Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine if outcome bias and hindsight bias impact police performance ratings and perceptions of the likelihood and foreseeability of intimate partner homicides. In addition, the authors wished to see if taking the perspective of police mitigates any effects.

Design/methodology/approach A total of 200 university students read vignettes describing an incident from a police officer’s perspective or from their own perspective. Participants also read risk assessments of the offender’s risk of committing violence. They were randomly assigned to receive either information that the offender later committed a homicide or no outcome information.

Findings The results demonstrated an outcome bias and hindsight bias, wherein participants who received information about the homicide rated it as more likely and foreseeable and gave lower performance ratings to the police, compared to those who did not receive outcome information. Participants who took police perspective still showed this bias.

Practical implications The findings indicate that people are likely to be biased in their perceptions and judgements of police performance when they know a homicide occurred. This bias seems to be difficult to overcome.

Originality/value This paper provides empirical evidence to show people may be unfairly critical of police performance when a homicide is perpetrated.