6-2 Module Six Assignment- Discretionary Laws and Agency's Culture - Southern New Hampshire University CJ 230

6-2 Module Six Assignment: Discretionary Laws and Agency's Culture In Section 12-29-3 of the Rhode Island Domestic Violence Prevention Act, the primary goal of the officer(s) who responds to a domestic violence scenario should enforce the law whenever there is a violation of the law. According to the Rhode Island Domestic Violence Prevention Act, “When a law enforcement officer responds to a domestic violence situation and has probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed, the officer shall exercise arrest powers…that the officer shall arrest and take into custody the alleged perpetrator of the crime when the officer has probable cause to believe that any of the following acts has occurred” (Title 12 criminal procedure, n.d.). A few examples of conditions where an officer can arrest the accused individual are “felonious assault, assault that has resulted in bodily injury to the victim, whether or not the injury is observable by the responding officer, physical action that was intended to cause another person reasonably to fear imminent serious bodily injury or death. ‘Bodily injury’ means physical pain, illness, or an impairment of physical condition, violation of a protective order and the violator has previous knowledge of the order and the terms of it, or violation of a no-contact order issued” (Title 12 criminal procedure, n.d.). The Rhode Island Domestic Violence Prevention Act also states that the victim cannot influence whether or not the accused is arrested or not; it needs to be decided by the officers. An arrest warrant is not needed in order to move forward and officers also have up to 24 hours to make an arrest once the crime is committed. If domestic violence issues arise between family members, an officer can investigate and arrest whomever the main aggressor is. Lastly, the Rhode Island Domestic Violence Prevention Act states