Review your local police
department's general domestic violence policy:
Does the policy address
police-involved domestic violence?
What is the protocol for the officers
who respond to police-involved calls?
What is likely to be the impact on the
officer's employment status if the victim signs a criminal complaint?
What is likely to be the impact on the officer's
employment status if the victim obtains an Order of Protection in civil
court?
An Order of Protection in criminal court? (Are officers
required to inform the department if they are named a respondent to an
Order of Protection?)
Become familiar with the risks and liabilities to the department if an
accused officer is allowed to remain on full duty:
What are the risks involved when an
officer who is himself a batterer responds to a domestic violence call in
the community?
What is the impact on the department's
public relations when a police officer is a batterer?
Learn the department's internal investigations procedures:
Determine what the department's investigative procedure entails.
Establish a safe procedure for the victim to report incidents to the
department. (Consider arranging an interview at a location other than the
department, such as at the domestic violence agency.)
Who
besides the victim will be interviewed as part of the investigation?
Will the victim be kept informed as to the progress of the
investigation?
What types of information do and do not remain confidential? What are the
safeguards that the investigating officers will refrain from discussing
the case within or outside the department?
What will the department do to protect the victim during the
investigation?
What will the department do to protect the victim after the investigation?
Try to enlist the department's cooperation in . . . .
Using you as a liaison between the victim and the
department.
Working with you to develop a safety plan for the victim.
Allowing you to provide advocacy for the victim.
Having you provide
referrals for services needed.
Providing education
for all officers on your state's Domestic Violence Act and on the issue of
police-involved domestic violence.
Providing education
for all officers on your state's Domestic Violence Act and on the issue of
police-involved domestic violence.
Inform your community of your department's policies and procedures
on police involved domestic violence:
Raise awareness of the complexity of the problem.
Arrange community meetings to discuss your department's response.
Inform the community of the services your agency offers.
Explore ways to inform officers' intimate partners about your services:
Is the department willing to do a direct mailing to
employee's homes?
Use media, brochures and palm cards to get the word out.
