Police Perceptions of Domestic Violence: The Nexus of Victim, Perpetrator, Event, Self and Law

• NCJ Number: 179048
• Journal: Policing Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: 1999 Pages: 313-326
• Author(s): Peter G. Sinden; B. Joyce Stephens
• Editor(s): Lawrence F. Travis III
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study profiles police attitudes toward and perceptions of domestic violence, based on an analysis of interviews with 21 patrol officers and 6 police chiefs in departments located in a rural county in New York State.

Abstract

In the interviews officers were questioned about their experiences associated with training for and responding to incidents of domestic violence. They were asked to discuss what they thought about these events as well as the actions they took both prior to and after the implementation of the mandatory arrest law in domestic violence incidents. In addition to detailed descriptions of events, perpetrators, and victims, officers also were asked to provide quantitative estimates where appropriate. The popular criticism of police attitudes toward domestic violence incidents is that they consider it a bothersome aspect of police work that diverts them from their more important responsibilities. The interviews of this study do not support this popular belief about police. Only two of the officers interviewed indicated that domestic violence incidents are not a primary police concern. Most considered a domestic violence call a central feature of police work. As such they viewed these incidents as appropriate subjects for a proactive enforcement policy as well as a subject of basic and continuing training to prepare officers for an effective response. Officers viewed victim ambiguity about the arrest of the perpetrator as one of the most difficult aspects of handling domestic violence incidents. Victims are viewed as typically torn between wanting to be free of abuse yet remaining attached to the abuser. For the police this dilemma creates uncertainty as to how to best respond to such situations. The police interviewed were aware that each domestic violence incident has different aspects that require tailored responses appropriate for each situation. 38 references