Domestic violence has been a vice that has affected communities globally. Domestic violence in a majority of cases affects the women who are the frequent victims. However, men are also victims of the vice and in some cases; the situation may escalate to levels that are fatal to either party. Therefore, there is always a need to react to stop cases of domestic violence so as to save a life and avoid circumstances that would otherwise be detrimental to the community. The response to domestic violence cases in this regard has evolved and changed over the last three decades especially with reference to the police attending to the cases.

Before the 1960s, cases of domestic violence were treated differently and not considered to be part of the responsibilities and areas of call for the police. On the contrary, domestic violence was perceived to be a private affair that the police could not intervene. In essence, the police did everything possible to avoid the situation in which they would be required to respond and or to make any arrests in the event of domestic violence. Practically, the police were bluntly neglecting the victims of domestic violence on the premise that majority were family affairs outside their scope of operations (Buzawa, 2012). In essence, the police did not believe that family affairs and related issues were part of their responsibilities. However, in the following decades, the situation surrounding police response to domestic violence changed.