It was five years back. I'm not sure how quickly police departments change their policies, nor how quickly police officers change their perspectives on rape victims, but memories don't fade that easily. But hey, maybe *counts fingers* ... sixth time will be the charm?

To be clear, that's five different times I've had dealings with the cops of my own volition for various different reasons, one of which involved a rape, and two of which were the DV calls on my neighbors that I mentioned previously. I don't necessarily blame the cops in the DV case because there's nothing they really could've done short of making sure he didn't kill her that night. It isn't their job to play therapist to some belligerent loser. Nonetheless, the husband still shortly after getting out of jail, and nothing really changed. Eventually, people stopped calling, knowing it would only make it worse in the long run.

I think, like with divine's case, the cops are a useful tool to stop the worst case scenario (or punish the perp after the fact). But I think subtlety is preferred when it hasn't quite reached that level. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, one could provide information on DV shelters or CPS to the wife while the husband isn't looking. That puts the power in her hands and allows her the chance to exit with the kids safely and quietly.