Police-Perpetrated Domestic and Family Violence: A Scoping Review of Australian and International Scholarship

Abstract

The perpetration of domestic and family violence (DFV) by police officers is a serious abuse of power and has generated a growing body of scholarship in Australia and internationally. Police are uniquely positioned to draw on their expertise, training, and access to weapons to perpetrate DFV while often evading accountability and leaving victim-survivors with limited options to seek protection and redress. This paper sets out findings from a scoping review of 54 scholarly articles, chapters, theses, and other papers which address police-perpetrated DFV (PPDFV). The review generates insight into the methodological, theoretical, and critical implications of PPDFV scholarship across policing, criminology, psychology, sociology, and gender-based research. We identify gaps in jurisdictional coverage and understandings of the rates, prevalence, and nature of PPDFV. The importance of intersectional and critical research, which considers the impacts on PPDFV of gender, race, and sexuality, is also signposted.