Practices of the police and child welfare services in cases of suspected disciplinary violence

This doctoral dissertation project examines disciplinary violence inflicted by parents on their children, by examining registers maintained by various authorities and data on criminal processes. The research is based on police material on reported offenses and preliminary investigations, and documents from child welfare services. The purpose of the study is to examine how disciplinary violence is defined as an offense in administrative proceedings, decisions and measures taken in cases of suspected disciplinary violence, and the progress of these cases from child welfare services to the police and from the police to the prosecutor.

Timescale: 2012 – 2016

Partners: University of Turku

Funding: Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology (NSfK), Turku University Foundation, the Finnish Concordia Fund, the Faculty of Law of the University of Turku

Contact persons at the Police University College: Scholarship Researcher Anna Heinonen. Email addresses: [email protected] (please note: anna.h.heinonen).