Cook Islands - Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme

Cook Islands
Current Police policy, protocols and general processes and procedures (including
record keeping) for dealing with domestic violence
I was unable to determine whether there is a written policy for dealing with domestic
violence. I asked Police Officers to describe procedures for dealing with domestic violence.
Most were able to do so, although they did not know if there was a policy document.
Police procedures for dealing with domestic violence
When a domestic dispute is reported it is entered into a Miscellaneous log book. An Officer
who takes a call about a domestic violence incident records details such as the name and
contact number of the person calling, the address of the incident and what is happening. Most
Officers said that some disputes can be easily dealt with over the phone.
I try to talk to the partner, but first I talk to the victim and ask what happened and who
started it. You can easily sort out minor domestics on the phone.
For more serious incidents, the Officer informs the Duty Supervisor, who should send two
Officers to attend. This is not always possible, usually because of resource shortages. Some
Officers have attended incidents in their own vehicles because there are not enough trucks, or
they are not operating. There are often staff shortages, particularly on weekends, when
domestic violence is most likely to be reported.
Sometimes the supervisor asks a constable to go out. My own opinion is that the
constable and the supervisor should go together. We don’t go out alone, unless we’re
short staffed and two incidents are reported at same time. I had to do that once. I felt
okay about it. Some offenders are easier to calm down than others. Some get
aggressive. Most listen to us. They’re afraid something will happen to them, so they get
in the truck when they’re told to. Some don’t listen, so we try to restrain them.
Police Officers have the authority to exercise discretion in how they deal with domestic
violence. They should assess factors such as the seriousness of the case and the history of
violence in determining how to proceed. They often act according to the victim’s wishes,
although this is not always determinative. Many women ask Police to warn but not arrest the
offender and arrests are often followed by requests to withdraw the case. CIPS has a no-drop
policy: where an offence is committed and an arrest is made, Police must proceed with the
prosecution, even if the victim asks for the case to be withdrawn. In these cases victims must
go before the Court to have the charges withdrawn. Some Officers said they prefer to deal
with matters on the spot and settle them out of court.
Everyone approaches it in their own way… The important thing is the attitude of the
Police Officer – people know who they want to attend. I talk to them; I work well with
the people… I don’t just go by the book. Sometimes we make it worse. You don’t need
to arrest offenders all the time, as this can make it worse.
Attending Officers are required to complete a Domestic Violence Report Form. The
interviewees agreed that while the forms are easy to fill out, not all Officers do so, or they do
not always complete them correctly. This was attributed to time pressure or the knowledge
that the case would not proceed. A number of interviewees attributed poor practice to Duty
Supervisors.
Supervisors are not always implementing the procedures. The problem comes down to
the Supervisors. In the last couple of years, Constables have gone through training.
The Supervisors think once they’re on duty they’re their own boss, they can have their
own system, but this ruins procedures. It plays havoc with the minds of Constables.
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