Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology . 2021 | Volume 10, Issue 2 Policing Perspectives Concerning Confusion and Uncertainty in Policing Practices with "Honour"- Based Crimes and Forced Marriages Wendy Aujla1 1University of Alberta Published on: Apr 20, 2021 DOI: 10.21428/88de04a1.6a7f08f2 License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology . 2021 | Volume 10, Issue 2 Policing Perspectives Concerning Confusion and Uncertainty in Policing Practices with "Honour"-Based Crimes and Forced Marriages ABSTRACT Police regularly deal with various forms of violence against women and girls, such as domestic violence, family violence, and intimate partner violence in police work. However, since certain kinds of violence require a more nuanced approach to investigations, this paper reports on the experiences and challenges in policing different types of violence, such as "honour"-based crimes (HBCs), including forced marriages (FMs), within the broader Canadian discourse and political stances informing law and policy decisions. As well as what is still needed to improve responses to HBCs and FMs, it is important to consider the impact of laws and policy changes on police perceptions. I conducted 46 interviews with police officers and civilian members working in Canadian law enforcement agencies in Alberta between 2015 and 2017. Data were analyzed with constructivist grounded theory techniques to identify the emerging core (central) category of "confusion and uncertainty in policing practices;" the results show how participants experienced the core category when dealing with HBCs and FMs. In this paper, I connect the core category to three themes that contribute to it: inconsistency in the use of terminology, police perceptions of training, and police understandings of FM as well as their perspectives on the "Barbaric Cultural Practices" bill. These themes reveal how police are often met with challenges and resistance from colleagues within the service, as opinions are divided on understanding this form of violence and what to call it. Participants described the tensions and issues they observed in training which impacted both their investigations and their involvement in responding to HBCs and FMs. A significant finding points to the gap in knowledge about FM and relevant amendments to the Canadian Criminal Code. Introduction Police regularly deal with domestic or family violence in various forms. Domestic violence (DV) continues to be a significant problem worldwide, and in Canada, the term is commonly used along with family violence (FV). DV, often referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), is any pattern of abuse that occurs in an intimate relationship between current or former opposite-sex or same-sex partners (Government of Alberta, 2020) and includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, often accompanied by psychological abuse which includes threats of violence and patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour (see Stark, 2007). FV is an umbrella term used to describe any form of abuse and violence involving a family relationship or 2
Policing Perspectives Concerning Confusion and Uncertainty in Policing Practices with "Honour"-Based Crimes and Forced Marriages Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology . 2021 | Volume 10,