My dad used to beat my ass black and blue. There's a better way to do it and I admire the heck out of parents who manage to raise their kids without it. But it's not worthy of an arrest and police record.
I wished, I PRAYED that someone would have come in and stopped my parents when it was welts and bruises .... because after that, comes the burning matches, the wire hangers, the blood dripping down the back, the broom handles, the two by fours etc.