Domestic abuse/family violence

ANALYSIS: The Covid pandemic and multiple lockdowns have not prompted a “significant increase” in domestic homicide deaths, according to a new police and government report published last month; but the research does raise several areas of concern, including domestic abuse risks associated with lifting lockdowns, and the “entrenched and enduring” nature of the problem, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

INNOVATION: The technology revolution has brought about many benefits for society, but it has also provided tools for domestic abuse perpetrators to harass, stalk and terrify their victims, often through coercive control; IBM Security specialist Lesley Nuttall explains how technology is being used to abuse victims, and the steps that tech designers can take to ensure that their latest developments are resistant to being manipulated for harm.

FEATURE: Targeting family violence and gender-driven crimes is a challenge for law enforcement around the world; ahead of next week’s Australia and New Zealand Society of Evidence-Based Policing Conference, Lauren Callaway, Assistant Commissioner of Family Violence Command for Victoria Police, outlines some of the key steps taken by the force – both in its approach to crimes in the community, and in tackling issues within the organisation – to make people safer.

OPINION: Australia’s female prison population has increased significantly, with First Nations women disproportionately affected, as laws and measures introduced to protect women and children from male violence have led to more females being jailed; Monash University Associate Professor Silke Meyer believes it’s time to invest more in primary prevention to end violence against women.

FEATURES: A new report on the UK police response to domestic abuse during the coronavirus pandemic has praised forces for their proactive and innovative approaches, but voiced fresh concerns over the delays in cases coming to court, and the long-term impact of the significant level of cases discontinued, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former police officer and New York City Attorney Aurora Curtis calls for an expansion of the Massachusetts Domestic Violence High-Risk Response Model, which has co-ordinated a multi-agency approach to targeting the men most likely to kill their partners – with dramatic results.

OPINION: Statistics show that incidents of domestic violence increase significantly in the aftermath of natural disasters; Professor Jennifer Boddy and Researcher Celeste Harris of Queensland’s Griffith University set out how and why violence prevention should be a crucial part of emergency response.

ANALYSIS: Dr George Karystianis and Professor Tony Butler of the University of New South Wales have used data mining techniques to analyse almost half a million police reports of domestic violence, revealing that mental health issues play a key role in the crime for both victims and perpetrators.

FEATURE: New Zealand has faced a significant challenge in tackling domestic violence, but a new multi-agency, holistic approach to ‘family harm’ – centred around Te Taanga Manawa, the new multi-disciplinary hub pioneered in South Auckland – could lead to much greater success in meeting that challenge, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The most recent @WeCops Twitter chat focused on domestic abuse and the impact of COVID-19, exploring issue around how the pandemic has changed the reporting and response, how partners and support agencies have coped, and what lessons police have learned; Thames Valley Police Superintendent and WeCops team member Katy Barrow-Grint pulls together the key points from the debate.

ANALYSIS: Many police and support agencies have spoken of the rise in domestic abuse cases due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but empirical evidence has been lacking; now new research by Dr Katrin Hohl of City, University of London and Dr Kelly Johnson of Durham University has revealed both the scale and complex nature of the pandemic’s impact on domestic abuse, and the need for police to prepare for a post-lockdown surge in reporting.

FEATURE: London Policing College’s recent Policing in the Time of Pandemic conference included a focus on COVID-19’s impact on domestic abuse and harmful practices; Polly Harrar, founder of The Sharan Project and Joint Chair of the London Harmful Practices Working Group, highlights the key messages from the workshops held ahead of the conference, and the lessons for policing moving forwards.

OPINION: The police response to domestic abuse can traumatise victims for a second time, as the push to secure a prosecution leaves them feeling powerless and ignored; Professor Dawn Moore of Canada’s Carleton University warns that women can be as fearful of police as they are of their abusers.

OPINION: The COVID-19 pandemic has put even more women at risk of domestic abuse, but addressing the crime only as a ‘women’s issue’ risks blaming the victim and ignoring the actions of the offender; Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens believes that to stop the cycle of reoffending it's essential to start working with perpetrators.

OPINION: Following a recent three-year pilot, provisions in a new UK Domestic Abuse Bill will pave the way for mandatory lie-detector testing of high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators; but Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth argues that new scientific test techniques would be more effective and appropriate than using outdated polygraph methods.