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Citation |
Gezinski LB. J. Fam. Violence 2022; 37(1): 99-111. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Despite the high incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the United States, perpetrator accountability remains a problem. Research suggests this is partially attributable to underreporting linked to the perceived unhelpfulness of police. The purpose of this research study was to understand survivors and service providers' lived experiences with police in a mandatory arrest state. Purposive sampling was utilized to conduct in-depth, semi-structured focus groups and interviews with 43 survivors and 59 service providers from March 2016 to February 2017. Data analysis consisted of line-by-line analysis, identifying themes, coding categories, and developing matrices to uncover relationships between themes and categories. Participants deliberated police failure to adequately respond to IPV-related calls. While survivors' interactions with police were consistently negative, service providers' experiences were more mixed. Police response was deemed worse in rural areas due to limited capacity and social relationships with perpetrators. Five major themes were identified, including: (1) inadequate police response, (2) amplified hurdles in rural communities, (3) predominant aggressor incongruity, (4) protective orders fail to protect, and (5) Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) working relationships. Mandatory arrest policy sometimes results in the criminalization of survivors. Police require trauma-informed training that will assist in their determination of the predominant aggressor. Language: en |
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Keywords |
Domestic violence; Law enforcement; Lethality assessment; Predominant or primary aggressor; Pro-arrest policies; Protective orders; Rural response; Survivor and service provider perspectives |