Examining police roles to domestic violence calls : a comparative analysis of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese police perceptions

Abstract

With a sudden outbreak of the Covid-19, the government has adopted short-term "stay-at-home" policies in various ways in order to reduce the number of people infected. To better accompany the policies, many companies have begun to extend the length of time employees work from home. As a result, people are spending more and more time at home, which causes the higher chance of domestic violence, brings the significance of police intervention back to the spotlight. This paper examines the role assumed by the police in domestic violence, comparing the different situations in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The purpose of the study is to explore the similarities and differences between domestic violence cases in Hong Kong and Mainland China, accentuating different roles police officers have assumed. The article will use qualitative interviews as the data collection method, including the interview of a total of four police officers from Mainland China and three police officers from Hong Kong. Admittedly, domestic violence cases in Hong Kong and Mainland China contains some similarities, but there are also many differences, especially in the actual roles of police officers. Police officers in Mainland China have more autonomy in domestic violence cases and mainly assume the role of a mediator. Police officers in Hong Kong, on the other hand, are more restricted by laws and regulations thus assume the role of a policy enforcer. The counterpart of polices’ roles in Mainland China and Hong Kong dictates that polices in two areas will use different approaches in dealing with domestic violence and thus counteract the domestic violence cases. The study incorporates role theory into police handling of domestic violence cases, exposes the substantive impact of different roles of police on domestic violence cases, and provides ideas for subsequent research on domestic violence resolution.