Should laws be enforced despite a victim's wishes?

[BoomerFan]

This came up elsewhere on the boards. The question is, if a guy beats his wife but the wife doesn't want him to be arrested, should LEOs arrest/prosecute him anyways?

My gut response (and I admit it is probably the wrong one) is no. If the victim doesn't want to prosecute, you have to respect that. Otherwise you're violating her wishes again. Yes I understand there are things like Battered Wife Syndrome where people are basically pathologically making the worst decision possible for themselves, but I feel uncomfortable taking that decision away from them.

I think the response is going to be pretty one sided (people will say we should prosecute regardless of the victim's wishes) but can people convince me (preferably without attacking me) of their position? I'm honestly asking.