New Police Responses to Domestic Violence: The Go-Order in Germany
Abstract
In recent years, several policy reforms have been instituted encouraging tougher criminal justice system responses to domestic violence. In Germany, go-orders were implemented: Police can insist on the abuser leaving the home for a couple of days. The present study discusses the rate of go-orders, influence factors on police decisions and problems with this intervention. Data sources were a police database of 7098 incidents of domestic violence and a questionnaire survey of 374 patrol officers in Lower Saxony. Findings revealed that the rate of go-orders (36%) was within the range of other German federal states. Factors indicating danger of repeated violence, e.g., intoxication of perpetrator, exerted an influence on police decisions for go-orders. Moreover, the presence of children and the offender’s gender had an influence. The paper concludes that prevention can still be improved with respect to danger prognosis and control of go-orders.
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