Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Mandatory Arrest for Domestic Violence?

As of 7/28/2008, does Pennsylvania have a mandatory arrest policy in DV cases, or is it within officer's discretion? 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. � 2711 - to me, ''shall have the right'' to arrest & ''shall arrest'' are 2 different things. I believe there is discretion. Has the law changed? All police spoken to said it's mandatory, but I disagree.


Asked on 7/28/08, 3:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Gibson John W. Gibson, Esquire

Re: Mandatory Arrest for Domestic Violence?

I tend to agree with your interpretation but in some counties it may be the policy of the Assistant District Attorney to require an arrest. The difficulty in these cases, at least from the prosecution and police point of view, is that if they do not arrest and the accused comes back and kills the spouse or spouse and kids the newspapers, television, radio and TV announcers, and other assorted activists, etc. start screaming about how the police or prosecution could have prevented this tragedy.

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Answered on 7/29/08, 10:34 am


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