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Responding to the Needs of Domestic Violence Victims

NCJ Number
174499
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Dated: April 1998 Pages: 15-18
Author(s)
C Rucinski
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the efforts of one police department to improve their response to the needs of domestic violence victims.
Abstract
The Cheektowaga, New York, Police Department entered into a joint endeavor with Haven House, the local battered womenþs shelter, and the National Conference, a human relations organization, to recognize diversity and combat prejudice. In addition, they worked to develop a new way of responding to domestic violence and helping victims transcend their abusers. Their objectives were to dispel myths about victims that officers may harbor, to increase interpersonal and communication skills of responding officers, to reduce bias and discrimination by officers toward victims, to increase officersþ ability to recognize the violent human dynamics in domestic scenarios, and to develop data identifying areas for growth and improvement. The partners focused most of the training efforts on addressing attitude issues and officersþ misconceptions because they appeared to be the root cause of communication problems between officers and victims. Table, note