The Impact of Assessing for Lethal Risk on Victims Satisfaction and Judgement of the Police

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

Abstract

For thirty years, scholars have focused on assessing whether police officers’ interaction with the public, particularly among those that they accuse of an infraction can influence the accused’s views about the police and their compliance with the officer’s commands. Under the rubric of procedural justice, this model predicts that regardless of the delivered sanction, procedurally fair interactions should increase the likelihood of the acceptance and compliance with any subsequent order. More recently, this view has extended to concerns about how the police can influence victims’ willingness to follow-through on the officers’ requests. This question is particularly important in the context of reducing repeat domestic violence, where state and departmental policies limit an officers’ discretion. Using data from a structured interview with victims of intimate partner violence that took place shortly after an encounter with the police, this paper focuses on measuring the impact that a newly introduced and structured but brief risk assessment has on victims. The analysis will assess whether the process of assessing risk for homicide influences the victim’s judgment about the responding law enforcement agency, views of the offices’ use of procedure justice attributes during the encounter, and willingness to follow-through on the risks assessment protocols.

Authors

• Christopher D. Maxwell, Michigan State University

• Tami Sullivan, Yale University School of Medicine

• Joy S. Kaufman, Yale University School of Medicine

• Katine Gionteris, Yale University School of Medicine

• Cindy Medina, Yale University School of Medicine