NCJ Number
190855
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 68 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2001 Pages: 65-74
Date Published
July 2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the types of deaths linked to domestic violence, provides examples of domestic violence fatality reviews, and discusses the implications of these reviews for law enforcement.
Abstract
Fatality reviews, conducted appropriately and carefully, provide an important means of improving the response of law enforcement agencies to domestic violence. Review findings and recommendations can offer innovative suggestions for officer training, officer safety, and the coordination of policing activities with other agencies involved in dealing with family violence. "Intimate partner homicide" usually involves a man killing his female partner, often after a long and escalating pattern of domestic violence. When women kill male partners, they typically do so in self-defense. The deliberations from domestic violence fatality reviews can augment community education about this persistent social and criminal justice problem and can help law enforcement agencies to consider more deeply the issues that affect women's ability to escape these dangerous relationships. The article urges law enforcement agencies to adopt domestic violence fatality reviews in order to enhance their agency's response and improve the lives of many families. Notes