Police Force Response To Domestic Violence

On many occasions, officers and government officials have brushed aside the agonized cries for help from families experiencing domestic abuse, which in turn has resulted in many fatal cases and the additional emotional and physical human collateral that accompanies it. However, this may be avoided if all claims were taken seriously and law enforcement responded as if the call was a priority. To reduce the aforementioned human collateral associated with fatal domestic violence, the actions of the police officers and emergency workers must more effectively match the severity of the situations experienced by families of domestic violence. The United States Department of Justice defines domestic abuse and violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior …show more content…
“Victims who are assessed as at high-risk of serious harm or murder attracted a high level of multi-agency support...” yet until they are deemed as such, the police did nothing as far as giving the cases priority, and by then it was too late. In one of the testimonies provided by a domestically abused family, they claimed that “‘They didn’t take it seriously until something happened in public… not taking it seriously until he hit me in a club in the middle of everybody… It was no different to what we experienced behind a closed door… ” Although this woman did not become one of the many fatalities that result from domestic abuse, she speaks for all those who have been brushed aside by police. The findings of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary are the icing on the cake as far as evidence towards the lack of police response. Because professionals of Her Majesty’s cabinet have seen the lack of response and sensitivity held by police officers, it is implausibly clear that police response, or lack thereof, can be the difference between life and death for many domestic abuse victims. (HMIC, Justice …show more content…
As men and women everywhere share their experiences with neglectful police responses, it becomes evident that not only does police response to domestic abuse calls need to be held to the same standards as hostage crisis, but they need to acknowledge and investigate all domestic disturbance claims until they are disproven as a false alarm. And even then, there should still be a procedure in place to keep watch on the domestic disturbance claim so that there is not even the slightest chance that the perpetrator could strike