Corruption Comes Home:
Domestic Violence and Abuse by Law Enforcement

Taren A. Lalli
IFS2075
Professor Maier-Katkin
March 6, 2015
Corruption Comes Home: Domestic Violence and Abuse by Law Enforcement At the beginning of my research and initial framing of this paper, I proposed to write about the drug system within American prisons across the scope of the nation. It wasn’t until a, somewhat recent, article came across my computer screen about a Honolulu officer being investigated after allegedly beating up his girlfriend that changed my mind completely (Blaine, 2014).
Many of the qualities valued in on-duty, or even off-duty, police officers can make them dangerous domestic violence offenders. Domestic violence is a multifaceted complex phenomenon. It includes abusive acts towards children, intimate partners regardless of gender, and the elderly. All abusers use similar methods to control and abuse their intimate partners. Officers however, have skills and tactics not generally possessed by civilians. Professional training in combat, intimidation, interrogation, weapons and surveillance become a dangerous and potentially lethal combination in an intimate partner or domestic situation. Victims face the bias of law enforcement agencies and the legal system, psychological fear, and a high lethality risk. This is because victims of domestic violence by police officers are in a very different situation than that of other victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is unique in that the parties share a personal, emotional and sexual relationship. No one single definition of domestic violence exists really. Different authorities include different forms of violence within their definitions. For the purpose of this paper, ‘‘domestic violence’’ is a broad term that includes threats or violent acts against an existing or former intimate partner and children.
Most of society has now come to the knowledge that domestic violence is a serious yet preventable crime. Police officers are not immune from low level forms of family conflict nor are they impervious to more serious forms of domestic violence. However, police officers as either abusers or victims of family conflict has been ignored, misrepresented, and under studied. Researchers have concluded that domestic violence crosses all socioeconomic classifications. A rich man may beat his wife in the same way that a poor man does. Society also has come to understand that a person in any profession, whether a doctor, lawyer, judge, or even a police officer, may commit an act of domestic violence. On the same note, an individual of any background or profession may also be the victim of domestic violence. However, the issue of domestic violence by law enforcement officers has become a controversial topic among researchers, professionals, and the media, though several researchers have looked further into the dynamics of domestic violence committed by law enforcement officers.
The extent of domestic violence by law enforcement officers is still unknown, though researchers have conducted studies to explore its extent. Due to the fact that police officers hold a special place in society, it is assumed that they will always obey all laws and regulations. Therefore, some people may expect the prevalence rate of domestic violence by law enforcement officers to be lower than that of the general population. It is not known whether police officers have a higher or lower rate of domestic violence than the general public, primarily because lower levels of reporting by fellow officers might offset potentially higher rates of abuse. However, according to one group, the IACP, domestic violence among law enforcement officers occurs almost as frequently as among the general population. Researchers conducted a study on the extent and nature of domestic violence by officers in a large western police department. This study involved 353 sworn police officers. These researchers found that 4.8 percent of the officers admitted that they engaged in domestic violence and that 7.4 percent reported having been a victim of domestic violence. Among the officers in the study an astounding 15 percent answered yes to the question, “Have you ever felt you were physically out of control” (Klein and Klein 2000).
Victims of domestic abuse by law enforcement are stuck in a very difficult situation, faced with special dangers that civilian victims do not have to deal with. They have to overcome virtually impossible obstacles to pursue charges against their offender (Wetendorf, 2000). Victims of this specific kind of violence are subject to possible threats like the officers’ familiarity in using weapons, experience in subduing suspects, access to information, and overall knowledge and leg up in the criminal justice system. The individuals who fall victim to police perpetrated domestic violence endure not only the physical and emotional aspects of abuse but also the constant feeling of hopelessness. Knowing that reporting their suffering to the police may not make things better; instead they may worsen the situation. A big obstacle is police officers' hesitancy to treat domestic violence as a crime when it is committed by one of their own. They have a strong sense of the police family that would discourage them from considering police domestic violence a criminal offense. “The victim, not the abuser, is identified as the traitor. The forces gather to silence her and to protect him.” (Wetendorf, 2000) Victims of police officers not only challenge the image of the personal family, they challenge the concept of the police family as well.
Expanding on the dangers of being a victim of domestic violence in a police home would be to define each one and explain why each is so hazardous. Police abusers differ from civilian abusers in that they are tougher and more threatening. With weapons, like their gun, and training in use of these materials makes for a potentially lethal situation when level of stress or mental and physical control get out of hand. Officers also have a good sense of what they can and cannot get away with, especially knowing their way around the system. When an officer has been working with a certain district for a long time, they build up relationships with the surrounding local courts, dispatchers and fellow officers. This leads to victims fear of reporting their abuser. There is also an incredible amount of information that a law enforcement officer has access to like cell phone tracking and surveillance of the home. This gives the officer information about what their target is doing and where they are at all times. All of these threats lead to the difficulty of hiding from your abuser, especially because officers know where shelters and support groups are located so there is no where to run or hide. (Jackson, 2007)
The issues of why law enforcement officers participate in domestic violence acts is unknown, but can be stipulated by a few possible factors. Three of these factors that may cause them to engage in domestic abuse are stress, personality and behavior, and police culture. The pressures faced by police are insurmountable and they lead to mental and physical distress, which when brought home could trigger violent outbursts and harm towards the family.
Stress is a major factor that comes into play when dealing with police. There are scholars who believe that officer stress has no limits or boundaries. Primary stressors for a law enforcement officer involve continuous exposure to traumatic events and scenarios along with tragedies experienced by victims whom they must help with a strong attitude (Wetendorf, 2000). The risk of physical danger to the officer also creates high levels of anxiety and stress when called out to report to the scene. The general nature of police work is highly stressful and traumatizing. Two researchers, Mullins and McMains, in their study Impact of Traumatic Stress on Domestic Violence (2000), examined the correlation between post-traumatic stress disorder from experiencing traumatic events and domestic violence committed by law enforcement officers. Mullins and McMains concluded that there was a positive correlation between individuals who suffered from PTSD and psychological symptoms and domestic violence by police officers (Mullins and McMains, 2000). This study definitely backs up the stress factor when trying to learn why police commit domestic abuse crimes.
Some authorities have reviewed the possibility that certain behavioral or personality traits of officers contribute to the police-perpetrated domestic violence (Wallace, 2005). The research suggests that officers place a high level value on cognitive processes, self-confidence, and responsibility control. These morals encompassed within the typical, rigid police officer leads to a controlling personality characteristic, which ultimately leads to the need for control over his family.
The third factor that may cause police-perpetrated domestic violence is the general basis of police culture. One of the most important elements of police culture is a strong sense of power (Wetendorf and Davis, 2003). Law enforcement officers are assigned a responsibility to take control of and enforce laws in society. They are considered the “good guys” in society while the individuals who break the laws are considered the “bad guys”. To retain this control and keep the criminals off the streets, police are trained to consider themselves as smarter and tougher than civilians. They possess the power to take control easily over a person by using their authority. When this sense of entitlement is brought home from work, they can undoubtedly take control over their family.

REFERENCES
Blaine, A. (2014, October 2). Training Hawaii News Video Player. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jackson, Nicki A. “Domestic Violence by Law Enforcement.” (2007). In (Ed.), Encyclopedia of domestic violence. New York, New York: Routledge.
Klein, R., & Klein, C. (2000). The Extent of Domestic Violence Within Law Enforcement: An Empirical Study. Retrieved from http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/virtual_disk_library/index.cgi/4951188/FID707/DVBPO/EOV.pdf
Mullins, Wayman C., and Michael J. McMains. ‘‘Impact of Traumatic Stress on Domestic Violence in Policing.’’ In Sheehan, ed. Domestic Violence by Law Enforcement Officers, 2000, pp. 257–268.
Wetendorf, D. (2000, January 1). The Impact of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.abuseofpower.info/Article_FBI.htm
Wetendorf, D. Davis, D. L. ‘‘The Misuse of Police Powers in Officer-Involved Domestic Violence.’’ Advocate and Officer Dialogues: Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence. Fort Wayne, IN: Davis Corporate Training, 2003.