Police discourse on policing domestic violence

Pinkus, Jennifer Anne

Police discourse on policing domestic violence Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University. Pinkus, Jennifer Anne - Palmerston North Massey University 1996 - iv, 118 p.

Available for loan from the Turitea Campus Library.

This thesis looks at how six police officers talk about policing domestic violence. The analysis is based on interview data collected between October 1993 and January 1994 in Palmerston North, New Zealand. A 'discursive approach' was adopted in analysing the texts. The central assumption was that the meanings given to events and people are likely to influence policing practice. Two main areas were looked at: the first was the social construction of policing domestic violence; the second was how the officers' talk seemed to position people as either deserving or undeserving of police 'discretion'. It was found gender, race, and class assumptions influenced their decisions. The author noted the construction of male and female self was 'rational' and 'emotional' respectively and concluded that the meanings given to events and people do influence policing practice.--AUTHOR'S ABSTRACT

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
GENDER
INTERVENTION
JUSTICE
OFFENDERS
POLICE
SURVIVORS
THESES
VICTIMS
MĀORI
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
PASIFIKA
PREVENTION