Generalized and racialized consequences of the police response to intimate partner violence in the U.S.: A systematic scoping review

• Published in: Aggression and violent behavior Vol. 78; p. 101947
• Main Authors: Kajeepeta, Sandhya, Bates, Lisa M., Keyes, Katherine M., Bailey, Zinzi D., Roberts, Dorothy E., Bruzelius, Emilie, Askari, Melanie S., Prins, Seth J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Domestic violence; Intimate partner violence; Mandatory arrest; Police; Domestic violence; Mandatory arrest; Police; Intimate partner violence; intimate partner violence; domestic violence; police; mandatory arrest
• ISSN: 1359-1789
• DOI: 10.1016/j.avb.2024.101947

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts more than 40 % of people in the U.S. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has maintained a police-centric response to IPV, which relies on arrest—via policies like mandatory arrest laws—as its primary intervention. There is mixed evidence on whether IPV policing decreases subsequent IPV at the individual level, but less is known about IPV policing's broader collateral consequences. This systematic scoping review is the first to synthesize existing evidence for the generalized consequences of IPV policing in the U.S. We searched Web of Science, ProQuest, and EBSCO Host, and identified 36 relevant articles. Survivor criminalization was the most studied generalized consequence of IPV policing and existing studies have documented positive associations between mandatory arrest laws and risk of survivor arrest. We also found numerous methodologically rigorous studies on the effects of mandatory arrest laws on population-level IPV victimization. The review also identifies gaps in the evidence base: there is a need for research on additional potential consequences of IPV policing such as police violence against survivors, involvement of child protective services, and psychosocial and physical health outcomes of survivors. •This is the first review of evidence on generalized consequences of IPV policing in the U.S.•Survivor criminalization was the most studied consequence of IPV policing.•There are also numerous studies on the effect of mandatory arrest laws on population-level IPV victimization.•There is a need for more research on other potential consequences of IPV policing.