A Systematic Review of Police Response to Intimate Partner Violence before the COVID-19 Pandemic: Focusing on the Studies Using Police Response as an Input Variable

This study systematically reviews literature on U.S. police responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) to identify how police actions were measured, types of police interventions, and consequences of police responses. A comprehensive keyword search was conducted across 12 databases to identify relevant studies. It used predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria aligned with PRISMA-P guidelines. Ultimately, 16 articles were coded according to a pre-developed coding scheme. It finds that 43.7% of the studies investigated the impact of police responses on IPV victims or offenders, while 31.0% aimed to identify the factors associated with those responses. When police responses were used as an independent variable, the most commonly measured interventions included whether the incident was reported to the police and whether arrests were made (62.5%). Victim-related variables, such as leaving an abusive partner, mental health status, repeat victimization, and perceived safety, were frequently examined in relation to police responses. Notably, only 37.5% of the studies provided policy implications, which often focused on recommending additional training or educational programs for law enforcement professionals. This review advances the IPV literature by examining pre-COVID-19 research on police responses, emphasizing theoretical grounding, outcome diversity, and policy relevance. It outlines directions for evidence-based policing research.