NCJ Number
102244
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Dated: (July-September 1986) Pages: 230-241
Date Published
1986
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined police dispositions and police attitudes in the 1984-85 London Domestic Violence and Policing Study (England) conducted in two police districts, Holloway and Hounslow.
Abstract
Case dispositions were identified from police records, and police attitudes were determined from 44 indepth interviews with involved officers. Of the 449 domestic disturbance calls received in Holloway over the study period, criminal proceedings were initiated in 2.4 percent of the cases. Of the 324 incidents reported in Hounslow, 1.5 percent of the cases were processed. Police generally believed arrests were appropriate only when a weapon had been used and serious injury inflicted. Police tended to view domestic calls as a drain on police resources and a low priority police concern. Police viewed their role in domestic calls as that of diffusing a crisis situation. Police did not refer the parties to appropriate community services. The prosecution of suspected offenders and the enforcement of civil injunctions to protect victims were influenced primarily by officers' perceptions of the victim's commitment to legal processing. Police should develop a better referral system and a more comprehensive method of recording domestic incidents. They should formulate clearer strategies for dealing with such incidents, including followup calls when legal action is not taken. When violence has occurred and recurrence seems likely, the suspect should be arrested. 44 references.