Domestic Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence: A Review of Police-Led and Multi-agency Interventions

Abstract

This chapter focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV) and addresses the question: what approaches and specific methods can be applied in work with those who have committed violence against their partners to reduce the likelihood of the behaviour recurring? We searched nine electronic databases from 2000 to 2020. An initial set of 3832 records was reduced to 145 papers including 29 reviews. The remaining reports formed 4 categories: studies of the use of arrest (17); other collaborative interventions, some police-led (24); the introduction of women’s police stations (6); and evaluations of IPV treatment programmes (69). There was little convincing evidence that arrest alone was effective in deterring IPV perpetrators. There was tentative evidence that (a) reporting to police may be effective if subsequent processes increase victims’ confidence in police and empowers them in making contacts and (b) the arrest of some suspected IPV perpetrators may reduce repeat offending as a function of risk levels and previous IPV patterns. There was stronger evidence supporting the use of specialized police domestic violence units that include a mixture of personnel, employ more intensive investigation, provide victim support, include second responder interventions and prepare case material to improve the likelihood of successful prosecution. Results from the review of treatment interventions presents a mixed pattern with some positive effects, but the largest come from less well-designed studies, with some changes fragile and short-lived. There is provisional evidence of long-term developmental prevention of IPV through the introduction of awareness sessions in schools.