... identify and reduce domestic violence and assist victims. History of Domestic Violence Policing Prior to the 1970s violence against women in the home was generally thought of as a private matter. Couples were left a lone to sort out their differences except in cases involving serious injury. In 1975 the police considered the powers they had were quite adequate to deal with the problem. 'The offences against the person Act 1861, which in the main covers the whole field of this subject, has been in operation for many years now and the penalties and powers under that and other acts appear amply adequate.' (Select Committee on Violence in Marriage, 1975 p377, cited in Pahl) Even as late as the 1980s (Pahl, p115), noted the police response was often a chauvinistic one. When dealing with an allegation that a husband was being unfairly derogatory to his wife, officers were noted as giving ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now