Domestic violence : evidence review.

Abstract

While domestic violence is high on the public policy agenda in the UK, successive reviews have highlighted policing problems. A recent HMIC report found domestic violence is not policed at the same level as other offences and identified a catalogue of policing failures that have a long history of recurrence. With domestic violence accounting for around a large proportion of violent crime incidents reported to the police, and the majority of all female homicides (Office for National Statistics, 2013), it is essential that what works in addressing perpetrators is fully reviewed. This review provides a rapid assessment of the current state of evidence on policing interventions with perpetrators of intimate partner domestic violence. Policing interventions such as risk assessments, referrals to IDVAs, and MARACs, and ‘Clare’s law’ that are primarily focused on victims are excluded from this review. After the methodology is described, seven areas of work are briefly described, giving operational examples from England and Wales where possible.