Changes in domestic violence policy were in the news recently when city officials in Topeka, Kansas, decriminalized misdemeanor spousal abuse. Here in Colorado, two district attorneys are calling for the state law requiring police to arrest some suspected of domestic violence to be amended. But some critics warn that giving police the option not to arrest suspected offenders could keep victims from escaping sooner.

The two district attorneys behind the proposed changes in the law are from Boulder County and Weld County. Their idea is to amend the current law to take away the requirement that police arrest a suspected nonviolent offender and give them the option to issue a ticket instead.

Currently, Colorado is one of 23 states where police automatically arrested the accused abuser when they intervene on a domestic violence call. The director of Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence in Boulder, a victim's rights group, said that such a law is necessary because most domestic violence perpetrators are repeat offenders. She said that victims are abused an average of 16 times before law enforcement becomes involved. However, she added, a "growing consensus" of experts believes that mandatory arrest is not the only way to separate victims from their abusers.

The district attorneys scheduled a meeting for the week of Oct. 17 to discuss their proposal. Until then, they were apparently keeping quiet, having declined to comment to KDVR-TV for a story it did on the subject. Previously, they said that the proposal is not about saving money on law enforcement as some have speculated. However, financial savings is mentioned as a benefit in the written proposal.

Source: KDVR-TV, "Changes in police response to domestic violence calls proposed," Justin Joseph, Oct. 13, 2011