Laura Hammond

This paper summarizes outcomes from a collaborative project involving victim-survivors of domestic abuse (DA) and DA support services, practitioners and policy makers—including police and criminal justice professionals, and academic researchers. Through discussion-based activities undertaken both at a conference of 96 stakeholder representatives and in a series of follow-up workshops, we sought to identify barriers that may prevent DA victim-survivors from accessing services and support. A number of general barriers were identified, as well as specific barriers experienced by those from certain communities or victim groups, such as those from minoritized racial groups and those from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Areas of good practice were also noted, such as the use of person-centered approaches to improve service quality and user experience. A series of co-created recommendations is presented, and the paper concludes by discussing how findings from these activities might be used to inform policy and practice developments, awareness-raising campaigns and developmental opportunities, including CPD and training for professionals and practitioners.

Collaborating with service users with lived experience of systems and processes, including the Criminal Justice System, can help tailor services, which in turn might increase accessibility, engagement, and satisfaction. Despite domestic abuse survivors often expressing a desire to be involved in developing and improving services, opportunities to do so have traditionally been limited, and their experiences of providing a ‘victim voice’ have not been extensively explored. The present paper outlines findings from interviews conducted with five survivors who took part in a range of collaborative engagement activities with criminal justice practitioners and other service providers (e.g., housing and social services) as ‘experts by experience’. During the interviews they reflected on their experiences and considered opportunities for increased involvement of survivors in developing services and support provisions moving forward. Key themes from thematic analysis of the interview data included the importance of survivors’ voices being heard, with their experience acknowledged and their contributions valued, as well as the need for effective facilitation and management of collaborative opportunities. More broadly, notable personal benefits were described by all participants, including feeling empowered by being given the opportunity to have a voice in driving change.

The police education and learning framework in England and Wales has changed dramatically over the past decade, with little empirical evidence available to understand how police officers learn and what pedagogies are most effective. This article provides a discussion on the use of innovative approaches in police learning, specifically relating to evidence-based policing (EBP), using methods designed to enhance engagement with EBP among in-service officers and staff. It offers a reflection on activities undertaken between 2017 and 2021 in one UK police force, facilitated by a police–academic partnership with a local university. The successful formation of an EBP community of practice allowed us to offer a series of fun and engaging learning opportunities for in-service staff and officers. This enabled them to both share and develop their knowledge and to build networks to facilitate peer-to-peer support in understanding and implementing evidence-based practices. The approach appears to have removed some of the barriers to EBP noted previously in the literature, enabling officers and staff to engage more effectively with academics, and with opportunities for development, and to better appreciate the value of research-informed approaches to enhancing policing practices. This article also makes recommendations for further research to explore ‘what works’ in relation to police learning, building an evidence base to inform the development of more effective learning strategies and programmes for use with new and in-service officers.

This paper outlines the development and delivery of a novel, collaborative, co-production approach to incorporating lived experience in the development of policy and practice in the area of domestic abuse. “SEEKERS” (Sharing Experience, Expertise and Knowledge for Effective Responses and Support) is an initiative which brings together victims and advocates, police, practitioners and researchers as equal partners. It creates opportunities for them to share their experiences, expertise, and knowledge, so that others can learn from these and use this learning in addressing domestic abuse-related issues more effectively. Throughout this paper, we discuss some of the challenges encountered in developing and delivering activities and how these were addressed. Notable benefits of the approach will be highlighted, as indicated by feedback from those involved in a range of capacities, including police and law enforcement practitioners, policy makers, councillors, service providers, support services, victim advocates and survivors of domestic abuse. It is hoped that this paper will contribute to ongoing discussions regarding the ways in which different agencies and stakeholders can work together more effectively and how we can create methods and spaces to support meaningful interaction, collaboration, and co-production with victims.

This study focused on raped women's perceptions of their encounters with Swedish police, with a specific focus on quality of encounters, trust, questions asked during police interviews, and perceptions of justice. One hundred and six rape victims, 74 of whom had reported to the police, answered a web-based questionnaire. Results show that where officers explained their line of questioning the perceived intrusiveness of the questioning was lower, as was the level of perceived victim-blaming. Higher quality police encounters were associated with higher trust in the legal system and in police work, and with higher levels of received justice. Findings highlight the importance of trauma-informed policing as a response to sexual assault and provide insights which might help inform policy and practice developments, both in Sweden and more generally.

Participants ( N = 496) reviewed an ambiguous rape scenario involving a “perpetrator,” either in a high or low authority position, and a “victim,” who had or had not consumed alcohol. They indicated whether they viewed what happened as rape, and rated the perceived responsibility of the individuals involved. They also completed Conservatism and Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) scales. Most believed the scenario to constitute rape. Perpetrator responsibility ratings were highest in the high-authority condition, and victims were assigned greater responsibility when they had consumed alcohol. Those who scored higher on the Conservatism/RMA scale attributed less responsibility to the perpetrator and more responsibility to the victim across all conditions.

Purpose: Although there is a vast array of theories on crime, one area that is largely under-represented is that of the actual experience of the offender engaged in criminal acts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the individual and phenomenological experiences of crime amongst women offenders. Design/methodology/approach: The sample consisted of 128 women who had committed a criminal offence, with an average age of 36.40 years (SD=11.12). Participants were recruited to take part in the study by answering a questionnaire exploring the emotions and narrative roles they experienced during commission of a crime. From this, participants’ Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) was determined. Findings: Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) analyses revealed that emotional experiences and narrative roles were thematically associated, and when both were subjected to SSA analysis, two main themes of CNE were identified: Avenging Angel and Choiceless Victim. The Choiceless Victim experience was the most representative of women’s experiences in this study. Practical implications: The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Future directions for research are also outlined. Originality/value: The findings offer an alternative perspective and theoretical framework for examining women offenders’ criminal experiences.

The present study explored the prevalence of myths about male sexual assault, assault by penetration, and rape in a male general population sample (N = 98; mean age = 26.17 years), with the aim of determining potential barriers to the reporting of incidents of male sexual victimization and reasons for reluctance to report. In addition, the impacts of prior experience of male sexual victimization, both direct and indirect, on rape and sexual assault myth acceptance and on attitudes to reporting were evaluated. Participants completed an online survey indicating their levels of agreement with a range of statements reflecting different rape and sexual assault myths identified within the previous literature. Overall, there were high levels of disagreement (>90%) with the majority of the statements. The only items generating higher agreement ratings were those suggesting that the police are unlikely to take male sexual victimization seriously and—where the offence in question was sexual assault or assault by penetration and the perpetrator female—that men should be able to defend themselves against such crimes. Those without any prior experience of male sexual victimization tended to disagree more with the rape myths than those with previous experience. When asked whether they would report these offences if they were to happen to them, participants said that they were more likely to report each of the types of offences when the perpetrator was male than when they were female. Potential implications of the findings, for male sex offence investigations and for the criminal justice system more generally, are discussed.

Purpose: – Homicidal behaviour is influenced by a complex interaction of behavioural, situational and environmental factors that raise many challenging psychological questions. A large and continually growing body of research has explored the crime of homicide, its epidemiology, victims and perpetrators. The area is developing rapidly, opening up new avenues of study. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach: – This special issue of theJournal of Criminal Psychologybrings together an exciting array of papers on homicidal behaviour, examining a wide range of issues including juvenile homicide perpetrators, school shootings, child homicide, homicide-suicide and differences in offence behaviours and victim characteristics between hard-to-solve one-off homicides and serial homicides.Findings: – The range of papers included in this special edition cover a wide range of aspects of homicidal behaviour, reflecting the importance of – and the need for – applied research moving away from examining general homicide to specialised research focusing on subtypes of homicide and subgroups of homicide offenders. A research agenda is proposed.Originality/value: – This editorial gives an introduction to the themes explored in this special issue and provides an overview of the selected papers.

Purpose: – In order to address a notable gap in the research literature, the purpose of this paper is to examine age-related differences in juvenile homicide perpetration. Design/methodology/approach: – Data on 150 juvenile homicide offenders and their offences was derived from material available within the public domain, including media reports, case studies, court reports and previously published studies. Comparisons were then made between those aged 14 and under (n=63) and those aged 14-17 (n=87) across a range of offender, victim and offence-related variables. Findings: – There were no significant differences between the child (U-14) and adolescent (14-17) offender samples on any of the measured variables. The two groups had similar backgrounds, selected similar types of victims, had comparable breakdowns of different types of victim-offender relationship and had similar patterns of weapon use. Research limitations/implications: – The fact that the two groups did not differ significantly has notable implications in practical and applied domains. By identifying risk factors for juvenile homicide perpetration, findings open up a range of possibilities for identification, investigation and intervention. In addition, findings might inform the development of offender treatment and rehabilitation programmes. Key limitations relate to the quality and quantity of data employed. Ways of remedying these weaknesses in future research are addressed. Originality/value: – This is the first study to directly compare child and adolescent perpetrators of homicide over a broad range of offender, victim and offence attributes.