Police Drag Heels on Officers' Domestic Abuse

By Judith Spitzer

WeNews correspondent

Friday, December 3, 2010

Domestic violence is at least--if not more--as prevalent in the homes of police officers as the rest of the population. Very few agencies have adopted programs and model policies to address complaints against their own officers.

(WOMENSENEWS)--"Deaths of Maine Cop, Wife Were Murder-Suicide."

"Police Officer Arrested for Attempted Murder of Ex-Girlfriend."

"Lieutenant's Death Ruled a Suicide; Girlfriend's a Homicide."

"Cop's Wife Shot, Dies."

"Fired Westminster Sergeant Guilty of Domestic Violence."

"Suit: Police Department, Chief Covered Up Officer's Abuse of Ex."

Headlines like these speak to the problem of officer-involved domestic violence. The National Center for Women and Policing, based in Arlington, Va., backs these headlines with three studies that indicate domestic violence is two to four times more common among police
families, compared with 10 percent of families in the general population.

Theoretically, at even 10 percent, that means if there are 500,000 police officers in the U.S., there are at least 50,000 domestic violence offenders in police ranks.

Despite headlines and statistics, few police departments in the country have policies and programs to address the problem, according to the National Center for Women and Policing. Citing a 1994 nationwide survey, they say almost half of the police departments surveyed had no specific policy for dealing with officer-involved domestic violence.

Instead, agencies "typically handle such cases informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even a check of the victim's safety," says the Center's Police Family Violence Fact Sheet. "The reality is that even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution, raising concern that those who are tasked with enforcing the law cannot effectively police themselves."

Dave Thomas, a retired Montgomery County Maryland police officer, now an instructor with Johns Hopkins University Public Safety Leadership Program, trains police departments to respond to officer-involved domestic violence. Thomas collaborated with the International Association of Chiefs of Police , known as IACP, that in 2003-04 produced a model policy for agencies to follow.

| More

DONATE

1 COMMENTS | Login or Sign Up to post comments

The Law Enforcement Families Partnership, a project of the Institute for Family Violence Studies at Florida State University, has developed an online curriculum entitled "Officer Involved Domestic Violence: A Prevention Curriculum" as well as a compilation of model policies on officer involved domestic violence. Here is the link: http://familyvio.csw.fsu.edu/LEF/