Police Training And Family Violence

This document summarizes the results of a workshop held for police trainers to begin the work of determining the kind of training competencies that would be needed to prepare the police officer to intervene effectively in all dimensions of family violence. Results of a survey of family violence professionals are also given. The document describes police officer competencies, investigative barriers and special challenges, and new approaches to police training in violence toward children, women, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Other findings discussed include issues relating to the delivery of quality police service, the implications of an inter-disciplinary approach for police training, implications of the community-based policing approach in the area, and recommendations for policing services offered to vulnerable sectors. A model training syllabus is also included.

Many of our children live in communities where violence, fear, and despair are commonplace. This book describes how one city developed a collaborative effort between law-enforcement and mental health professionals in order to help these children and their families. The Child Development-Community Policing Program in New Haven, Connecticut, was initiated in 1991 to deal more effectively with children who are victims or perpetrators of violence. Police officers, preparing for the new responsibilities of community-based policing, have become familiar with an array of strategies for preventing and responding to community violence. Mental health professionals have learned firsthand about the texture and trauma of the lives of children at risk. Police and mental health professionals working together have been able to mobilize treatment services more quickly and effectively and to assure that treatment plans are carried out. This manual provides a model, case studies, and guidelines for training the participants, operating a consultation service, and evaluating the program on an ongoing basis, all of which will be useful for other communities seeking to implement a similar project.

This edition continues to address the basic questions surrounding domestic violence. Virtually all chapters have been rewritten, and material has been added on changes in prosecution criteria and on different methods to protect the victim.