The Use of Psychological Coercion Instruments by Police Officers in Domestic Violence Incidents

The main topic of this research paper is the use of psychological coercion instruments by police first response teams in domestic violence incidents. The research on the usage of voice as one of the instruments of psychological coercion in police officers’ daily activity in coping with domestic violence incidents is a novelty in the Baltic countries. The aims of this research paper are:
• to present an environment of operations by police officers during the performance of their duties to protect, defend and assist
• to present voice as an important instrument of psychological coercion used by police officers as a soft power tool before resorting to the use of physical coercion instruments prescribed by law
• to analyse the use of elements of the human voice in domestic violence cases
• to present ways to improve police officers’ performance who are dealing with domestic violence as a first response team through the proper use of voice as an instrument of soft power 
The author of this research paper used research methods to achieve the aims of the research, such as observation, anonymous verbal interviews of participants and discussions with them during specialised training sessions on entrance into premises, analysis of statistical data, surveys, analytical research and logical analysis to explore the topic.