Referring Abused Women: Does Police Assistance Decrease Abuse?

Abstract

To evaluate if abused women's use of the police reduced further violence experienced, 90 abused women were interviewed at a large urban police department and followed for 6 months. Frequency and severity of violence as well as danger of homicide were measured before and at 3 and 6 months after women sought police help. Women seeking police help had significantly reduced threats of abuse (F = 124.62, df = 2,81; p < .0005), actual abuse (F = 90.11, df = 2,81; p < .0005), and danger of being killed (F = 188.69, df = 2,81; p < .0005) by her intimate partner. Bonferroni post hoc tests showed that significantly fewer threats of abuse, physical abusive acts, and risk indicators for homicide had occurred from prefiling to 3 months (p <.0005) and prefiling to 6 months (p <.0005). The data indicate that referring abused women to the police is an appropriate intervention.

Intimate Partner Violence and the Justice System

“…Outside of the replication studies, research has continued to show conflicting findings as to arrest efficacy; however some studies have found positive effect (e.g., Langan & Innes, 1986;Wiist & McFarlane, 1998;Willson, McFarlane, Lemmey & Malecha, 2001). In a study of 90 abused women, McFarlane and colleagues (2000) found a less positive outcome, with no change in future violence based on arrest of the offender.…”

Domestic violence in emergency medicine patients

“…There is some evidence that abused women who involve the police have lower rates of violence than those who do not, though it is not clear whether this is due solely to the actions of the police. 47 There is randomised controlled trial evidence that advocacy services have a role in reducing levels of violence, though whether this American evidence applies to a UK population is unclear. 48 There is also cohort evidence that community protection orders in the US are associated with lower rates of abuse, although again the external validity of a study conducted in the US to British practice is limited.…”

Domestic Violence During Pregnancy: Implications for Practice

“…The clinician along with local domestic violence advocates can describe the expected police action in a particular community. Police involvement has been associated with decreased severity and frequency of abuse, when assessed 6 months after initiation of police involvement (81).…”