Domestic violence- trained police

What Police Are Trained to Do

While policies differ from city to city, it can be helpful for survivors to understand the common threads for how police are trained to respond. The first concept is to treat domestic violence calls as a high priority or a life-threatening situation. Because of this perspective, and importantly for survivors to know, many departments will continue to respond even if the victim cancels the request.

Next is to approach carefully, meaning officers are trained to apply discretion when using emergency lights and sirens and to observe and listen before announcing their presence. This can improve everyone’s safety and also expose important evidence, such as an active confrontation.

Sending two officers is a best practice as well. On occasion, balancing the need to urgently respond and having two officers arriving on scene simultaneously can be a challenge, especially in areas where units are positioned far apart. Dispatching two officers can make quickly juggling a multitude of tasks more manageable, such as checking arrest warrants and prior history, and identifying and separating the victim and perpetrator.

Once on scene, keeping the abuser and victim out of sight and hearing of each other can increase the odds of each person speaking candidly without the influence of the other. It also helps officers determine if firearms are on the premises and to remove them; 79 percent of cases in a study of 358 police law enforcement agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum involved finding and confiscating firearms.

Collecting evidence is another priority. Many agencies require officers to take pictures of the victim’s injuries and the crime scene; interview and obtain written, audio or video statements from the parties, neighbours or witnesses; and create detailed occurrence reports whether or not an arrest is made. Nearly 9 in 10 agencies record incidents by location and 7 in 10 record them by individual to help officers of future investigations understand the history, according to the same study.

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Conducting a risk assessment to determine the level of danger for the victim, and whether a safety plan should be encouraged, is required by 42 percent of agencies. Of course, if you’re experiencing violence, a safety plan is always something to consider developing, regardless. Some agencies train officers to provide victims with community resources and the protocol for some includes making follow up visits.

Mandatory Arrest

Many agencies require officers to make an arrest under certain conditions, such as evidence of an assault, violation of a protection order and other offenses where physical evidence exists or that an officer witnessed. This is known as a mandatory arrest policy and it can be valuable for a survivor to know in advance whether local authorities use this practice.

Debate over mandatory arrest exists. Some say it gives the victim a break from the violence and time to consult with advocates. Others point out the all-too-common reality of domestic violence: where seemingly positive steps to address the violence can backfire, in this instance the possibility of an arrest leading to escalated violence at another time.