Police Response to Domestic Violence
Police Response to Domestic Violence
Seminar in Police Problems
Professor Valentin
May 17, 2010
Police Response to Domestic Violence
In 2005, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that 1,181 females were killed by an intimate partner. That means everyday, 3 women are killed as a result of domestic violence. These overwhelming statistics also state that out of all the women murdered in the United States, one out of three of the murders are the direct result of an intimate partner. Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior that includes whether sexual, emotional or physically, that is imposed by a partner in an intimate relationship. This has been a major problem in the United States and for decades domestic violence continues to increase.
We acknowledge that domestic violence continues to be an epidemic on the rise. According to Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, reform of police action in domestic assault cases has been a recurrent theme for twenty years (Dunham & Albert, 2010, pg.137). Unfortunately, the traditional police response involving domestic violence assaults still seems to take precedent. Law enforcement maintains their reactive approach by means of avoiding interventions, screening out calls or sustaining the attitude that domestic violence is not a real crime.
Nevertheless, the issue regarding the lack of presence and concern for domestic violence victims goes beyond the stereotypical reasons why law enforcement do not take a more proactive approach. The reasons may include personal attitudes, lack of training or even fear. However, when domestic cases involve minorities, law enforcement has been known to become suspiciously bias. Nonetheless, domestic violence is not only limited to male and female relationships. Homosexuals are also involved in domestic violence disputes as well and officers particularly avoid intervention in these cases even more than heterosexual relationships.
In this report,
Seminar in Police Problems
Professor Valentin
May 17, 2010
Police Response to Domestic Violence
In 2005, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that 1,181 females were killed by an intimate partner. That means everyday, 3 women are killed as a result of domestic violence. These overwhelming statistics also state that out of all the women murdered in the United States, one out of three of the murders are the direct result of an intimate partner. Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior that includes whether sexual, emotional or physically, that is imposed by a partner in an intimate relationship. This has been a major problem in the United States and for decades domestic violence continues to increase.
We acknowledge that domestic violence continues to be an epidemic on the rise. According to Eve S. Buzawa and Carl G. Buzawa, reform of police action in domestic assault cases has been a recurrent theme for twenty years (Dunham & Albert, 2010, pg.137). Unfortunately, the traditional police response involving domestic violence assaults still seems to take precedent. Law enforcement maintains their reactive approach by means of avoiding interventions, screening out calls or sustaining the attitude that domestic violence is not a real crime.
Nevertheless, the issue regarding the lack of presence and concern for domestic violence victims goes beyond the stereotypical reasons why law enforcement do not take a more proactive approach. The reasons may include personal attitudes, lack of training or even fear. However, when domestic cases involve minorities, law enforcement has been known to become suspiciously bias. Nonetheless, domestic violence is not only limited to male and female relationships. Homosexuals are also involved in domestic violence disputes as well and officers particularly avoid intervention in these cases even more than heterosexual relationships.
In this report,
References: American Bar Association. (2010). Commission of Domestic Violence Amnesty International USA. (2010). Stonewalled: Police Abuse and Misconduct Against Lesbian, Gay and Transgender People in the U.S Belur, Jyoti. (2008). Is policing domestic violence institutionally racist? A case study of south Asian Women Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2009). Prison Statistics. Retrieved October 27, 2009, from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm Chaney, K. (2008). Domestic Violence hits Black Women Harder. Doak, M.J. (2007). Domestic Violence, Law Enforcement, and Court Responses to Domestic Violence Dunham, R. G., & Albert, G. P. (2010). Critical Issues in Policing Newton, C, J. (2009). Domestic Violence: An Overview. Retrieved May 16, 2010, from http://www.findcounseling.com/journal/domestic-violence/domestic-violence-statistics.html Robinson, A. L., & Chandek, M. S. (2000). Differential Police Response to Black Battered Women