, and Rural Jail Incarceration in Washington State: “It’s Out of My Hands”

• In Event: Advances in Rural Criminology: Crimes Against People in Rural Communities

Abstract

Domestic violence triggers more calls to police in the US than any other criminal complaint and may be especially common in rural areas. In Washington State, where there are mandatory arrest laws, domestic violence seems to be a leading reason for pretrial jail stays of both men and women. Extant quantitative research suggests unintended consequences of these laws, including sometimes criminalizing survivors (Steffensmeier et al., 2005; 2023; Durfee 2012), but significant gaps remain in exploring unintended effects, particularly in rural areas. This paper presents results from a mixed-methods study of county jail incarceration in rural Eastern and Central Washington State. We draw upon (1) quantitative jail booking data for 2015-2020 to investigate the role of domestic and intimate partner violence in driving women’s and men’s jail incarceration in rural Washington, and (2) draw upon qualitative interviews with individuals who were incarcerated for domestic violence to elucidate several unintended consequences of enforcement of mandatory arrest laws for the accused. In addition to gendered aspects, we also focus on challenges presented by the rural context, where there are unique barriers to help-seeking, physical and social isolation, and law enforcement that is geographically far but often close relationally.

Authors

• Jennifer Schwartz, Washington State University

• Jennifer Sherman, Washington State University