Factors That Affect Victims’ Willingness to Engage in Homicide Risk Assessment with Police Officer

• In Event: Evaluation of the Office of Violence Against Women’s Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative

Abstract

Interactions between victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and police have been well-studied. The focus of such studies has evolved as laws, law enforcement practices and societal norms regarding IPV have changed over time. Research on individual characteristics (of the victim, offender, and police officers), relational factors, and situational factors (such as the severity of the IPV) have revealed findings that have contributed to the ways in which victims currently reach out to and interact with police today. Relatively new to the field of policing are assessments that aim to determine a victim’s risk for being killed by her current or former intimate partner. There is a dearth of research on this aspect of victim-police interactions, including how the administration of such a risk assessment protocol impacts the victims being assessed. Therefore, using data from a structured interview with victims of IPV that took place shortly after an encounter with the police, this paper examines factors that affect victims’ willingness to engage in a risk assessment protocol with police officers, describes victims’ experiences of responding to the risk assessment questions, including those victims who were informed of their high risk for homicide.

Authors

• Tami Sullivan, Yale University School of Medicine

• Joy S. Kaufman, Yale University School of Medicine

• Christopher D. Maxwell, Michigan State University

• Katine Gionteris, Yale University School of Medicine

• Cindy Medina, Yale University School of Medicine