Policing perpetrator suicide threats in family violence cases: competing priorities and contemporary challenges

Abstract

There has been increasing attention afforded to how a perpetrator of family violence may engage in coercive and controlling behaviour. As a form of coercive control, perpetrators may threaten to take their own life, impacting the thoughts and behaviours of victim/survivors, as well as their decision to leave the relationship. This form of coercive control challenges police in the way they manage and respond to perceived risk. In Victoria, Australia, section 232 of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic) allows police to place a person who shows signs of mental illness under the care of medical practitioners for assessment, to prevent violence towards themselves or another person. This may present challenges in the investigation of family violence matters and serving protection orders (referred to as family violence intervention orders (FVIOs) in Victoria), as police are required to balance the needs of perpetrators, victim/survivors, and the community at large. This article examines the competing priorities of police as they attend a family violence incident where the perpetrator has threatened to take their own life. Drawing from the perspectives of ten specialist family violence officers from Victoria Police, this paper will provide critical insight into the policing of suicide threats in the context of coercive control. Further, it explores how current collaboration with the health sector may reduce police capacity to ensure victim/survivors’ safety through FVIOs.