ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to understand how police responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) changed during the first English lockdown (March 23–June 30, 2020). It analyses quantitative data (victim, suspect demographics and crimes recorded) from 6,408 incidents reported to a South-Eastern police force during the first English lockdown, with 6,808 incidents recorded during March 23–June 30, 2019. The study findings indicate that IPV incidents reported to the police changed, with increased reports amongst older age groups and fewer involving younger individuals, most likely mirroring increased IPV perpetration from cohabiting partners. This research also considers how police responses altered, in terms of the use of arrest, allocation of risk and prosecution of suspects, drawing on interviews conducted with 12 officers. Looking at officer experiences, it appears that their perceptions of personal risk altered during the first English lockdown, with many accepting the risk of infection as inevitable and experiencing suspects weaponisation of COVID-19.
