Section One

1
Section One

• Victim and Officer Safety

2

• Introductory Note on Language

3
Language

• Victims and survivors
• Victims (primarily using female pronouns)
• Offenders (primarily using male pronouns)
• Laws (rely upon original statutory language)
• Use domestic violence and interpersonal violence
  interchangeably

4
Evolving Terms

• Domestic violence relationship violence family
  violence spouse abuse battering
• Increasingly becoming called intimate partner
  violence (IPV) or abuse (IPA) in many official
  and academic sources

5
Victim Safety
6
How much risk is associated with domestic
violence?

• Rates are high for women who experience elevated
  rates of homicide and assault compared to men
• Exactly how much risk depends upon the data
  source used
• Data and statistics always vary based on source,
  sample size, and methodology
• Challenge is to decipher trends based on the most
  reliable data

7
Violence against intimates difficult to measure
because

• it often occurs in private
• victims are often reluctant to report incidents
  to anyone because of shame or fear of reprisal
• differences in studies using varied definitions
  of
• Intimates
• Violence

8
Two main sources of data

1. Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
2. National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

9
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

• Measure only crimes known to police
• No information on victim/offender relationship
  for average assault case (although changing as
  systems move to the NIBRS system)
• Some useful data on homicide

10
In 2006, UCR data show

• Homicide data involving only one victim and one
  offender show that overwhelming number of both
  male and female victims are killed by men (92
  for women and 91 or men).
• About one-third (32) of female victims were
  killed by their husbands or boyfriends compared
  to 2 of male victims killed by wives or
  girlfriends.
• FBI (2006). Uniform Crime Report Expanded
  Homicide Data (http//www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/off
  enses/expanded_information/homicide.html)

11
Data consistent. From 1976-2005, on average

• Female homicide victims are more likely than male
  victims to be killed by an intimate 30 of
  women killed are killed by an intimate and 12 by
  a family member only 9 are strangers (with the
  rest being friends or acquaintances).
• Male victims are more likely than female victims
  to be killed by acquaintances (35) or strangers
  (16) only 5 are killed by intimates or family
  members (7).
• Remaining percentages absent from the figures
  are assailants that have an unknown relationship
  with the victim.

12
Percent of Homicides by Gender 1976-2005 UCR
data
13
Tennessee Incident Based Reporting Data (TIBRS
2006)

• Crimes reported to the police
• 80,575 victims reported a domestic violence
  related offense the vast majority involved
  simple assault (69) or aggravated assault (13)
• 76 murders were reported
• 73 of the victims were female
• 39 of the victims were African-American which is
  over-represented based on their percentage in the
  population (about 20)
• Victims were most often between the ages of 25-34
• Crime in Tennesee 2006 available at
  http//www.tbi.state.tn.us/Info20Systems20Div/TI
  BRS_unit/Publications/200620All20Agencies20Comb
  ined.pdf

14
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

• Provides information on the dark figure of
  crime crime not reported to the police
• Annual data on domestic violence is not complete
  in the yearly report.
• Periodically publish an overview concentrating
  specifically on intimate partner violence
• 2007 report provides a summary of NCVS data from
  2001-2005
• Catalano, S. (2007). Intimate Partner Violence in
  the United States, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  Available at http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pd
  f/ipvus.pdf

15
NCVS Results

• Almost 1 in 4 (22) acts of violent victimization
  (of all types) committed against women involved
  intimate partner violence but only 4 for men
  (excludes murder).
• Females ages 20 to 24 were at the greatest risk
  of intimate partner violence
• Separated women reported higher rates of intimate
  violence than females of other marital status

16
NCVS Results (cont.)

• African-American and Hispanic women experienced
  higher rates of intimate partner violence than
  other racial groups and higher than their
  proportion in the population
• Women in lower income groups experienced higher
  rates of victimization than those in higher
  income groups.
• Children were present in 38 of the households
  where women experienced intimate partner
  violence.
• About 3 of female victims and 16 of male
  victims involved same sex partner assaults

17
Characteristics of the Assaults

• Most assaults were simple assaults
• Most assaults for women occur in the evening
  (59) and in the home (63).
• Weapons were not present in most cases (81)
• About two-thirds of female victims reported they
  were hit, slapped, or knocked down as the main
  form of assault
• About half of all females suffered an injury from
  their victimization and about 20 of these
  required treatment
• About one fourth (23) of female victims sought
  victim assistance of some kind
• 58 of female victims reported their experience
  to the police

18
Stalking also a significant problem

• One national victimization study reports that 78
  of stalking victims are women
• 94 of their stalkers are male
• Women are eight times more likely to be stalked
  by a former or current intimate partner than men
• Tjaden, Patricia and Nancy Thoennes. Stalking in
  America Findings From the National Violence
  Against Women Survey. National Institute of
  Justice.

19
Summary of Data

• Overwhelming evidence that women are a majority
  of victims is supported using data from many
  sources
• National victimization surveys from the US
• Victimization surveys from other countries
• Studies using shelter records
• Studies using police, prosecution, and sentencing
  records
• Studies using emergency room records
• Studies using homicide records

20
Assessing Lethality for Victims
21
Assessment as Prevention

• In 70 to 80 of intimate partner homicides,
  victims were abused prior to the murder
• An important way to decrease intimate partner
  homicide involves the identification and
  intervention of abused women.

22
Are there factors that predict whether batterers
will kill?

• Research is less than conclusive
• Assessments have generally been used as a guide
  for victims to assess their own levels of danger
• Cannot predict who will and will not murder
• None the less some warning factors should be
  considered when officers respond

23
Most important factors

• Threats and assaults involving guns or other
  weapons
• Women who are threatened or assaulted with a gun
  or other weapons are 20 times more likely than
  other women to be murdered.
• Threats of murder
• Women whose partners threaten them with murder
  are 15 times more likely than other women to be
  killed.
• Guns in the home
• When a gun is in the house, an abused woman is 6
  times more likely than other abused women to be
  killed.

24
Other factors possibly related

• Escalating domestic violence and the increasing
  entrapment of battered women
• Separation/estrangement/divorce of the parties
• Obsessive possessiveness or jealousy on the part
  of the abusive partner
• Threats to commit intimate partner homicide,
  suicide, or both
• Prior agency involvement, particularly with the
  police
• Having a protective or restraining orders issued
  against one of the parties, usually the man
• A prior criminal history of violent behavior on
  the part of the abusive man
• Serious injury in prior abusive incidents
• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Forced sex of female partner

25
One can never really know which batterer will
attempt to kill a battered woman or her children.

• Any battering relationship may end in homicide.
  Potential lethality is always a concern.
• Lethality also is affected by criminal justice
  system and community responses.
• No instrument should be the only basis for safety
  planning for victims. It can only be used with
  other information as part of the puzzle.

26
Be aware

• Risk of lethality or death is not the same as
  predicting risk of re-assault
• Less research in this area
• The risk factors for both are probably related
  but not exactly the same

27
Risk Factors Related to Re-offending

• Prior non-domestic violence convictions
• Prior arrests for assault or harassment
• Prior domestic violence treatment
• Prior drug or alcohol treatment
• History of domestic violence related to
  restraining/protective orders
• History of violating restraining/protective
  orders
• Evidence that weapons used in committing any
  crime
• Children present during domestic violence
  incident
• Currently unemployed
• Victim separated from offender within past 6
  months
• Victim has restraining order/protective order
  when offense occurred
• Offender under any type of community supervision
  when offense occurred

28
Homicide/Suicide Cases

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• 32 of suicides are precipitated by a problem
  with an intimate partner
• 75 of the homicide victims in these cases are
  female and 90 of the suicides are males
• Offenders are more apt to be white, ages 35-55,
  married, and about a 50 chance of being under
  the influence of drugs or alcohol
• 73 of incidents occur in a house and 88 involve
  a firearm.
• 79 of the cases had prior evidence of intimate
  partner problems and 87 reported a crisis in
  the two weeks preceding the incident (often
  involving civil or criminal legal problems).
• There is rarely much warning. Only 17 of the
  offenders disclosed their intent to commit these
  acts. Only 5 had a history of suicide attempts.
  79 left no suicide note.

29
Law Enforcement Implications

• Notify victims that threats and assaults
  involving guns or other weapons, threats of
  murder, or guns in the home are related to
  increased lethality.
• Discuss with victims that all incidents have the
  potential for lethality even if it is
  unintentional (pushing them so that they hit
  their head and have a brain bleed)
• Provide referrals
• Assist victims with a safety plan

30
Safety plan here

• Review safety plan handout.

31
Officer Safety
32
How much risk is associated with domestic
violence?

• It is not extensive and certainly not as high as
  historically has been taught in police academies.
• The risk is more likely to involve assault than
  murder.

33
Perceived Risk to Police Officers

• Historically police officers were trained to view
  domestic violence cases as one of or the most
  dangerous calls possible
• Some older research suggested that that between
  25 to 80 of police officers reported an assault
  when responding to domestic violence calls

34
FBI Reports Reinforced this Idea

• Indicate that deaths to police officers
  responding to domestic disputes ranked between
  the highest to the third highest of all deaths
  associated with making arrests
• Problem was the way they defined the category --
  domestic disturbances
• Included all kinds of disturbance calls which
  were domestic violence calls and bar fights, gang
  calls, general public disturbances short of a
  riot, and man with a gun calls.

35
Example of the Report
36
Re-analysis of data finds

• That police deaths in domestic violence cases
  accounted for about 6 of all non-accidental
  deaths from 1973-1982.
• Police officers are more likely to die
  accidentally as a result of their own action or
  the actions of other police officers than to die
  when responding to a domestic violence call.
• FBI continues to use this overly broad category
  of domestic disturbances in their annual reports
  on Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted
• Gardner, J. and Clemmer, E. (1987) Danger to
  police in domestic disturbances A new look.
  Washington DC U.S. Department of Justice.
  Available at http//www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/
  grants/196694.pdf

37
Rank order of 48 officer fatalities for 2006

• Attempting arrests 12
• Ambush situations 10
• Traffic stops 8
• Disturbance calls (excluding dv cases) 6
• Investigating suspicious persons 6
• Domestic violence calls 2
• Tactical situations (e.g. hostages) 2
• Transporting prisoners 1
• Dealing w/ mentally ill persons 1
• FBI Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
  Assaulted, 2006 available at http//www.fbi.gov/
  ucr/killed/2006/index.html

38
Notice how the impact is different when domestic
disturbances are combined

• Attempting arrests 12
• Ambush situations 10
• Traffic stops 8
• Disturbance calls (all kinds) 8
• Investigating suspicious persons 6
• Tactical situations (e.g. hostages) 2
• Transporting prisoners 1
• Dealing w/ mentally ill persons 1
• FBI Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
  Assaulted, 2006

39
Officers are most apt to die in accidents

• Rank order of 66 officer fatalities for accidents
  in 2006
• Automobile accidents 38
• Struck by vehicles 13
• Motorcycles accidents 8
• Accidental shootings 4
• Aircraft accidents 3
• FBI Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
  Assaulted, 2006

40
Overview Officer Fatalities
41
Other Safety Issues

• Homicide is only one way to measure danger in
  these cases we need to know more about assaults
  and injuries to establish danger estimates
• We need measures that assess danger rates based
  on the frequency of domestic violence calls
  (which is high) What is the danger rate? and
  how does it compare to other types of crimes
• Currently we simply report the raw numbers and
  dont compare them based on the frequency of
  particular kinds of calls.
• Need the data to separate domestic violence calls
  from domestic disturbance calls in all FBI reports

42
Data not separated for Assaults Only for
Fatalities
43
It is clear that

• Domestic violence is a serious social problem.
• Women are primary victims and at significant risk
  for both assault and homicide.
• Police officers face some risk when dealing with
  these calls, but it has been over stated and it
  is lower than many other types of calls for
  service.