POLICING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: The enthusiasm gap

Those monitoring the Domestic Violence Act generally conclude that it is poorly understood and badly implemented by officials in the criminal justice system. But a project aimed at understanding how ordinary cops police South Africa’s streets concludes that part of the problem with this conclusion is a failure to grasp the real limitations – legal, logistical and emotional – under which policing operates. These limitations, combined with the sheer volume of cases, affect the way in which ordinary officers handle these incidents.