Police Experience Paper

My experience is that policies or General Orders follow the law almost to the letter in what the responding officers will or will not do. They mention victim assistance and rights, weapons, orders of protection, etc., however, little is mentioned in regards to the follow through with the victim assistance.

1. If it were at all possible, I would have a unit dedicated to domestic violence to ensure a more comprehensive and consistent handling of these situations.

2. Provide more training to these officers and make them true subject matter experts, then have them train the officers (their peers) when it comes to these situations. I believe in situations where domestic violence is alleged, the presence of law enforcement in the home and neighborhood causes and sense of “airing dirty laundry” and embarrassment for the victims. Once the initial phase of response and containment is over, the scene needs

If a special unit is not possible, supervisory oversight would be necessary. I am not advocating micro-management, but a party that could be somewhat separated from the initial interaction and give an outside perspective to how the incident is progressing. Having a supervisor oversee and interject when needed may help with the desired outcomes and needs of the parties involved. He/she would have to have an elevated level of training and knowledge, but it could be used as another layer of insurance.

5. Lastly, recurring training. Many departments only touch on domestic violence during in-service and when something goes wrong. This is an emotionally charged issue and it is easy to become disinterested, uncaring (not my problem mentality), and just clear the scene attitude can set in quickly. Training and reinforcing the importance of doing the right thing, at the right time, not allowing it to become so mechanical that the human element is left out, (but not letting it become too emotionally involved) which in turn can lead to a bad or inappropriate decision being