NCJ Number
101320
Date Published
1984
Length
11 pages
Annotation
These guidelines for the police handling of spouse abuse in British Columbia, Canada, reflect a new policy by the Ministry of the Attorney General which emphasizes police charging of the suspected abuser when there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe an assault has occurred.
Abstract
Police should take the suspect into custody when the victim suffers bodily harm, the officer believes another assault is likely, or a peace bond or court order is in effect. Police services to the victim should include the issuance to the victim of referral cards with information on relevant community services and the case number and attending officer's phone number. Where necessary or desired by the victim, police should accompany the victim to a shelter or other safe location in the jurisdiction. Police must also complete and file a detailed incident report for each domestic assault, including those unlikely to proceed to prosecution. Where appropriate, police should make unannounced callbacks to sites of previous spouse abuse. Where possible, male-female officer teams should be assigned to domestic assault reports. Awards should be issued for outstanding police performance in managing domestic assault cases as in other areas of police performance. The handling of various types of hypothetical spouse abuse cases is described. Discussion questions and references.