Dialogues contains two essays based on many conversations and debates regarding police-perpetrated domestic violence. Through these discussions, Wetendorf and Davis became acutely aware that the tremendous power and authority granted to officers to protect the public can lead to the abuse of their power. The authors also found that solutions good from the department’s perspective can make things worse for the victim; and solutions better for the victim can leave the department open to liability.Their goal is to generate thoughtful consideration among victim advocates and police administrators on the complexities involved in developing policies and providing effective and consistent victim response.
From the police administrator's perspective, certain aspects of a policy are absolutely necessary to protect the department from liability. From the victim advocate's perspective, these very elements leave a victim more vulnerable than she was before policy was implemented. Advocates want police agencies to hold abusive officers accountable — but not at the expense of the victim. Police administrators also want to protect victims — but not at the expense of exposing the department to liability or of depriving officers of their rights to due process.
Our goal is to generate thoughtful consideration among police administrators and victim advocates on various elements that may be considered for inclusion in a policy on officer-involved domestic violence. Because many aspects of this issue are complex and ambiguous, both police administrators and advocates are bound to experience conflict and frustration when they confront this problem. We think it essential that we acknowledge from the outset that law enforcement and advocates have different perspectives, priorities and goals. Read an excerpt...
Society grants members of law enforcement enormous power over citizens to enable the police to keep the peace and to preserve social order. They are granted a great deal of freedom to use their judgment regarding which laws to enforce, when and against whom. This wide range of options and authority can lead to the abuse of their power. Some police officers come to see themselves not as simply enforcers of the law, but as the law itself.
Working with victims of officer-involved domestic violence has made us acutely aware that the standard remedies are often inadequate and may even leave the victim more vulnerable. We need to rethink our strategies on many different levels. Because this issue is so complex, we need to educate ourselves and other community providers before we can hope to adequately serve this special population. Read an excerpt...
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