Risk Refraction: Thoughts on the Victim-Survivor’s Risk Journey through the Criminal Justice Process

Barlow, Charlotte; Walklate, Sandra; Johnson, Kelly

Abstract

The limits of inter-agency understandings of risk in the context of intimate partner violence are well documented. Informed by Hester’s (2011) ‘three planet’ analogy and using empirical data in one police force area in the south of England, this paper offers an exploration of intra-agency operations, focusing on police risk assessment practices. Exploring the policing risk lens and the victim-survivor journey together, findings highlight police operate with at least three risk assessment moments (call hander, front-line and Safeguarding Hub) and point to the tensions that result when failing to centralise victim-survivors’ own assessment of their risk. Using complexity theory, this paper examines the complex interplay of risk that occurs when the victim-survivor risk journey intersects with the policing aspect of the criminal justice process.

Citation

Barlow, C., Walklate, S., & Johnson, K. (2021). Risk Refraction: Thoughts on the Victim-Survivor’s Risk Journey through the Criminal Justice Process. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 10(3), 177-190. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.1805

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 14, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 14, 2021
• Journal: International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
• Print ISSN: 2202-7998
• Electronic ISSN: 2202-8005
• Publisher: International Journal of Crime Justice and Social Democracy
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 177-190
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.1805