NCJ Number
93598
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 57 Issue: 1 Dated: (January - March 1984) Pages: 43-56
Date Published
1984
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Many of the myths and stereotypes about spouse abuse are perpetuated by police inaction, but until there is concrete research into different police responses, it cannot be determined whether such beliefs held by police officers are or are not barriers to effective intervention.
Abstract
This study considers the myths and stereotypes which are part of police officers' perceptions in their dealings with battered women, with most of the data used based on U.S. studies and some comparisons made with the English experience. Police perceptions brought to domestic situations involving battered women are rooted in assumptions about the socioeconomic position of women. There is evidence that assaults involving unrelated persons result in significantly more arrests and court proceedings than reported assaults between family members. This may be due to police officers' tendency to view as less serious a husband's abuse of his wife and to consider criminal justice intervention inappropriate for marital conflicts. Further, police assume that wives will not initiate or follow through on charges against their husbands and that they are not seriously interested in escaping from the violent situation. Police also tend to believe that physical assaults do not occur in middle-class families, so they are not disposed to pursue allegations of spouse abuse in such families. Also, popular conceptions of what is involved in policing do not give priority to domestic conflicts. Overall, the police officer currently has no basis for assessing the effect of different intervention techniques for family conflicts and lacks an understanding of the diverse factors involved. Research is needed to challenge police-held myths and stereotypes regarding domestic violence and to design intervention policies. Thirty-nine references are listed.