Resources

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Our Books

Advocates' Guide [pdf]

Comprehensive resource for advocates working with women whose batterers are in law enforcement. Includes safety considerations and advocacy strategies.

Crossing the Threshold

The police culture's focus on authority and control can affect officers' personal relationships. Law enforcement's historical attitudes about women and minorities provides the background for this book about domestic violence in police families. Read excerpt...

Hijacked by the Right: Battered Women in America's Culture War

Extensively researched exposé of the family justice center movement and its impact on services for battered women. Read excerpt...

Victim Handbook

Concise explanation of the unique challenges faced by women whose abusers are in law enforcement.

Our Articles

NEW: Confronting gender bias in policing [only pdf]

Shortly after a 2015 ACLU report on gender bias in police response to domestic violence and sexual assault, the DOJ issued new guidelines addressing the role of gender bias in DV/SA investigations. This article questions how departments may implement the DOJ guidance when the perpetrator is one of their own.

NEW: A Rigged System: Why Victims of Police Don't Report

Reporting crime is difficult for many victims, but when the perpetrator is in law enforcement reporting can be futile as well as dangerous. Gender and racial bias within the police culture shield officers from accountability for illegal use of force and civil rights violations, especially when the victim is female or black.

COMING SOON: Blinded by the Right (Excerpt)

In 2013, I released Hijacked by the Right in which I explained how the Religious Right was waging a stealth campaign to take over battered women's programs through the Family Justice Center Alliance. This article brings us up to date.

Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence: An Advocate's Pessimistic Perspective [only pdf]

While policy and rhetoric make it appear that police agencies want victims to come forward, agencies’ actual response seems designed to ensure that victims remain silent. Addresses the progress—or lack thereof—in confronting police-perpetrated domestic violence.

The Misuse of Police Powers in Officer-Involved Domestic Violence

Explores how the power and authority granted to officers to protect the public can lead to the abuse of their power.

Representing Victims of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence

Attorneys and legal advocates face extraordinary challenges when representing a woman in a divorce or custody case whose batterer is a police officer.

The Impact of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence

The FBI National Academy held a invitational summit in 1998 on officer-involved domestic violence. The compilation of research was published as Domestic Violence by Police Officers. Wetendorf's chapter examines the dynamics of OIDV and the impact on victims, departments and communities.

Police Family Violence

Rather than customizing services for victims of police abusers, we expect departments to hold officers accountable for criminal behavior.

Abusive Police Officers: Working the System

Officers who batter are able to use professional control tactics and the brotherhood to defend their actions. They receive support and assistance from the same institutions victims turn to for protection.

Female Officers as Victims of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence

Examines how the expectations and values of the female officer's profession and workplace culture influence her behavior and decisions regarding her abusive relationship.

Developing Policy on Officer-Involved Domestic Violence

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.

Extras

Police Power & Control Wheel

The tactics of power and control used by abusers in law enforcement

Top 10

Important points to know and discuss with survivors of OIDV

Annotated Safety Plan for Police Victims

The standard safety plan for victims of domestic violence or stalking is often inadequate for victims of police officers. This plan addresses their specific needs

OIDV warning signs

The presence of one or more of these indicators may warrant closer observation of an officer