Additions, Omissions, and Transformations in Institutional ‘Retellings’ of Domestic Violence

Nick Lynn, Patricia Canning

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Abstract

In this paper we examine how UK police officers investigating domestic violence (DV) make a formal written case to Crown Prosecutors. Using rarely accessed ‘management guidance’ reports (MG3 forms) we analyses how police of-officers’ written contributions appeal to relevance and how they can ‘nudge’ prosecutors towards particular methods of case disposal, specifically, the ‘Simple Caution’.We propose that linguistic strategies can reduce the likelihood of convictions, and we raise serious concerns about the impact of police officers’ institutional ‘retellings’ in the pursuit of justice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)76-96
Number of pages21
JournalLanguage and Law = Linguagem e Direito
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Nov 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Charging decisions
  • Domestic Violence
  • Relevance
  • Simple Caution

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