Domestic Violence Dupe

The Irvine Police Department recently announced the arrest of a Korean woman who used California’s domestic violence laws as a means to commit burglaries.  She would meet men via a dating website, begin a relationship and then call the police accusing her “boyfriend” of acts of domestic violence.  She had done this in Garden Grove and in Irvine on prior occasions.

In the Irvine cases, police arrested the male half.  The woman in question then used the time to clean his home out.  An Irvine detective became suspicious of the "victim's" behavior and then pieced it all together.  The investigation led to the woman’s arrest.

The problem is the quickness of law enforcement to arrest the man in the absence of evidence.  The arrest is solely based on an accusation.  Men in multiple cities went to jail behind this woman’s false accusations.  I can think of no other crime which an arrest is made solely based on an accusation.

The original arresting officers failed miserably at their jobs.  However, I don’t blame them for they were doing only as they were trained.  Police departments focus heavily on stats (you might call them quotas).  Arresting a man accused of domestic violence is an easy stat.  Of course, the ramifications to an innocent man isn’t even on the radar screen.

This is further compounded by training in the area provided by the District Attorney’s Office.  I witnessed a deputy district attorney instruct officers to arrest the man in the absence of evidence demonstrating who the aggressor is.

Our law enforcement agencies need to take a hard look at how California law is applied to ensure accuracy and fairness in its application.  To date, it is failing.