Police Responses to Domestic Violence: The Impact of Extra-Legal Factors

• In Event: Roundtable: Studies on Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence

Abstract

Despite various structural-level factors that influence how police respond to domestic violence calls, there is still quite a bit of variation. As past research demonstrates, how an officer responds in any given situation does not necessarily reflect the departmental protocol. This disparity between police policies and actual practice is commonly cited in the literature and emphasizes police discretion. What is responsible then for disparities in officer responses? Some research suggests extralegal factors impact police responses and discretion making. This work-in-progress paper draws on interviews with officers, coupled with ethnographic fieldwork observations, to examine what extra-legal factors most impact different officer perceptions and responses to domestic violence cases in the field. My analyses reveal the salience of extralegal factors on officer/citizen interactions. I find officers often draw on and reinforce gender, class, and racial stereotypes when responding to domestic violence calls and tailor their responses according to these perceptions. Additionally, I find support for the “difference approach” insofar as police officers often respond to domestic violence cases in distinctly different ways based on their race and gender. The theoretical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Author

• Amanda Admire, University of California, Riverside