Police Attitudes Toward Policing Partner Violence Against Women: Do They Correspond to Different Psychosocial Profiles?

Abstract

This study analyzed whether police attitudes toward policing partner violence against women corresponded with different psychosocial profiles. Two attitudes toward policing partner violence were considered-one reflecting a general preference for a conditional law enforcement (depending on the willingness of the victim to press charges against the offender) and the other reflecting a general preference for unconditional law enforcement (regardless of the victim's willingness to press charges against the offender). Results from a sample of 378 police officers showed that those police officers who expressed a general preference for unconditional law enforcement scored higher in other-oriented empathy, were less sexist, tended to perceive the same incidents of partner violence as more serious, and felt more personally responsible, as compared to the group of police officers who expressed a preference for a conditional law enforcement approach. Implications for police education are considered.