ABSTRACT
It was observed earlier in this chapter that the key issues in the context of policing domestic violence are attitudinal. The substantive law, discussed above, is wide enough for the police to intervene in virtually every domestic violence situation if they choose to do so. However, as Edwards observes:89
Edwards stresses the need for that discretion to be focused. As she observes: ‘policing in the absence of policy (or a policy of maximum discretion) facilitates the making of individual judgments, often based upon erroneous stereotypes’. It is that policy that has undergone clear change in recent years. What is less clear is the extent to which those policy changes have been reflected by changing attitudes ‘on the ground’, ie amongst those who deal with domestic violence on a day-to-day basis.
