Theorising victim decision making in the police response to domestic abuse
| Author | Nathan Birdsall,Laura Boulton |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02697580211063658 |
| Published date | 01 September 2022 |
| Date | 01 September 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/
International Review of Victimology
2022, Vol. 28(3) 330 –344
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02697580211063658
journals.sagepub.com/home/irv
Article
Theorising victim decision
making in the police
response to domestic abuse
Nathan Birdsall
University of Central Lancashire, UK
Laura Boulton
Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Abstract
The paper provides a conceptual argument for the importance of understanding victim decision
making in responding to cases of domestic abuse. It applies core elements of decision-making
theory to illustrate how victims may undergo different forms of thinking, could be affected by bias,
consider gain and loss differently, and suffer from decision inertia. Suggestions are provided on
how this perspective could be used in practice to deliver a victim empowerment approach in
policing. However, the paper also expresses the importance of the theory’s limitations, especially
around external validity, and suggests that research across various disciplines is critical to deter-
mine whether the perspective could be placed onto an empirical footing.
Keywords
Domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, policing, decision making, victim empowerment
Introduction
Police forces are often considered to have a unique role in handling domestic abuse, since they
must respond to frontline calls and act as gatekeepers to the criminal justice system (CJS) (Cor-
coran and Allen, 2005; Tasca et al., 2012). As the main respondents to abuse, it is paramount to
develop best practice into how the police can ensure effective engagement with victims throughout
the investigation. Currently, victim withdrawal (also commonly labelled non-cooperation, recan-
tation, retraction, and disengagement) presents an ongoing challenge for police and prosecutors in
various jurisdictions (Sleath and Smith, 2017). Successful police investigations that result in a
Corresponding author:
Nathan Birdsall, University of Central Lancashire, Maudland Building, Fylde Road, Preston PR1 2HE, UK.
Email: NBirdsall2@uclan.ac.uk
To continue reading
Request your trial