Policing Family Violence: The Implementation of a Pro-arrest Policy in Christchurch

Since the 1970s, the police response to family violence has been a major area of controversy, for researchers and practitioners alike. With the adoption of pro-arrest family violence policies internationally from the 1980s onwards, a more pro-active police response was heralded. Theoretically, this pro-arrest approach signalled a significant shift in the way family violence would be policed. However, numerous studies have concluded that the introduction of these policies has not effectively changed police culture, and thus little has actually changed with respect to how family violence is policed. Policing family violence focuses on issues relating to the practical implementation of a pro-arrest policy at the ground-level in Christchurch, New Zealand. This study critically discusses a number of issues, including: the historical development of pro-arrest family violence policies; the implementation of pro-arrest policies in practice and; the legitimate and illegitimate exercise of police discretion. Policing family violence will be of great interest to family violence practitioners, police, and those interested in police discretion and policy implementation in general.