Modifying the ‘how’ of an arrest: reducing the interacting effects of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and parental arrest

ABSTRACT

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) as a child is a well-known risk factor for impaired psychosocial functioning contributing to elevated risks of internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Witnessing a parent’s arrest for IPV can interact with and further extend these consequences. This narrative review discusses the research on these adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and identifies the potential for greater traumatic outcomes resulting from their interaction. The authors provide strategies for police to minimize the negative effects on children when arresting a parent who has perpetrated IPV and recommend transitioning towards more integrated units that enable collaborative responses between police practitioners and child experts to minimize the resulting harm of exposure to these particular ACEs.

KEYWORDS:

• Intimate partner violence
• domestic violence
• parental arrest
• parental incarceration
• adverse childhood experiences
• exposure to violence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amanda V. McCormick

Dr. Amanda V. McCormick is an Associate Professor and the Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley. She is also a Research Associate with the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research. Her research interests involve policing strategies, public safety issues, problem gambling, program evaluation, at-risk youth, serious and violent young offenders, and mental health issues, including personality disorders and addictive disorders. She has been a lead or co-investigator on over 30 research projects, and has authored and co-authored multiple peer reviewed publications and over 50 research reports.

Irwin M. Cohen

Dr. Irwin M. Cohen is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley, and the Director of the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research. Dr. Cohen has published 1 book, 38 scholarly articles and book chapters, over 100 research reports, delivered over 100 conference papers and workshops, and worked on over 50 research projects on a wide range of topics, including policing, serious and violent young offenders, youth justice issues, terrorism, addictions, mental health, and technology

Stephanie Ashton

Sergeant Stephanie Ashton is the Provincial Domestic Violence Coordinator with the ‘E’ Division Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and an Instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where she teaches courses on policing and the criminal justice system. She graduated with a Master of Arts (Criminal Justice) from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2011, where she completed her paper on integrated responses to domestic violence.