TY - RPRT AU - Arenas-Arroyo, Esther TI - The Impact of Non-mandatory Police Reporting on Domestic Violence PY - 2025/Feb/ PB - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) CY - Bonn T2 - IZA Discussion Paper IS - 17698 UR - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp17698 AB - Can lowering barriers to public services reduce domestic violence? Exploiting the introduction of a non-mandatory police reporting policy, I find that it significantly reduces domestic violence cases reported to the police while increasing hospital-reported cases of domestic assault. I further show that non-mandatory reporting laws reduce fatal domestic violence cases by facilitating the dissolution of abusive relationships and decreasing violence within intact couples. These findings highlight the importance of alternative support systems in addressing domestic violence. KW - domestic violence KW - intimate partner homicide KW - criminal justice ER -