Saturday, January 28, 2012

Turn the clock back 40 years

A leftist-feminist news site reports:
Since the 1970s, New Hampshire police have operated under a progressive policy for handling domestic violence cases that has saved countless lives. Under current law the presumption is that an arrest will be made when police observe evidence of abuse. They have a large degree of discretion and don't need to witness the assault firsthand or obtain a legal warrant before they can separate the alleged attacker from his victim.

All that will change if Republicans get their way. The state's GOP legislators are pushing two bills that will reverse a half century of progress, the Concord Monitor reports:

Domestic violence is no longer taken lightly legally or by society. That's the way it should be, but two bills under consideration by this most unusual of legislatures, would undo that progress and put lives in danger. Both deserve a speedy defeat.

House Bill 1581 would turn the clock back 40 years to an age when a police officer could not make an arrest in a domestic violence case without first getting a warrant unless he or she actually witnessed the crime. That's an exceedingly dangerous change.
I haven't seen the bill, but if it turns the clock back 40 on domestic violence policy and gets these progressives so upset, it must be good. The New Hampshire cops have a policy of always arresting someone on a domestic violence call. That someone is usually the man. That starts an even worse chain of events. Not even the San Fran sheriff can get a fair hearing.

4 comments:

Andrew said...

How often do police officers see the crimes for which they arrest suspects? I'm all in favor of due process rights and others set in the constitution, but the idea behind this bill sets a dangerous precedent.

George said...

I am assuming that the bill is a sensible bill, and that feminists have misrepresented it.

Andrew said...

In case you haven't found it here's the full text of New Hampshire HB 1581. http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2012/HB1581.html

George said...

Thanks for the link to the proposed law. It says that the cop "may arrest the person the officer believes to be the primary physical aggressor." But it does not require the arrest. Looks reasonable to me.