Police Initial Responses to Domestic Abuse A systematic review

Key findings A systematic review of the available literature found very little evidence relating to actions police officers should take when attending a domestic abuseincident . Specifically, there is a paucity of evaluative evidence in relation to alternatives to arrest. There is evidence from one data source that police attendance in and of itself is effective in reducing victimisation. Arrest also appears to result in modest reductions in revictimisation, though the effect of arrest over and above police attendance is not clear. There is emerging evidence that the use of technology may help to secure more convictions for domestic abuse.