Police perceptions of domestic violence: the nexus of victim, perpetrator, event, self and law

Whether they are research summaries or state of affairs pieces, existing commentaries are critical of police response to domestic violence calls. Charged with leisurely response times, being reluctant to make an arrest, devaluing victims, siding with batterers, or subverting new policies, the police are depicted as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution. Interviews with working police officers and their chiefs suggest this view is at odds with police perceptions of domestic violence. This paper describes a police “voice” about domestic violence through an analysis of intensive interview responses by 21 patrol officers and six police chiefs in departments located in a rural county in New York State. The data suggest police definitions of the domestic violence situation are developed from the nexus of separate views they have of “victim”, “perpetrator”, “event”, “self”, and the “law.” These views are described and implications for policy implementation are discussed.