Cook Islands - Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme

Cook Islands
As a Policeman, dealing with family and friends as offenders is a problem. I arrange
for another person to attend. You have to keep your distance if the husband is your
brother and has been unfaithful to his wife.
Police attitudes to prosecutions and holding offenders to account
Although most Officers recognised that domestic violence is a serious crime, attitudes
towards prosecution and holding offenders to account were somewhat divided. Some Officers
were critical of the Court’s leniency towards offenders, although they stated that sentencing is
a matter for the Courts, not the Police.
Some staff want firm action, even if it’s minor violence. They are very firm that
offenders should be sent to jail.
The majority view was that the criminal justice system is not necessarily the best way of
dealing with domestic violence. The preferred way of dealing with offenders was through
some form of counselling and/or reconciliation, such as mediation by family members or a
church pastor, although some admitted that not all cases could be dealt with in this way.
You start to deal with it in the family, then the churches, and then the Police last, if
nothing else can be done. Parents and other relatives can sit with the couple and talk
about their relationship, their lifestyle, how they’re getting on. They’re more open
when they talk to the family than when they talk to other people. They won’t tell other
people some things.
People respect the law; they go along with the Police. The Police consult the views of
the community to find the best way of dealing with the problem. If it’s serious, it goes to
court; it’s not dealt with in the family.
The preference for dealing with domestic violence through non-justice channels was usually
underpinned by the view that criminal justice sanctions such as imprisonment would impose
greater hardship on victims and families in which the perpetrator was the breadwinner. It also
reflected understandings that men’s violence against female partners is simply the result of
misunderstandings and quarrels and can be overcome with improved communication.
The concept of holding offenders to account was under-developed among Police. While they
agreed that action should be taken to reduce domestic violence and rehabilitate offenders, they
placed little emphasis on upholding the other criminal justice goals of punishment, deterrence,
and incapacitation. What emerged was a preference for a system that is in some ways more
closely aligned with models of restorative justice. Some Officers saw this approach as a way
of upholding the functions of the adversarial system.
I used to believe the penalty was the key to deterrence and rehabilitation, now I don’t
think so. Community service would be better. They pay their debt to society. People see
them working, there’s a little bit of public shame. Society appreciates that something
has been done to account to society. Jail is not a deterrent. No one sees them there. The
Government pays to keep people in jail, so they accumulate a debt, not repay it. It
doesn’t help the purpose of punishment. They need to do something to restore to society
and others.
For others, this model was more in keeping with traditional social processes and Christian
values.
Traditionally everyone works together on the outer islands. Everyone knows about and
will try to handle other people’s problems. Husband and wife tensions can divide
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