Does Police Officer Training Influence Police Response to Victims of Domestic Violence? An Experimental Study

• In Event: Improving Law Enforcement through Training

Abstract

A 2(perpetrator gender) X 2(victim gender) between subjects design was conducted to examine police response to domestic violence (DV) incidents. Police officers (N = 248) representing 27 states read a scenario of a DV incident with a perpetrator who physically assaulted a partner. A series of ANOVA/ANCOVAs were computed using the amount/recency of officer training in domestic violence as a covariate. Initial ANOVA results found officers were more likely to mediate when disputants were gay males and least willing to mediate when perpetrators were male and victims were female. However this effect was eliminated when amount/recency of officer training was controlled. Officers were more likely to believe it was fair to provide informal advice when the victim was male, yet when training was controlled this effect was eliminated. Police were more likely to refer perpetrators in same-sex relationships to DV hotlines more than perpetrators in heterosexual relationships, despite officer training. While there were no effects for referral of victims to DV hotlines, controlling for training revealed a preference to refer female victims. The importance of police training will be discussed along with issues of arrest.

Author

• Brenda L. Russell, Pennsylvania State University, Berks