This article presents a profile of intimate partner homicides (IPH) committed within London incorporating a gendered comparison of the perpetrators' relationships. Data was sourced from the original police files for offenses committed in the capital between 1998 and 2009 ( N = 207; 173 male and 34 female perpetrators). In common with other international descriptive studies, the results indicate comparative differences between partners according to perpetrator gender in terms of age profiles, employment status, experience of mental health issues, intoxication at time of killing, and possession of criminal convictions. Gender-based IPH descriptive studies have tended to focus on a collation of either victim or perpetrator or relationship characteristics, often in isolation from one another. Assessments of how parties interact within fatal relationships are invariably absent, and yet, it is the relationship that forms the backdrop against which the fatal acts are perpetrated. This study, therefore, not only provides an insight into the profile of IPH committed within London where none had previously existed but also demonstrates the advantages of incorporating relationship concordance measures. The inclusion of such measures when researching IPH assists homicide investigators in understanding the dynamics taking place within the cohort of fatal relationships they police. It also provides researchers a useful platform to enhance understanding of this crucial aspect, for it is the relationship itself which is what defines IPH and distinguishes as a unique subset of homicide.

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Research Question Did a 15-min patrol delivery over 1 day reduce serious violent crime in large hot spots (mean size = 2 km × 2 km), without displacing such crimes to nearby areas? Data We tracked daily official crime reports in a sample of 21 high-crime Bedfordshire (UK) Lower-layer Super Output areas (LSOAs). We measured time spent by two-person police foot patrols in those areas with daily GPS data from handheld devices given to officers working on overtime. We also counted proactively initiated arrests. Methods We used a crossover randomised controlled trial on the 21 “hot spot” LSOAs, each of which was randomly assigned daily to be either in a treatment condition of 15-min of patrol (as one of seven each day) or a control condition of no patrol (as one of 14 each day) for each of 90 days. We used an intention-to-treat framework to analyse the impact of patrols on the outcome measures overall, on consecutive days of assignment to the same condition, and in 100-m ‘buffer’ zones around each hot spot. Findings We found that on treatment days the hot spots had 44% lower Cambridge crime harm index scores from serious violence than on control days, as well as 40% fewer incidents across all public crimes against personal victims. Statistically significant differences in lower prevalence, counts and harm of both non-domestic violent crime and robbery and other non-domestic crimes against personal victims were also found. We found no evidence of either displacement of serious crime into a 100-m buffer zone, nor any evidence of residual deterrence on no-patrol days following patrol days. We did find evidence of a cumulative effect: the largest differences in crime harm on control days were found in treatment days that came after 3 days of consecutive patrol in the same LSOA. Conclusions Even minimal amounts of foot patrol can prevent serious violent crime across a large area, and repeated patrols over several days help even more. Our findings suggest that, to reduce both violent and other forms of crime, uniformed officers need to patrol hot spots for short amounts of times on consecutive days.

United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal 5 calls for the elimination of violence, and goal 16 calls for strong and stable judicial institutions (United Nations 2016). The composition and culture of a nation’s police force play an essential role in its ability to achieve these goals. Employing a diverse workforce, particularly in terms of female representation in all ranks within the policing command structure, is a vital determinant for setting a police force’s culture. However, many police forces remain as traditional, male-dominant hierarchical institutions (Rabe-Hemp 2018). In England and Wales, although the proportion of female police officers has reached 30.4 per cent of the police force, the progression of women to the highest police ranks has declined (Home Office 2019). This article considers the influence that female representation can have within police forces on the effective management of domestic and sexually violent crimes that disproportionately affect women. It will highlight the barriers to female recruitment and their progression, as well as suggest a series of recommendations to improve opportunities for women in policing. In doing so, the article will consequently suggest improvements to women’s access to justice, thereby providing a platform for achieving these UN goals.

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