Intimate Partner Violence Survivor Perspectives on Firearm Removal by Law Enforcement

• In Event: Research on Innovative Law Enforcement Responses to Crimes against Vulnerable Victims

Abstract

Although law enforcement are the primary actors who remove firearms from people who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV), we know little about how IPV survivors have experienced this type of firearm removal, both in the process of removal and the impacts it has on their safety and wellbeing. Through interviews with IPV survivors from four states, including rural and urban areas, we explore survivors’ 1) experiences of firearm-related IPV; 2) knowledge of legal mechanisms that equip law enforcement to remove firearms; 3) past experiences with and perspectives on law enforcement removal of firearms from abusers, and 4) their feedback and recommendations to guide future law enforcement policy and practice around removal of firearms. Survivors discuss both calling police for firearm threats and petitioning for removal by law enforcement in civil court orders, namely domestic violence protection orders (DVPOs) and extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs). Survivors also discuss complex factors, such as illegal firearm ownership and personal and community relationships with and perceptions of law enforcement, that shaped their willingness to pursue law enforcement firearm removal from abusers.

Authors

• Jaclyn Houston-Kolnik, RTI International

• Josie Sivaraman, RTI International

• Lilly Yu, RTI International