At the very least, you will be building a case and developing evidence. Police may be an unreliable source of help in domestic situations, although this will vary from place to place. They have been accused of prejudice and sexism, but whether or not that is true, their conduct is also based on years of frustrating and dangerous experience. Police are much more likely to get hurt and less likely to do any real good in domestic disputes than in any other kind of case. This difficult issue has received a great deal of public attention, so police agencies now tend to have standards for dealing with domestic violence.
Some departments have officers specially trained in family crisis intervention.
Ask responding officers if they can refer you to available spouse abuse shelters, support groups or relevant community services agencies. Call your local police, talk to them about your problem and see what their attitude is and in what way they are willing to help. Start a record in their files. The best help is the kind you give yourself. The only thing you can control in life is your own attitude, actions and reactions, so start there.