Why Law Enforcement Alone Cannot Stop Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is not solved with more policing or tougher sentences because it is not a crime of premeditation.

Recently, after bringing the National Guard into Washington, DC to lower the crime rate, President Donald Trump complained that there was one piece of the crime statistics where his strategy was ineffective: domestic violence. In doing so, he inadvertently exposed a common but misguided belief: that crime is best solved with more policing. It’s an assumption that works in certain contexts—burglary, theft, gang activity, or organized crime—but it collapses when applied to domestic violence.

The persistence of intimate partner violence, despite increasing police presence, harsher sentencing, and constant public messaging, highlights a deeper truth: domestic violence is not a crime of premeditation. It is a crime of emotional flooding, loss of control, and desperation. And if we misunderstand its roots, we will keep applying the wrong solutions.

Behind Closed Doors—and Beyond

Yes, domestic violence often happens behind closed doors, hidden from sight from the police and neighbors. That is one reason law enforcement has always struggled to “prevent” it. But the problem is not just privacy. Even if every household had a squad car parked outside, violence at home would still occur.

Why? Because most perpetrators are not planning to harm their partners. They don’t map out their day with an attack penciled into the calendar. Instead, they find themselves overwhelmed—angry, ashamed, frustrated, desperate, or all of the above—and in that moment of emotional flooding, they lash out. Their intention is not to destroy; it is to stop the unbearable storm inside themselves.

This is not an excuse for violence. It is an explanation—and explanations matter if we hope to reduce the problem.

The Myth of Premeditation

So much of our criminal justice model is built on the idea that people weigh the risks and rewards of their choices. You plan to rob a bank. You weigh the odds of being caught. You decide if the payoff is worth it. In that equation, harsher punishment can deter you.

Domestic violence, however, rarely operates on those terms. The abuser is not standing in the kitchen thinking, If I hit my partner, I could get five years in prison. Maybe I’ll settle for yelling instead. In the moment of escalation, rational calculation isn’t driving their behavior. Emotion is. And once negative emotions surge to a breaking point, punishment becomes irrelevant because the act is already happening.

This explains why, despite decades of tougher sentencing laws, mandatory arrest policies, and increased police training, the rates of intimate partner violence have remained stubborn. What stops people from violence is not the fear of punishment but the ability to regulate emotions and respond differently in conflict.

The Limits of Awareness Campaigns

There’s another commonly held belief: that if we just raise enough awareness about how wrong domestic violence is, people will stop doing it. This, too, rests on a misunderstanding.

It is not lack of awareness that fuels domestic violence. Most perpetrators know full well that it’s wrong. In fact, shame and regret often follow immediately after an outburst. Victims know it’s wrong too. What both partners often lack is not knowledge, but tools—ways to de-escalate, ways to communicate, ways to repair, and ways to regulate the overwhelming emotions that trigger abuse in the first place.

Awareness alone, like law enforcement alone, addresses the problem at the surface. It tells people what not to do without equipping them to actually stop themselves in the heat of the moment.

Law Enforcement and Unintended Consequences

Stronger enforcement can even backfire. Victims may be less likely to call police if they fear their partners will face severe consequences like long prison sentences, loss of employment, or removal from the home. Many victims do not want to lose their partner—they want the violence to stop. They want healing, not punishment.

By raising the stakes of reporting, we may actually push the problem further underground. Fewer reports get made, fewer interventions happen, and cycles of abuse continue unchecked. In the name of “protecting” victims, we may inadvertently isolate them.

Why People Really Hurt the Ones They Love

At the core of domestic violence is not criminal genius but human struggle. People lash out because:

• They feel overwhelmed. The intensity of emotions floods their system, and violence becomes a release valve.

• They lack skills. Without tools for de-escalation, calming, or healthy conflict resolution, they resort to what they know—anger, threats, force.

• They carry wounds. Trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and unresolved pain shape the way people react under stress.

• They seek control. Not premeditated domination, but a desperate attempt to stop their own spiraling sense of powerlessness.

These are not excuses but explanations—and they demand a very different response than simply putting more uniforms on the street.

What Actually Works

If policing alone doesn’t reduce domestic violence, what does? Research and lived experience point toward approaches rooted in healing, skills, and accountability.

1. Teaching emotional regulation. People who cause harm must learn to recognize when they’re becoming flooded and how to calm themselves before an outburst.

2. Building communication skills. Partners need new ways to argue, disagree, and express themselves without resorting to attack or withdrawal.

3. Addressing trauma. Past wounds shape present behaviors. Therapy, support groups, and trauma-informed care matter.

4. Creating accountability without destruction. Programs that combine responsibility with compassion—helping people change rather than just punishing them—have a better track record than jail alone.

5. Supporting victims’ choices. Respecting what survivors actually want, whether it’s leaving safely or staying in a relationship that must change, is critical.

Reducing domestic violence requires equipping people, not just arresting, punishing, or scaring them.