Report provides recommendations to improve police handling of coercive control cases
New report, funded by the N8 Policing Research Partnership, explores how police forces can better respond to cases involving digitally enabled coercive control. Researchers from the Department of Sociology, Social Policy, and Criminology worked with the College of Policing, as well as Merseyside, Cumbria, and Durham Police, to uncover the nature of digital coercive control.
Technological advancements and smart technologies continue to change the nature and impact of interpersonal violence, meaning that whilst the offence often remains the same, how abuse is perpetrated changes. Technology has allowed new forms of abuse to be carried out easily and has become harder to detect.
Based on data shared by the police forces involved in this study, recommendations have been made by Dr Antoinette Huber, Lecturer in Criminology, and Professor Barry Godfrey, Professor of Social Justice, in a bid to examine police responses and identify areas for improvement.
Findings show that police handling of coercive control incidents should be significantly improved through better training and early identification of offences. Call handlers and first responders need to recognise signs of coercive control from the outset, ensuring that potential digital evidence is identified and preserved.
Speaking of the recommendations, Dr Antionette Huber, Principal Investigator, shared:
“Through increased training we can ensure that personnel understand the complexities of coercive control, which will in turn allow them to ask the right questions and gather relevant information. Additionally, investigators should focus on identifying patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents, using past police records and digital evidence to build a comprehensive understanding of the abuse.”
The report emphasises the importance of integrating digital evidence collection into standard police practice. This includes training officers on how to collect and analyse data from digital devices and apps, as well as ensuring supervisors have the knowledge to oversee the investigations. Continuous professional development and collaboration with third-sector organisations were also found to be crucial to maintain up-to-date skills, and to ensure that victim-survivors’ needs are met through a human-centric, trauma-informed approach.
To achieve this, digital policing should become a norm within law enforcement, with all officers equipped to handle the digital aspects of coercive control cases effectively.