NCJ Number
168670
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 66 Issue: 7 Dated: July 1997 Pages: 13-18
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In many communities, reports related to domestic abuse comprise the largest category of calls to which police officers respond; until recently, however, police officers rarely ventured into the private domain of the marital relationship.
Abstract
During the 1980's, the police response to domestic abuse began to change as communities implemented more aggressive strategies to deal with domestic abuse. Many law enforcement agencies began to explore new ways of responding to domestic violence calls, and the focus gradually shifted from merely "maintaining the peace" to arresting offenders, protecting victims, and referring battered women to shelters and other community resources. Despite progressive changes that have occurred during the past two decades, law enforcement still does not address domestic violence in the same way it addresses other violent crimes. Police officers need to develop a better understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse and recognize that domestic abuse is basically about one person dominating and controlling another person by force, threats, or physical violence. While police officers generally become involved in a domestic abuse situation once it has reached a flash point, physical abuse in most domestic abuse cases occurs during one of three phases that constitute the cycle of violence: tension building phase, acute battering phase, and honeymoon phase. Domestic violence investigations should evolve with a full understanding of the cycle of violence and the characteristics of batterers. Police officers should also make it clear to victims that the criminal justice system can protect them. 7 endnotes and 1 photograph