‘Hey Buddy, Give Me Your Guns'

Abstract

Purpose: One-third of all women in the United States have experienced intimate partner violence, and when an abuser has access to a gun, the risk of intimate partner homicide increases fivefold. The inclusion of firearm restrictions in domestic violence protective orders (DVPOs) can reduce homicide risk; however, little is known about the implementation of these restrictions. Our study explores the processes Sheriff’s officers use when serving emergency (ex parte) DVPOs with firearm restrictions.
Method: We conducted phone interviews (n = 20) with representatives from Sheriff’s offices (n=20) across North Carolina, and conducted a content analysis of the interviews, utilizing deductive and inductive codes to analyze themes.
Results: Most officers described proactively explaining ex parte orders to the defendant (alleged abuser), relating to defendants as allies in a friendly manner during service, and clearly stating the consequences of an ex parte order violation. Officers described various motivations for employing these techniques, the most common being to protect defendants from criminal charges by ensuring their comprehension of and compliance with firearm restrictions. A minority of Officers described intentionally avoiding further explanation of ex parte orders during service.
Conclusion: Officers use different informal communication tactics to implement DVPO firearm restrictions. Some of these strategies have a behavioral science evidence base and could be shared across agencies. Some of these strategies, however, may have unintentional negative consequences, such as reinforcing harmful stereotypes about plaintiffs’ motivations for seeking DVPOs. Further research is needed to explore the formal and informal approaches that Sheriff’s Officers use to implement DVPO firearm restrictions, and the respective impact of these strategies.