|
Officer Safety and Survival Teleclass |
|
|
Criminal Domestic Violence |
|
|
Domestic violence behavior is a systematic,
comprehensive method of controlling an intimate partner or family member
through physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or financial abuse.
Officers responding to a domestic violence call should always consider
these extremely dangerous situations. Drugs and alcohol are usually
involved. Officers are put in the disadvantageous position of having to
enter a residence where the suspects are on home turf and the availability
of weapons is high. Domestic disputes often erupt into violence. Officers
should attempt to separate the suspect and complainant while at the same
time maintaining contact with each other. Often times both the suspect
and the victim will turn their aggression toward officers, no less than
two officers should respond to a domestic dispute. Several agencies in
South Carolina have the resources to provide the responding officers with
a domestic violence history of the location and/or suspects. Officers
should arrive at the same time and formulate a tentative plan for dealing
with domestic situation prior to initiating contact.
With the growing Hispanic population of South Carolina officers might be faced with another unexpected situation, that being a complainant and suspect who speak little or no English, only Spanish. Officers are encouraged to develop a working knowledge of Spanish. If neither officer speaks Spanish then finding someone to interpret, such as a neighbor or relative, may be the only means of resolving the situation. One does not have to be fluent, a working knowledge and the ability to communicate information, by speech, action or gestures may be enough. Communication is the key. |
|
|
|
|
