| Summary: | Abstract
Penal provisions designed to cover repeated and severe abuse
in close relationships have been in effect in Norway for the past
decade (section 219 of the former Criminal Code, sections 282/283
of the revised Criminal Code). This article evaluates these legal
provisions, and in particular, explores the struggle of the police
with severe domestic violence. Specially trained police officers
and others working in law enforcement, such as prosecutors and judges,
have participated as informants. It is insufficient merely to read
the legal text to understand what it criminalizes—it is necessary
to examine the legal sources. According to the Supreme Court of
Norway, a regime of control and violence in a close relationship
must be evident. To identify such a regime, the police cannot pay
exclusive attention to the specific incidents of physical violence
but must focus on what occurs between these events. The totality
and complexity of domestic abuse, including psychological violence,
is expected to play a central role in police investigation. However,
this kind of policing challenges the police role. Police interviews
in these cases require particular patience, understanding, empathy
and calm. The article will prove that a large proportion of the
investigation ends in dismissed cases, but the author will argue
that law enforcement is only one side of policing. The police may
achieve just as much by means of victim support and prevention measures.
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