Policing domestic violence: A Nottingham case-study

Abstract

In February 1992 Nottinghamshire Constabulary introduced domestic violence registers to all of its police stations as part of an initiative to improve the policing of violence in the home. The registers recorded information about the violent incident, personal details of the parties involved, and the nature of police action. This article presents findings from the first two years' existence of one such register in a police station in Nottingham, analysing 302 recorded cases of domestic violence. After an initial description of the area studied and the statistics derived from the register, this article presents findings from a statistical model which was used to estimate the strength of various influences upon police decision-making in cases of domestic violence.

Key Words:

• domestic violence
• policing
• policy implementation
• discretionary police powers
• police decision-making