Criminologist Jane Monckton Smith, a former police officer and professor of public protection at the University of Gloucestershire, has called for courts to better understand coercive control and move away from the 'crime of passion' defence. In her new book, In Control: Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder, she outlines eight stages of a domestic homicide timeline that can flag when a controlling partner may kill.
Monckton Smith argues that the 'crime of passion' narrative is still used in court to reduce murder charges to manslaughter, but it does not reflect how coercive control actually works. She says domestic abuse is not a spontaneous anger management problem but a pattern of control that follows predictable stages.
The first stage is a history of control, which Monckton Smith says should be a starting point for any relationship. She notes that the existing domestic violence disclosure scheme already accepts that a history of abuse is predictive of future harm. She advises that red flags include a partner speaking negatively about an ex, such as calling them a 'crazy ex-girlfriend'.
The second stage is the 'commitment whirlwind', where relationships move very fast with pronounced jealousy. Monckton Smith warns that while some fast-moving relationships are fine, when combined with a history of control, they are a major warning sign.
She criticises the adversarial court system for placing victims in opposition to offenders and calls for judges and lawyers to have better knowledge of domestic abuse dynamics. She also believes courts should recognise the power imbalance, where the abuser is willing to argue while the victim will do anything to avoid conflict.
