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IE! ’55" ’13:} J 1.4131 v 1 ‘« Immmm“WWW l/ 3129 uefigg 7 Michigan State University if This is to certify that the thesis entitled Domestic Violence and the Police: A Needs Assessment presented by Susan M. Wolfe has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for lLA. degreein Psychology \ i, ( 4gb?! Major professor 11/2/88 Date 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opporiuniry Institution IV1ESI_) RETURNING MATERIALS: * Place in book drop to LJBRARJES remove this checkout from .-,— your record. FINES will be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. 12.1 1 ~. 1333, 9.5 MAGIC 2 mg 52? T155993 i&3%4@@j DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE POLICE: A NEEDS ASSESSMENT By Susan Marie Wolfe A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Psychology 1988 ”ix . (DC: : CST ABSTRACT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE POLICE: A NEEDS ASSESSMENT By Susan Marie Wolfe Interviews were conducted with 80 randomly selected officers of the Flint Police Department. Officers were recruited during roll call and interviews were conducted in the patrol cars while officers were on duty. The measure was an interview schedule developed by the principal researcher, and included both closed and open ended questions. Officers had received some training in domestic violence, although they expressed a need for more training. A majority of the officers felt referrals were an effective method of intervention, and most had made referrals within the previous two months, utilizing a variety of agencies. Most.officers felt they could be more effective in utilization of referrals if they had more information about the various sources. Although officers were generally positive about the assistance of social workers, responses indicated their actual utilization was conditional. Needs for more support from the Judicial and prosecutorial systems, as well as the victim and general public were expressed. Officers indicated they find domestic violence calls to be stressful and expressed a need for stress reduction services. There were differences in attitudes and needs related to demographic and attitudinal factors. Situational needs for more training, referral information, social work assistance, stress support and arrest support were expressed. This is dedicated to my husband, David and my_ children, Jason and Kristopher for all of their patience and support. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank-you's go to the following members of my committee: to Dr. William Davidson II for his careful review and critique of both the proposal and finished thesis, as well as his continuing guidance throughout this project; to Dr. Ralph Levine for his guidance with the data analyses; to Dr. Louis Tornatzky for both inducing a sufficient amount of guilt to get this written and for filling in on my committee; and, to Dr. Elizabeth Gordon for her guidance during the initial stages of this project. The next group of thank-you's go to various members of the Flint Police Department. First, to Officer Tim Caster for assistance with the department. Second, to all of the commanding officers who were both supportive and cooperative during the data collection phase. Special thanks go to the officers, especially those who participated as subjects. The final thank-you's go to my family who endured the agony of the proposal writing; the months of weekend absences during data collection; the hours without the telephone during data analyses; the days of writing to complete this thesis; and who patiently listened to my numerous complaints about rewrites. iv LIST OF TABLES I. II. III. IV. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O I O O O O O O O 0 Incidence of Police Intervention Into Domestic Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . Speculation and Research on Methods of Intervention into Domestic disputes by Police Officers . . . . . . . . . Speculation and Research on the Personal EfffiCtS Of DOMESIZIC Violence Intervention on Police Officers Intervening Variables . . . . Rationale For Research . . . . Research Questions . . . . . . METHODS O 0 O O O O O O O O 0 Setting . . . . . . . . . . . Administrative Agreements . . SUDJBCtS O O O O O O 0 O O O 0 Subject Demographic Information PrOCEdu re 0 O O O O O O O O 0 Measure . . . . . . . . . . . RESULTS 0 O O O 0 I O O O I 0 Training Needs . . . . . . . . Referral Source Information Needs . Needs for More Assistance from Profession Support Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . Arrest Support Needs . . . . . . . . . . . Stressful Aspects of Domestic Violence . . Attitudes Toward Calls, Victims, and Assailants and Demographic Variables and Needs 0 O O C O O O O O O O O O O 0 Relations Between Demographics and Attitudes and Needs of Officers . Situational Needs . . . . . . Relationships Between Needs . DISCUSSION 0 O O O O O O O O 0 Training Received and Training Referrals . . . . . Professional Support Arrest Support . . . Stressful Aspects . Att1tUdes O I O O 0 Needs Differences in Needs and Attitudes by Demographic Factors . . . . . . . . Relationship Between Training Received, Needs Expressed and Attitudes . . . Strengths and Limitations . . . . . . V vii 1 3 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 A. Recruitment Statement . . . . . . . . . 109 B. Consent Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 C. Interview Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . 113 vi 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. LIST OF TABLES Demographic Variables . . . . . . Training Received Scale Loadings . Training Needs Scale Loadings . . Social Work Scale Loadings . . . . Attitude Scale Loadings . . . . . Training Officers Had Received: Responses to Open Ended Item Reported Training Needs: Responses to Open Ended Item Referra‘ s O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Responses to Open Ended Question ~Attitudes About Assistance from Social Workers: Arrest Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stressful Aspects of Domestic Violence Calls Calls More Stressful Than Domestic Violence Stress Services . . . . . . . . . Attitudes Toward Calls . . . . . . Attitudes Toward Victims . . . . . Attitudes Toward Assailants . . . Specific Situational Training Needs Situational Needs for Referrals . Situations Where Social Worker Would be Called Stressful Situations Encountered . . . . . . . vii 39 44 46 48 52 55 56 58 60 62 64 66 67 69 7O 71 77 7B 79 BO I. Introduction Domestic violence has been defined as “an act carried out with the intention or perceived intention of physically hurting another person" (Straus a Gelles, 1986). Acts ranging from throwing things to homicide are included under this definition. In 1985 Straus and Gelles (1986) conducted a national telephone survey to determine the prevalence of violence in American homes. They used the Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales which were developed by Straus (1979) to measure the use of reasoning, verbal aggression and violence within the family. The overall rate of couple violence in a sample of 3,520 couples was 15.8%. This included both husband to wife and wife to husband violence. A similar study which also utilized the CT Scales was conducted in Kentucky to determine the amount and nature of physical violence and abuse against spouses (Schulman, 1979). Ten percent of the sample of 1,793 women had experienced some degree of spousal violence during the past 12 months and 21% had experienced violence at some point in their relationships. Studies conducted in Kansas City and Detroit indicated that domestic violence had the potential to escalate to homicidal proportions if no effective intervention was available (Wilt a Breedlove, 1977). These findings were supported by Walter (1981) who found that threats had the potential to escalate into violent attacks or murder. An analysis of data on primary homicides occurring in the United States from 1976 through 1979 revealed that when an offender could be 2 determined, 29 per cent of Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) and 36 percent of non-SMSA homicides were intrafamilial (Jason, Flock a Tyler, 1983). The police are often the first to intervene in domestic disputes; therefore, their response is often critical (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1982). They are the only seven day a week, twenty-four hour a day resource available to offer protection to victims of domestic violence (Bee, 1983; Martin, 1976). A number of criticisms of police response can be found in the literature (Bowker, 1982, 1983; Martin, 1976; Oppenlander, 1982; Walker, 1979). The purpose of the following literature review is to give an overview of the literature regarding various aspects of police. intervention into domestic violence and various methods which have been employed to increase effectiveness of police intervention. It will provide the rationale for conducting a needs assessment of police officers for purposes of planning training programs and/or support services to facilitate police intervention in domestic violence situations. Development of effective programs is a multi-step process which involves planning, implementation, evaluation and feedback. Needs assessment is a critical component of the planning phase (Fishman a Neigher, 1980). Needs assessment is a process of obtaining information from a sample of the population for which programs are intended and using the information to determine appropriate goals and establish two- way communication between the population and the agency (Nickens, et al., 1980). 3 The first section of this review will cover the incidence of police intervention into domestic disputes and the rate of recurrence. The second section will cover research related to needs of police officers and their available resources for intervention into domestic disputes, as well as the personal effects of intervention into domestic disputes and needs for personal support services. Problems with the research and the various methods of intervention will also be addressed in this section. The third section will address intervening variables which may affect police response to domestic violence calls and indicate differential needs. The fourth section will summarize the research findings and present the rationale for the proposed study. The final section will present the questions to be addressed by the proposed needs assessment. Incidence of Police Intervention Into Domestic Violence Erez (1986) found the incidence of households involving the police in domestic disputes was 15.91 per thousand households. The data were obtained from a larger database of domestic violence reports obtained from 18 police departments in one midwestern county. The county studied was 91% urban. It is unknown as to how representative the county studied is of other counties in regard to the level of violence, level of urbanity, and factors which may have bearings on the violence rate. Results of research on victims in shelters were that 32% (Bowker, 1982) to 57% (Brown, 1984) of the victims had called the police to intervene. A large proportion of women remain in the battering relationship (Walker, 1979), therefore, it is questionable as to how 4 representative shelter victims are of the population of battered women needing police intervention. Determining the actual percentage of police calls that are domestic violence from police records has been problematic because of documentation problems (Oppenlander, 1982). Dispatchers tended to initially relay domestic disputes as lesser offenses and officers rarely reclassified them, unless there was an arrest since it involved additional paperwork. When a report was filed, it was usually under assault and battery or homicide. Categories ‘ that would define the nature of the call were generally not used (Martin, 1976). Many of the calls the police officers received were recurrent calls. The Kansas City study found that police had been called for a domestic disturbance to the address of an assault or homicide at least once in the two years preceding the incident in about 85% of the cases. They had been called at least 5 times in about 50% of the cases (Wilt a Breedlove, 1977). Studies describing incidence provide enough information to indicate that police intervene in domestic disputes on a regular basis. The recurrence of violence following intervention indicates current intervention methods may not be effective in many cases, therefore, improved responses are necessary. The next section of this paper describes the research on police intervention and the strengths and weaknesses of current methods. The problems with the current research Will be BOGT‘ESSEG. 5 Speculation and Research on Methods of Intervention Into Domestic Disputes berolice Officers A major problem with research on police intervention into domestic violence is that there is disagreement as to which method of intervention is most effective. A number of different methods have been advocated in the literature. The methods included arrest of batterers, various methods of training, crisis intervention teams which utilize social workers as back-ups, and referrals by officers to appropriate agencies. No clear definition of appropriate police responses in domestic disputes has been provided by society or the police (Bell, 1985). It is possible that all of the methods described above are effective based on the situational aspects of the dispute and the disputants. The next section will focus on the literature pertaining to each of the methods and summarize the current state of knowledge of each as they relate to the needs of the officers to increase their efficacy in domestic disputes. Training Following the Detroit and Kansas City studies, Wilt and Breedlove (1977) suggested conflict intervention training programs be developed for police departments. The major focus of training efforts for police officers has been in the techniques of crisis intervention. In the mid-1970's crisis intervention by officers was introduced as a major innovation (Schrieber, 1984). It involved answering calls as soon as possible, mediating disputes, and making agency referrals. It was more of a psychological problem-solving process and was the first attempt at collaboration between law enforcement personnel and human 6 behavior experts. One advantage of crisis intervention training for officers which was cited was that officers would be able to assist families in seeking appropriate intervention before the problem escalated (Oppenlander, 1982). Feminist activists and advocates of arrest policies have questioned the use of mediation techniques as opposed to arresting batterers (Morash, 1986). One disadvantage according to Martin (1976) is that officers may use mediation to avoid arrest in many cases. Research on the impact of arrest is inconclusive at this time, therefore, labeling mediation as "disadvantageous'I based on the arrest avoidance hypothesis may be premature at this time. The crisis intervention movement began with a program developed by Morton Bard (1974) in New York City. Eighteen patrolmen were trained for one month in family crisis intervention. The training included role-playing, value and attitude clarification, lectures, field trips and discussion groups. For 22 months one patrol car was designated as a family car and dispatched to all family disturbance complaints. There was 24-hour a day coverage by members of the unit. Continuous support and training were available to officers by clinical psychology graduate students and a professional group leader during the time the program was operational. There were no homicides in the families receiving the crisis intervention and there was a decrease in injury to officers responding to domestic dispute calls in the precinct which utilized the unit. The number of calls in the comparison precinct, which utilized traditional services remained the same. The reason for the reduction in calls was not determined and whether the program was responsible is unknown. 7 Evaluations of crisis intervention projects have not shown strong evidence that it is the most effective intervention method. Very few projects have been adequately evaluated. Mulvey and Reppucci (1981) cited three major problems with the research in this area. The first problem was that the approaches to training and measurement of outcomes varied between projects. Few projects utilize multiple outcome measures. The second was that there has been selection bias within police departments. Third, the evaluations have used demonstration projects as opposed to looking at the training as it would function in an ongoing department. In response to these problems, Mulvey and Reppucci conducted an experimental study. Officers were randomly assigned to either an experimental group which received crisis intervention training, or a control group which received no training. ~Multiple outcome measures were used. Officers in the experimental group participated in one of two 40-hour training sessions for which they were paid their normal wage. Three areas of change were considered in the evaluation. The first was to determine if there was a positive shift in the attitudes of the officers toward mental health interventions. Results indicated that although the in-service training was well received by officers in the experimental group, both groups became more negative over time in regard to the applicability of psychological principals to policing tasks. The second area of change was the officers' ability to recognize appropriate or inappropriate strategies. This was measured by having officers respond to SIX staged dispute scenes -- three on 8 videotape and three presented in prose form -- and asking them to identify correct and incorrect intervention strategies. Officers were tested on two separate occasions. The first was before training, and the second was immediately following the completion of training. The results indicated there was no group effect, however, there was a significant positive time effect. The third area of change was whether trained officers were more effective in the field than untrained officers. This was measured in two ways. The first was by having the officers' supervisors rate them and the second was by telephone interview ratings obtained from citizens who had a recent need for police assistance. Results indicated that both trained and untrained officers showed significant improvement over time.- None of the findings provided evidence of the efficacy of crisis intervention training; however neither finding proved the training was ineffective or had negative effects. There were three major strengths to this study. The first was that the instructors used for the program were representative of the instructors which would be used in most police departments in the country and not recognized experts in the field. The second was the random assignment of officers to groups. The third was the use of multiple outcome measures. There were two weaknesses with the study. Due to natural attrition the sample size was smaller than optimal, thus reducing the power of the analyses and making it possible only to detect large effects. The use of only one police department limits the generalization 9 of the results. Although the measures had been used in similar studies, their validity had not been established. Confounds which may have affected the results of this study include the possibility of testing effects or history effects. The results of this study indicate further work of this type is warranted. At this time is would be premature to advocate crisis intervention as the optimal method of training officers. Methods and emphasis of crisis intervention training for officers vary across projects. The program developed by Morton Bard (1974) utilized lectures, workshops, field trips, discussion groups and a learn-by-doing approach by using professional actors to simulate situations the officers may encounter. The emphasis of the program was to sensitize the men to their values and attitudes about human behavior and family disruptions. A program developed by Driscoll, Meyer and Schanie (1973) expanded on Bard's model by using more simulations and field interventions in the company of a staff member. The emphasis was changed from a sensitivity training model to a contemporary experimental social psychology model combined with behavior modification techniques. A program conducted in Columbus, Georgia trained officers in fact-finding skills, behavioral screening, nonverbal communication, and to recognize stress and the various emotions present in conflict situations as well as effective assessment of the situation for purposes of making appropriate referrals (Arthur, Sisson, a McClung, 1977). The Family Disturbance Intervention Program (FDIP) conducted in Washington, D.C. relied on action methods of training such as role playing, psychodrama and simulations. The focus of the program was to 10 equip officers with listening, observation and empathy skills so they could diagnose situations and decide on appropriate intervention strategies (Buchanan a Hankins, 1983). A program in El Monte, California utilized discussion, lectures, role-playing and videotape feedback to train officers in methods for diffusing violent situations, information-gathering, mediation, referrals, and handling of victims, substance abusers and mentally ill persons (Pearce a Snortum, 1983). All of the programs described above lacked empirical evaluations or were subject to the methodological flaws described by Mulvey and Reppucci (1981) earlier in this review. The descriptions of the various programs listed above indicate there is no prescribed method of crisis intervention training. Additionally, there is no standard course content. The various components that comprise the "crisis intervention training programs“ may need to be evaluated separately to determine which aspects of the training program do have positive effects. No evidence that this issue has been addressed was found in the literature. Oppenlander (1982) found that offenders refused to answer questions 25% of the time when officers were intervening in arguments and 29% of the time when assault was involved. This passive resistance may rule out the officers' option to use crisis intervention techniques. An additional issue raised by Oppenlander is whether disputants are predisposed to on-the-scene counseling by officers. They may look to the officer as an authority rather than a facilitator. 11 Whether this perception should be changed is an issue not addressed by advocates of crisis intervention. Lovitt (1976) recommended training officers to detect behavioral cues and respond accordingly. Officers tend to disregard behavioral evidence and adopt a standard response to all situations. Lovitt claimed that officers could be more effective if they learned to set aside personal biases and determine which techniques will produce the best solution to each particular behavior exhibited by disputants. This idea was not researched, therefore, its effectiveness is unknown. A one-day workshop for police officers in Wayne County, Michigan was conducted for purposes of enlightening officers about the dimensions and causes of spouse abuse (Loeb, 1983). The workshop, entitled .'The Role of the Police in Spouse Abuse“ included presentations offering information about what officers can do, including legal requirements, values clarification and role perception, effective mediation and interviewing, and safety techniques for spouse abuse situations. The program was evaluated by pre- and post-test questionnaires. Police officers described themselves as being better informed and better equipped to intervene in domestic violence following attendance in the program. Selection and mortality threaten the internal validity of this type of evaluation design, therefore, the - results of this evaluation should be interpreted with caution (Campbell 5 Stanley, 1966). Additionally, the effectiveness of training in regard to reduction of recidivism of violence for cases where trained officers intervened was not determined. 12 Bowker (1982) suggested that training include attention to verbal helping behavior, education about the situation of battered women and increased emphasis on the desirability of arrests where action has been requested by the victim. Buzawa (1982) surveyed police officers in the Detroit Michigan Police Department to explore areas where officers might seek more training. Officers indicated it would be helpful to attend classes on Michigan's domestic violence legislation, social and psychological reasons why families fight, techniques for defusing potentially violent situations, and community and social agencies available to assist violence prone families. This would indicate officers are not adverse to training in the area of domestic violence issues. Hicks, et al. (1985) conducted a study to assess police perceptions of interpersonal communication needs. A scoring system ranging from 2 (badly needed) to -2 (counterproductive for effective performance) was used. The mean score for interpersonal communication training for family disputes was 1.19, which would fall between the response categories of badly needed and helpful. This would support the findings of Buzawa, that officers are not adverse to training in the area of domestic violence, and indicate they show some interest in the area. Support for results of both Buzawa (1982) and Hicks, et al. (1985) were found in a study by Trojanowicz and Pollard (1986). These data were part of a larger study to assess the Flint Neighborhood Foot Patrol Program in Flint, Michigan. Fifty-seven foot patrol officers were interviewed for this study. Questions included asking them what 13 additional training would be helpful to them as foot officers. Officers indicated interest in updates on laws and ordinances, updating about referral services, and training in conflict management. Officers expressed a need to learn more about dealing with spouse abuse, child abuse and general family problems. Summary. Because of the variance in methods and subject matter covered by crisis intervention training, it is not possible to define one concept called crisis intervention training. Nonetheless, interest expressed by officers in various studies (Buzawa, 1982; Hicks, et al., 1985; Trojanowicz a Pollard, 1986) indicates a need to further explore the area of training officers to effectively intervene in domestic disputes. ‘ If training programs were implemented, their continuation would need to be maintained. Berk, et al. (1982) found that gains made by the Family Violence Program in their study during the first year were lost during the second. Staff changes and funding reductions had negative effects on the continuance of the program. Training efforts would need to be maintained so all officers entering the force would have the opportunity for the additional training in the area of domestic violence. An alternative to training officers for more effective intervention has been to offer social workers as back-ups for intervention into domestic situations. This approach will be covered in the next section of this review. 14 Professional Support Professional support for officers has been used either in the form of police-social worker teams or social workers alone. The assumptions underlying combinations of police officers and social workers were that the police officers and social workers in unison had more flexibility, alternatives and presence than each one would have had alone (Carr, 1979). These teams have often had to overcome a lack of cooperation which typically characterized the relationship of social workers and police officers before they could begin to effectively operate. Time, exposure to one another, and additional training helped to overcome this barrier (Fein a Knaut, 1986; Michaels 5 Treger, 1973). Overcoming this barrier would be essential for the determination of effectiveness of the intervention method. An attitudinal assessment by Treger et al. (1974) which was done prior to the introduction of social workers into a police department indicated there was a uniformly negative predisposition of officers toward social work and social workers. After 14 1/2 months in one city and 3 1/2 months in another, attitudes were strongly positive, which would support the idea that exposure to each other can help to overcome the barriers. Social workers initially expressed feelings of apprehensiveness, anxiety, mistrust, doubt and guardedness about entering a relationship with police officers. After spending time with officers in a working relationship, they spoke appreciatively of their experience. The Family Consultant Service of London, Ontario employed mental health personnel who worked closely with the police to respond 15 immediately to family-related crises (Jaffe, Thompson, a Paquin, 1978). Prior to the implementation of the program officers were surveyed to determine their acceptance of the service. The response was reportedly overwhelmingly positive. After the program was operational for three years another survey was conducted. Over 90% of the officers displayed a good understanding of the role of the consultant. Officers viewed consultants as cooperative (94.5%), competent (98.4%) and as having a good understanding of the police role (94.5%). This would indicate officers may not be as antagonistic toward mental health specialists as previously suspected. The Family Service Society of Pawtucket, Rhode Island and the Community Relations Division of the Police Department initiated a police crisis team program in January of 1974. The teams consisted of a professional social worker and a police officer. The officer represented an authoritative figure to maintain control over the situation while the social worker worked to reduce conflict and explore feelings (Carr, 1979). Crisis teams were only available in the evening, not on a 24-hour basis. Officers had the option to call them after the situation had been assessed. Only 6% of the calls involved marital disputes. The rest were alternative family problems. Parent-child disputes were the most prevalent. No reason for the low rate of involvement with spouse abuse was given. The evaluation procedures, which were not described, resulted in positive evaluation by the clients. No other evaluation component was included. The rate of recidivism for spouse abuse cases was not measured, therefore, the socially relevant outcome is undetermined for this program. 16 Michaels and Treger (1973) and Treger, et al. (1974) described projects initiated by two communities in Illinois which utilized social services within the police department. The communities have both received “All-American City“ awards and are comprised of mainly ”junior executive” middle class and middle to upper working class persons, therefore, not necessarily representative of most communities. Social workers in the project were housed at the police station and available to intervene when officers encountered situations which required counseling or other measures within the expertise of the social worker. This enabled clients to receive services without delay and ensured they would be served. The program was lacking a formal evaluative component and most information was only backed up with case examples, therefore, the effectiveness is undetermined. Fein and Knaut (1986) described a crisis intervention unit which utilized paraprofessional social workers available to police officers when something more than a criminal justice remedy was indicated. The teams were available on a 24-hour basis. In the beginning the police officers were hostile and pulled tricks on the social workers, including locking one of them in a mausoleum for a couple of hours. Following a sixteen hour training session and adequate time to adjust to the new program, the officers began to accept the social workers. Many of the calls the teams received were on weekends and during the evening. This might indicate that either police called the team when there were no other resources accessible or most domestic disputes occur during these times. The staff were able to provide enough assistance to help resolve problems in approximately 50% of the 17 cases. The evaluative component was not clearly described, therefore, it is difficult to detenmine the effectiveness of this program. Summary. Reports of acceptance of social workers as collaborators with police officers are conflicting. Treger, et al. (1974) and Fein and Knaut (1986) reported officers were initially antagonistic toward social workers, whereas Jaffe, Thompson, and Paquin (1978) reported an overwhelmingly positive acceptance by officers. The conflicting evidence would indicate a need for further study in this area. Future studies would need to assess the effects of intervening variables on acceptance of social workers by officers. The increased cooperation and acceptance between police officers as a function of collaboration (Treger, et al., 1974) and training (Fein a Knaut, 1986) indicates that the two professions can work together in a positive manner. Social workers are trained to intervene with dysfunctional family interactions, therefore, they would appear to be a viable back-up to officers in domestic disputes. Because programs described in the literature either lacked evaluative components (Michaels 5 Treger, 1973), or were not evaluated properly (Carr, 1979; Fein a Knaut, 1986), the effectiveness of intervention by social workers as back-ups to police officers is unknown. Referrals Referrals to social service agencies are one option available to officers for intervention into domestic violence situations. Oppenlander (1982) conducted a study to determine whether criticisms of officers related to their handling of domestic disputes was valid. Although 90% of the officers were reportedly aware of referral sources 18 for the disputants and half said they routinely make referrals, data collected by observations indicated that officers made referrals to social service agencies in less than 4% of the cases. This was supported by Brown (1984) who found that although 88 percent of officers agreed that police officers should make sure women know about shelters and 85 percent agreed that referring the disputants to counseling was a good idea, only 6% of the women who were recipients of police services reported referrals. The Columbus, Georgia training program found that referrals increased as a function of training. This was measured by reports from agencies. One agency in family counseling reported an increase of 25 referrals per month (Arthur, Sisson, a McClung, 1977). Bell (1985) found that when criminal complaints were initiated by the victim, officers had a tendency to provide referrals to social service agencies more often than when they were not initiated. Bell speculated that this may have been an arrest avoidance mechanism used by officers. The effectiveness of this option was questioned. Often the services were not available and the expectations of the victim may have been artificially raised. Summary. The reasons officers did not utilize referrals although they reported knowledge of them and advocated their use is unknown. Further work in this area is warranted to determine the effectiveness of referrals. If referrals are found to be an effective method of intervention, strategies would need to be developed to increase the use of referrals by officers. 19 Arrest Decisions In the early 1980's victim protection and offender arrest was advocated by critics of crisis intervention. Domestic violence was recognized as a criminal action with the potential to escalate to homicidal status. This mode of intervention was characterized by quick police response to domestic calls, officers investigating for evidence of an assault, arrest, and the victim being advised of available resources. States have passed laws allowing the officer to arrest without the victim being the complainant. Following arrest the perpetrator could either be jailed, fined or sentenced to a treatment program (Schreiber, 1984). The Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence (1984) recommended that officers presume arrest is the appropriate response where there is probable cause that a crime has been committed. The rationale for this recommendation was that arrest would send a message to the offender that spouse abuse is a crime which would neither be condoned or tolerated. Smith and Klein (1984) studied factors which influenced police arrest decisions in interpersonal disputes. Trained civilians observed police citizen interactions for 900 shifts in 24 different police jurisdictions in three different Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Although arrest was less likely in domestic versus non-domestic disputes, the difference was not statistically significant. Police were unlikely to arrest in both domestic and non-domestic disputes. Sherman and Berk (1984) conducted a study in Minneapolis, Minnesota to determine the deterrent effects of arrest for domestic 20 assault. The design called for random assignment to either: (1) arrest, (2) separation, or (3) some form of advice. There was a six-month follow-up to determine whether there was recurrence and how serious it was following each of the different methods of handling the disputes. The design only applied to simple domestic assaults with both parties present. Each officer carried a pad of color-coded forms which were randomized as to which color would appear next. Each color indicated which action was to be taken. The experiment ran from March 17, 1981 to August 1, 1982. A total of 332 cases of domestic violence were studied. There were problems with getting the officers to comply with the experimental design. They did not always follow the directions on the form they were to use which indicated which action was to be taken and did not attend the meetings with the project director and manager regularly. Only 205 of the 330 victims could be located and interviewed for a 62% completion rate. Only 161 victims completed all follow-up interviews, which resulted in a 49% completion rate. Two outcome measures were used. One was a police-recorded failure of offender to survive the six month follow-up and the other was an interview with the victim. Police data indicate that separation produced the highest rate of recidivism and arrest the lowest. Advise showed no significant effect. Self-report measures produced results which indicated that arrest had the lowest recidivism rate and advise the highest. The authors admitted that the measures have uncertain construct validity. Arrest may have caused the victims some unforeseen consequences, therefore, they may not have called the police again. The 21 authors stated that arrest did not make things worse, however, it is not possible to draw conclusions because of the methodological problems with the study. One variable which was not addressed by this study was the follow-up by the court. Only 3 of the 136 arrested offenders received formal punishment from the court system. Officers may have felt that arrest was a waste of time without the application of severe sanctions by the judicial system. Further work is warranted to detenmine what happens to offenders following arrest and what impact it has on arrest as a deterrent. Berk and Newton (1985) attempted to replicate the Minneapolis Spouse Abuse Experiment (Sherman a Berk, 1984). The effects of arrest in 783 wife-battery incidents during a 38 month period in a county in California were studied. Arrests were made in 207 of the cases and police records were scanned for new incidents after the police intervention. Statistical procedures were built on the estimation and use of "propensity scores“ to control for nonrandom assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups. One methodological problem with this study was that the batterers who were arrested may have differed from those who were not. Results indicated that arrest did not deter all prospective batterers by greater than chance amount. It deterred those people whom the police were most likely to arrest. At this time very little is known about which aspect of arrest deters wife batterers. Batterers who were arrested in this study were punished by the court system more than those in the study by Sherman and Berk (1984). Of their sample, 21% spent a 22 minimum of one day in jail, 18% were arraigned, 14% entered a guilty plea and 6% were diverted into counseling. Time spent in jail had an effect, although, this effect failed to reach significance. The authors speculate this may have been attributable to type II error. The results of the two studies described indicate further work is warranted in this area. It is possible that arrest may be dependent on situational and personal aspects of disputants. Berk and Loseke (1981) asserted that advocating arrest as a policy was meaningless without attention to the larger criminal justice system in which the police work. Unless changes were made in the judicial and prosecutorial practices, arrest may increase the danger for victims. If offenders are not tried and convicted, the arrest will be meaningless. Arrest may be the optimal method of intervention depending on the situation. Berk and Loseke (1981) and Worden and Pollitz (1984) studied the situational determinants of arrest in domestic disturbances. Berk and Loseke (1981) utilized incident reports containing sufficient detailed information. The reports were studied to determine which situational aspects of the disputes influenced the decision to make an arrest. Factors such as injury, presence of both parties and evidence of alcohol use by the male, allegations of violence by the female with both parties present, and citizens arrest influenced whether an arrest was made. The greatest effect was the citizens arrest by the female victim. This would indicate that officers may need more cooperation from victims to make arrests, otherwise, the arrest may be meaningless. 23 Worden and Pollitz (1984) found Berk and Loseke's (1981) data suspect for two reasons. The first was that the data were collected from official police reports and may have been written to justify actions taken rather than report accounts of what transpired. The second was that Berk and Loseke's sample only included reports which contained sufficient information, thus eliminating reports officers may not have deemed important enough to warrant thorough attention. Worden and Pollitz used trained observers who accompanied police officers on patrol. The authors did not offer any information regarding reliability of the observations. Results indicated that arrest decisions were based on situational cues. Bell (1984, March, 1985, November) collected data from a database comprised of domestic dispute incidents reported to various Ohio police jurisdictions. Results indicated that when victims~ initiated complaints, offenders were arrested significantly more often as opposed to victims who did not initiate complaints. This would support the idea that officers need greater cooperation from victims when making arrests. Bell (1984, March) recommended the responsibility to arrest be placed on the officer who has knowledge of the law and can detenmine if- there are legal grounds for arrest. Additionally, the victim of domestic violence is usually under emotional strain and not in a position to make an objective determination as to whether an arrest is in order. Summary. When police officers utilize arrest as a method of intervention into domestic disputes, the judicial and prosecutorial 24 systems, as well as victims, need to support the decision. If officers do not feel their arrest will be followed up by a prosecution, they may not want to take the time and effort to make an arrest. Speculation and Research on the Personal Effects of Domestic Violence Intervention on Police Officers Very little information is available as to the personal effects intervention into family violence may have on police officers. Walter (1981) found that many domestic violence calls had a strong emotional impact on the intervening officers. This furthered the frustration they felt toward handling these calls. The capabilities of the officers may be taxed by entering a situation which may have been building for days (Oppenlander, 1982). Although it is a widely accepted view that police work is stressful, it is difficult to say how much stress is associated with police work in comparison to other professions (Malloy a Mays, 1984). A survey by Rios, Parisher and Reilley (1978) indicated police feel the need for more personal and family counseling services. The contribution to the stress level by intervention into domestic disputes is unknown. Doubts about competence and problems with clients have been described as stressful antecedents of burnout (Burke 5 Deszca, 1986). The police have often received criticism for their responses to domestic violence (Bowker, 1982, 1983; Martin, 1976; Oppenlander, 1982; Walker, 1979). These criticisms may raise doubts within officers about their level of competence. Victims of domestic violence are not always cooperative (Walker, 1979), therefore, officers also have problems with clients. 25 White, et al. (1985) conducted a study with the Greensboro City Police Department to identify the major areas of stress and examine their relationship to other stress indices. The modified Police Stress Inventory was distributed to 355 police personnel. There was a 59.44 scoreable return rate. Factor analysis produced three factors: (1) physical/psychological threat; (2) evaluation systems; and, (3) lack of support. Analysis of variance on physical/psychological threat scores indicated age has a significant effect, with 26-30 year olds having the highest scores and the over-4O year olds having the lowest. Analysis of variance on the evaluation systems scores indicated years on the job and race had a significant effect. Those with over 16 years on the job had a lower mean that those in the 0-5 years group and 6-15 years group. The mean for blacks was higher than whites. Age produced the only significant effect for the lack of support factor, with the 31-39 year olds having the highest mean, and the 40 and over group having the lowest mean. The mean scores for the 26-30 year old group were in between. Lack of support scores were significantly positively correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization subscales of a Burnout Survey. Domestic violence calls may be contributors to these sources of stress. If calls are perceived as dangerous, victims or the courts are not cooperative, or the role is not clearly defined, stress may result. The relationship between aspects of domestic violence calls and 26 stress has not been studied, therefore, the contribution of domestic violence calls specifically to the stress of police officers is unknown. Walker (1979) reported that 25% of all police fatalities were found to occur when responding to domestic calls and a common assumption has been that domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous calls to which police respond. A report by the National Institute of Justice (1986) indicated the danger to police may be overstated. If calls are perceived as dangerous by officers the level of stress experienced when responding may be increased. Summary. The lack of research into the stressful aspects of police intervention indicates there is a need for further work in this area. Determination of the extent of the stress experienced by officers responding to domestic violence calls in comparison to the other types of calls would indicate whether officers find this area as problematic for them as the literature indicates it is. Each of the potential areas of need, both personal and professional, may be tempered by demographic, attitudinal, and experiential variables. The next section of this review will describe the research related to the effects of these variables on police response. Intervening Variables Variables found to affect police intervention into domestic violence include gender, experience, attitudes, education, marital status, and age. Each of these variables will be discussed in the following sections Of this review. p. 27 Gender Kennedy and Homant (1983) reported that female and male police ‘officers handle domestic disputes differently. Their subjects were limited to abused women residing in shelters in Detroit, Michigan, which limits the generalizability of the results. The results do, however, imply further work on gender differences would be useful. Homant and Kennedy (1983, March, 1985) expanded on their study and compared the perceptions of male and female officers toward spouse abuse. Obtaining a large enough sample of female officers was difficult. Female officers were obtained with the cooperation of a group called Women Police of Michigan. Male officers were recruited from two metropolitan area police departments. Questionnaires were. distributed to both samples. There was a 62% return rate for female officers and a 41% rate for male officers. The samples differed in regard to age, experience, marital status, education, and rank. A multiple regression analysis resulted in gender showing the greatest effect on involvement. Involvement was operationalized by the degree of importance placed an officer response to domestic violence, agreement with arrest, agreement with referrals, supportive of shelters, and importance of showing sympathy and understanding. Reliability and validity of the scales has yet to be determined. Although there are a number of methodological problems with the study in terms of sampling differences, demographic differences and unknown reliability and validity of the scales, the study gives some indication that gender may influence response. The difference in response styles may indicate different needs. 28 Experience The Homant and Kennedy (1983, March, 1985) studies also looked at experience as it related to involvement. Officers with less experience with family fights tended to score higher on involvement. There could be a number of explanations for this. Involvement may have decreased as a function of frustration with the calls, or it could have been related to burnout. One aspect of burnout described by Burke and Deszca (1986) is depersonalization or an unfeeling and callous response. The methodological problems described above also limit the usefulness of the findings. Education Education was found to correlate positively with higher involvement in the study by Homant and Kennedy (1983, March, 1985). It is possible that officers with higher levels of education felt more equipped to handle domestic disturbances. They may have been more informed about the nature of domestic violence, which could have accounted for their agreement with the pro-involvement statements. As stated earlier, the methodological limitations of the study temper the generalizability of these results. Marital Status Married officers tended to score lower than unmarried officers in involvement (Homant a kennedy, 1983, March, 1985). The authors did not speculate about the implications of this finding. More infonmation about marital status and how it relates to the intervention by officers into domestic violence is needed. 29 Age Age showed no significant differences in regard to the degree of involvement (Homant a Kennedy, 1983, March, 1985). It seems plausible to assume that age does relate to level of experience, with higher age correlating with more experience. Experience did show an effect in the study by Homant and Kennedy, therefore, the nonsignificant differences in age should be interpreted with caution. Attitudes Police officers reportedly viewed domestic disputes as private matters and not “real“ police work (Brown, 1984; Loving a Quirk, 1982). They have encountered victims who were repeatedly beaten and failed to press charges. The perceived danger described earlier in this paper cannot be ignored. These factors presumably contribute to the perceptions of police officers toward domestic calls. Homant and Kennedy (1982, March) studied attitudes of police officers toward domestic violence and found the opposite to be true. Seventy eight percent of the officers surveyed agreed that responding to family fights is a very important part of a police officer's role. Those who did feel this was important also agreed that arrest, counseling and shelter homes are all possible options for intervention into the situations. This would indicate that officers who feel their response is important may also be more apt to utilize available options and not take a reluctant intervention approach. An additional finding was that officers who felt arrest was useless also downplayed the importance of their role and believed the arrival of the officers made things worse. The reasons for their 3| attitudes about the uselessness of arrest were not determined, however, it may indicate that steps are necessary to make arrest a more useful option. These steps may include more support from victims and the- prosecutorial system. This group also tended to have more experience with family fights, which may indicate there have been instances where their decisions were not supported. Walter (1981) looked at police attitudes and actions when responding to domestic disputes. The sample for this study was all police officers in a small Northeastern City (N-30). Interviews were conducted with all officers to determine their perceptions of the calls and which approach they favored. All domestic disturbance calls that came in during a one month period were investigated (N-56). Family members involved in the disputes were interviewed whenever possible (N-78). Police officers were asked if there were similarities in the domestic violence situations in which they intervened. The most common perception found was nearly every call involved parties who had been drinking heavily. There was evidence of drinking in 71% of the calls with 50% being only the husband, 19% involving both parties and 2% the wife alone. Ninety percent of the officers believed alcohol use was a family problem. Walter reported many officers felt that wives were the cause of the husbands' drinking problems, but no percentage was given. The officers believed that parties should be separated until the effects of the alcohol are diminished so the family could work on their problems without the negative influence. Almost 40% of officers did not believe they should intervene in domestic disputes unless violence had been used. A review of records 31 revealed that threats had the potential to escalate to assaults or homicides. When acts of violence were committed, officers felt intervention was proper and necessary. Calls by outsiders were reportedly problematic. When neighbors called, disputants usually did not want police intervention. The officers felt the neighbors often called for reasons of revenge or to embarrass the disputants. Police were also asked what they felt their role was in intervention into domestic disputes. Responses indicated that 13.3% saw themselves as para-marriage counselors, 60% as referee and 26.7% felt they had no legitimate role. The perceived role was related to the approach used when intervening. Those who viewed their role as para- marriage counselor spent more time on calls and encouraged family members to talk and admit their need for outside assistance. The officer would then refer them to their clergyman or marriage counselor. The referees concentrated on the immediate problems and attempted to separate spouses for a cool down period. The most common tactic used by those who saw themselves as having no legitimate role was to leave the premises as soon as it was determined there was not violence. Generalizability of the results of this study is limited by the nature of the sample used. A study with a more diverse group of officers and a more longitudinal review of records is indicated. Information was derived from open interviews and attitudes were subject to interpretations by the researchers. Scales with established validity and reliability would give clearer attitudinal measures with 32 less chance of misinterpretation. Walter's study does, however, give some insight into the relationship between role perceptions and actions. Worden and Pollitz (1984) studied attitudes about role to determine the effects they may have on the officers' responses to situational cues. They found that officers who place a premium on “working the street" as well as service-oriented officers were guided in their arrest decisions by situational cues. The crime-fighting officers were more likely to arrest if the woman alleged violence, whereas the problem-solving officers were not affected by this. Problem-solvers tended to arrest more often if both were present and the man was drinking. This differential response by differences in perceived role indicates further work in this area is warranted. Summary. Very little has been done in the way of differential responses to domestic violence based on personal variables. The variance in response by variance in intervening variables is an indication that these variables should not be overlooked in tenms of needs and responses of officers. Rationale for Research The rate of recurrence following police intervention into domestic disputes, as well as the evidence that 85% of domestic homicides in Kansas City were preceded by at least one call to the police in the past indicates there is a need for improved response (Wilt & Breedlove, 1977). The needs assessment that was conducted attempted to determine whether the officers also felt the need to improve response. Arrest, crisis intervention and professional support may all have merit as potentially successful intervention methods for domestic 33 violence. This issue was addressed by asking the officers about their needs as they related to all three areas. Questions were included to determine the possibility of situational usefulness of all three methods of intervention as perceived by the officers. The survey by Buzawa (1982) which looked at officers needs for training by specific area was the only study found which addressed the needs of the officers for training. This needs assessment addressed those needs, and expanded on the questions asked by Buzawa to determine needs for specific aspects of crisis intervention training, informational training about domestic violence, informational training about the laws and domestic violence, training in the area of behavioral cues and diffusion of potentially violence situations. This needs assessment also attempted to determine whether officers feel a greater need for support from the larger criminal justice system and victims when making arrests. This need has in the past been alluded to int he literature, however, it has not yet been addressed. The need for professional support from mental health specialists was explored. Disagreement was found in the previously described literature as to the acceptance of such services by officers. The need for such services as related to the situational aspects of the calls was also explored. The possibility of officers accepting such services under certain conditions was assessed. At this time it is still unknown as to which method of intervention is the most successful method. The only acceptable criterion for success would be a total cessation of violence. Police officers have regular contact with domestic violence situations, 34 however, they have thus far had very little input into the planning of programs and interventions. Most of the research has been conducted either by obtaining reports from victims or by having trained observers record the actions of the officers. This needs assessment gained the perspective of the officer and offers an alternative view of domestic violence situations involving police officers. The concept of stress and domestic violence intervention by officers has not been addressed at all. There is disagreement about the level of danger when answering such calls. This study included questions to assess the stressful aspect of domestic violence intervention in relation to other calls. Needs for more services to reduce the experienced stress were examined. The study utilized the community survey approach (Fishman a Neigher, 1980) to determine the needs of officers of the Flint Police Department in Flint, Michigan. Education, arrest support, personal support and professional support were all addressed. Research Questions 1. Do police officers feel there is a need for more education -about domestic violence and training for more effective intervention? 2. 00 police officers feel there is a need for more information about referral sources available to assist victims and offenders? 3. Will officers find professional support persons (e.g. social workers or other mental health specialists) helpful for intervention into domestic violence? 35 4. Do police officers feel there is a need for more support from the judicial and prosecutorial system, their peers and superiors, and victims when making arrests? 5. Are domestic violence calls more stressful for officers than other types of calls? Do officers feel there is a need for personal support services to mediate this stressful effect? 6. What are the officers' attitudes toward victims, assailants and domestic violence calls; and, what is the relationship between attitudes and demographic variables and the various potential areas of need? 7. 00 officers find all methods of intervention effective dependent upon situational aspects of the call? 8. Are there any relationships between the potential areas of need (e.g. Is a need for more referral sources related to a need for more professional support)? 11. Methods Setting The survey was conducted in the police department of Flint, Michigan. This setting was chosen because of the high rate of domestic violence incidents to which officers had been called to intervene. There were very little fonmal data available on the rate of police intervention into domestic violence in the City of Flint. An informal review of police incident reports for a five-month period (January 1, 1984 through May 31, 1984) revealed that police were called to intervene in a total of 2,463 domestic disputes. Assault was involved in 2,129 cases and threats in 334. This resulted in an estimated 5,911 cases annually (Officer Tim Caster, unofficial statistics). Accurate numbers from official statistics were impossible to obtain because the category for "spouse abuse” was often not used. Domestic assaults were often categorized under assault and battery or felonious assault, therefore, they were not distinguishable from non-domestic assaults. In 1986 the City of Flint recorded 61 homicides, of which 60% were the result of domestic disputes (M. Tapscott, Chief of Police, Personal Communication). The previous record, set in 1973, was 50 ("Beating Victim,“ 1986). The increasing rate indicated a need for more effective intervention. Results of this needs assessment were presented to the department for use in planning for training and/or support programs for the officers. 37 Administrative Agreements This study was part of a larger study titled "Violence/Trauma Intervention Project: Evaluation of the Demonstration Program". The program was a cooperative effort among Hurley Medical Center, Genesee County Community Mental Health, and the Flint Police Department. It was funded by the Michigan Department of Mental Health. Administrative agreements were on file for all agencies/institutions involved. Subjects Officers were chosen to participate by random sample. A list of officers was obtained from the police department. The names of the officers were put in alphabetical order and each officers was assigned a number. One hundred numbers were generated by computer and officers with corresponding numbers were recruited. Twenty three officers were found to be ineligible due to recent promotions, retirements, changes in assignment, or lack of recent experience with domestic violence (e.g. some traffic officers). An additional sample was drawn to bring the number back up to 100. An additional 22 officers were found ineligible for the same reasons previously noted, therefore additional numbers were generated to bring the number of eligible and participating officers to 80. Of the final eligible sample of 85 officers, five officers refused participation, resulting in a refusal rate of 6%. One officer refused to speak to the researcher at all, one gave no reason for refusal, one refused stating he simply did not want to participate, one refused because of a general dislike for being interviewed, and one because he would not allow females in his patrol car where the interview would have 38 taken place. Because of the limited number of officers available during his shift, it was not possible to interview elsewhere. The final number of officers interviewed was 80. Subject Demggraphic Information Demographic information is presented in Table 1. Comparative statistics on all of the officers in the Flint Police Department were not available. Because officers were randomly selected, it was assumed the sample was representative of this population. These statistics are useful in describing the sample, in addition to their utility in subsequent analyses to determine whether needs vary as a function of demographic variables. Procedure . Recruitment. Officers were recruited on an individual basis by the principal researcher immediately following roll call. Prior to roll call the researcher scanned the duty roster to determine which of the officers who had been chosen to participate would be on duty for that particular day and shift. The name was given to the commanding officer who requested the officer see the researcher following roll call. The study was explained to the officer at the time of recruitment, and officers were assured of total confidentiality of responses. The opportunity to participate in a $100 lottery drawing was offered as incentive. If the officer consented to be interviewed, the consent form was presented for signature (See Appendix A for a sample of the recruitment statement and Appendix B for a sample of the consent form). 39 Table 1. Demographic Variables Variable Frequency Percent Age Category 18 to 20 Years 1 1.2 21 to 25 Years 20 25.0 26 to 30 Years 23 28.7 31 to 35 Years 15 18.8 36 to 40 Years 13 16.2 41 to 45 Years 5 6.3 46 to 50 Years 2 2.5 51 to 55 Years 1 1.2 Sex Male 72 90.0 Female 8 10.0 Race White 55 68.8 Black 21 26.2 Hispanic 4 5.0 Time With Flint Police Less Than One Year . , 13 16.2 1 to 2 Years 22 27.5 3 to 5 Years 13 16.2 6 to 10 Years 12 15.0 11 to 15 Years 12 15.0 16 to 20 Years 5 6.3 21 to 25 Years 3 3.7 Worked as a Police Officer Prior to Flint Yes 24 30.0 No 56 70.0 40 Table 1. (continued) Variable Frequency Percent Current Assignment Patrol 36 45.0 Foot Patrol 38 47.5 Traffic 6 7.5 Prior Assignments Patrol 41 51.2 Foot Patrol 5 6.2 Traffic 7 8.7 Other 17 21.3 None 34 31.3 Shift First 26 32.5 Second 29 36.2 Third 12 15.0 Fourth 13 16.2 Marital Status Single 29 36.2 Married 44 55.0 Separated 3 3.7 Divorced 4 5.0 Does Subject Have Children Yes 47 58.7 No 33 41.2 Highest Level of Education Police Academy 9 11.2 Military 1 1.2 One Year College 14 17.5 Two Years College 21 26.2 Three Years College 13 16.2 Four Years College 19 23.7 Over Four Years College 3 3.7 41 Table 1. (continued) Variable Mean Standard Deviation Months Worked As Police Officer Prior To Flint Police Department 52.583 33.557 Months on Current Assignment 48.722 62.288 Interviews. Interviews took place primarily in the patrol cars when the officers were on duty. Some officers chose to be interviewed in the roll call room or at restaurants or other public places. Actual interviews took from 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete. Because officers were on duty, there were interruptions for calls or by citizens who had questions. Actual time spent with officers ranged from one to six hours. Interviewers. Three interviews were conducted by trained interviewers and the remaining 77 interviews by the principal researcher. Because of the small number of interviews completed by the additional interviewers, it was not possible to assess reliability. Interviewers received 11 hours of training which covered the purpose of the study, items to be addressed, the survey form, interview technique, and practice interviews. Measure The measure was an interview schedule developed by the principal researcher (See Appendix C). Prior to its use it was reviewed 42 by an officer in the planning and research department of the Flint Police, as well as tested between the research team members for problems with clarity and wording. It was piloted during the first five interviews and determined to be acceptable for use. Demographics. The first section of the measure was a set of questions to obtain demographic information from the officers. The purpose of this section was twofold. The first purpose was to gain a general description of subjects, and the second was to determine whether there were differential needs of officers based on demographic variables. Variables included were age, race, sex, length of employment with the Flint Police, length of employment as a police officer, current shift, current position, prior two positions, length of time in current position, educational status, marital status, and whether the officer had children. Training. The first set of questions in the training section were used to assess the amount of training officers had relevant to domestic violence intervention. Although the research question to which this pertained was concerned mainly with the needs of the officers for more training, determination of the amount of training they had already received on domestic violence intervention was obtained to put the needs for training into perspective. The first question was open ended to give officers the opportunity to name any training they had received which they felt was relevant to their intervention into domestic disputes. The second group of items was used to determine whether the officers had any of the types of training that had been suggested in the literature for improvement of officer response in 43 domestic violence (Arthur, Sisson & McClung, 1977; Bard, 1973; Buchanan & Hankins, 1983; Buzawa, 1982; Loeb, 1983; Lovitt, 1976; Pearce & Snortum, 1983). Officers were asked to indicate whether they had received extensive, some, little or no training in each area which was named. Responses were scored on a four point scale with a "1'I indicating they had received no training; and a “4” indicating they had received extensive training. Scales and subscales were then developed from these items. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation and unity weighting was used to develop subscales. Four factors were produced. They were labeled as follows: (1) Intervention Skills; (2) Psychosocial Factors; (3) Family Assistance Skills; (4) Police Defusion Skills. Loadings of individual items are reported in Table 2. The original scale was significantly positively correlated with all subscales which were developed, and all subscales were significantly positively correlated with one another, therefore, only the original scale was utilized for subsequent analyses. The second set of questions in the training session were used to assess the potential areas of training need, as perceived by the officers. The first question was open-ended to give officers an opportunity to name the types of training they may find effective. The second group of items was to determine whether officers felt the types of training suggested in the literature would increase the effectiveness of officers with domestic violence calls. The items used were the same Table 2. Training Received Scale Loading; 44 Item 1 2 3 4 Factor 1: Intervention Skills Alcohol/Drug Abusers .78 .23 .13 .01 Safety Techniques .74 .21 .22 .10 Stress Recognition .71 .14 .23 .12 Nonverbal Communication .63 .31 .09 .28 Defusion of Violence .56 .24 .27 .37 Listening/Empathy Skills .56 .21 .15 .53 Behavioral Evidence .55 .42 .32 .17 Factor 2: Psychosocial Factors Attitude/Values Clarification .06 .75 .03 .25 Social/Psych Reasons .39 .72 .13 .11 Causes of Spouse Abuse .24 .70 .31 -.O7 . Role of Police Officer .29 .70 .19 .24 Crisis Intervention .23 .52 .29 .40 Factor 3: Family Assistance Skills Assisting Victims .28 .10 .78 .28 Legal Alternatives .18 .35 .75 .02 Referral Techniques .13 .20 .74 .21 Information Gathering .49 .03 .54 .14 Factor 4: Police Defusion Skills Mediation Techniques .05 .37 .06 .77 Interviewing Techniques .15 .13 .22 .75 Handling Mentally Ill .48 -.12 .31 .57 45 as those used in the second half of the first set of questions. Officers were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed that each type of training would help to increase police effectiveness with domestic violence. Responses were scored on a five point scale with a I'1" indicating they strongly disagreed, a “3” indicating they were neutral, and a “5" indicating they strongly agreed. Scales were then developed from these items. Principle Components analyses with varimax rotation and unity weighting was used to develop subscales. Four factors were produced. They were labeled as follows: (1) Psychosocial; (2) Communication/Behaviors; (3) Victim Assistance; and (4) Police Work Techniques. Loadings for items are reported in Table 3. The original scale was significantly positively correlated with all subscales which were developed, and all subscales were significantly positively correlated with one another, therefore, only the original scale was utilized for subsequent analyses. The third set of questions in the training section were used to assess whether officers expressed a need for training to handle specific types of situations, and to determine which types they felt would help. Table 3. Training Needs Scale Loading; 46 Item 1 2 3 4 Factor 1: Psychosocial Causes of Spouse Abuse .75 .19 .23 .05 Alcohol/Drug Abusers .71 .15 .33 .O3 Social/Psychological Reasons .64 .55 .04 -.16 Crisis Intervention .63 .22 -.15 .36 Attitude/Values Clarification .63 .14 .17 .17 Factor 2: Communication/Behaviors Behavioral Evidence .20 .73 .12 -.12 Nonverbal Communication .12 .67 .22 .26 Listening/Empathy Skills .28 .62 .08 .42 Handling Mentally Ill .10 .55 .27 .43 Stress Recognition .20 .52 .24 .19 Factor 3: Victim Assistance Interviewing Techniques .09 .28 .67 .26 Referral Techniques .37 .09 .66 .03 Assisting Victims .39 .22 .63 .06 Role of Police Officer -.07 .24 .60 .22 Infonmation Gathering .10 .28 .49 .33 Mediation Techniques .20 .44 .49 .18 Factor 4: Police Work Techniques Defusion of Violence .18 .16 .13 .75 Legal Alternatives .34 .OO .34 .55 47 Referrals. This section was related to the use of referrals by officers, their feelings about the effectiveness of referrals, and their needs for more referral information. The first question was to determine whether they feel referrals are an effective method intervention into domestic disputes. Responses were scored “1” if officers responded affinmatively, and "2“ if they responded negatively. If the officers answered negatively it was followed by an open-ended question to determine why they felt they were not. The next question was to assess whether officers had made a recent referral. Responses were scored '1“ if they responded affirmatively, and '2" if they responded negatively. If they had, they were asked to name the agencies to which they referred disputants. The fifth question was to determine whether there were situational differences in the use of referrals by officers. Responses were scored '1“ if the officers responded affinmatively, and "2" if they responded negatively. It was followed by an open-ended question to ascertain which types of situations they felt were best handled by agency referrals. The final question in this section was to assess whether officers felt increased knowledge in this area would improve response. Responses were scored '1' for affirmative responses and '2' for negative responses. ' I Professional Support. This section was to determine whether officers felt that having social workers or mental health specialists available to call in would increase the effectiveness of their response. The first question was open ended and the purpose was to determine how officers felt about having social workers available as back-ups for domestic violence calls. The second set of questions was a set of 48 scaled items to measure the attitudes the officers had toward the social workers. The items were obtained from the literature (Carr, 1979; Fein a Knaut, 1986; Treger, 1981). The last set of questions was to determine whether there were situational determinants of the use of social workers by officers. Social Work Support Scale. Principal Component Analysis with varimax rotation and unity weighting produced two subscales. The statements indicating that social workers cannot help disputants, domestic violence is a legal matter, and the arrest avoidance statement were reverse coded to maintain consistency. The second subscale was dropped from subsequent analyses because of conceptual difficulties. The remaining scale was labeled as “social worker effectiveness". Loadings for individual items are reported in Table 4. Table 4. Social Work Scale Loadings Item Factor 1 Factor 2 Effective Back-Up .82 .00 Legal Remedy Necessary .73 .34 Legal Matter .67 -.14 More Effective than Police .02 .73 Social Work Problem .17 .62 Social Worker to Avoid Arrest .34 -.52 48 49 Stressful Aspects of Domestic Violence Intervention and Need for Personal Support. This section focused on the extent of stress officers experienced as a result of intervention into domestic disputes in comparison to other police work. The first question was to determine whether officers found it stressful to intervene in domestic disputes. Responses were scored '1" if the officer responded affirmatively, and “2' if the officer responded negatively. If response was affirmative, it was followed by the second open-ended question which asked what it was about them that officers found stressful. The next question was to determine whether certain situations encountered during domestic violence intervention caused more stress than others. This was followed by a scaled set of statements to determine sources of stress. Items were obtained from the literature (Burke a Deszca, 1986). Items dealt with doubts about competence, problems with clients, bureaucratic interference, lack of fulfillment, and amount of congeniality with other officers in this area. Officers were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each statement, and responses were scored on a five point scale. Response scores ranged from one to five with a "1'I indicating strong disagreement and a '5' indicating strong agreement. The stress scale was analyzed using Principal Components Analysis with varimax rotation and unity weighting. It failed to produce any conceptually interpretable results, therefore, was not considered for further analyses. The next question was to determine which calls officers found more StI’ESSfUI than dOflIBStTC violence calls. 50 The items in the second section of the stress segment were to assess officer needs for stress reduction services. The first question was to determine whether they were interested in services. If they indicated they were interested, their response was scored as '1“, and if they indicated they were not, their response was scored as "2". Officers who indicated interest in stress services were then given the opportunity to name the type of service they would find helpful. Support for Arrests. This section was to address the needs officers may have for more support when making arrests. All items except “the amount of jail space“ were obtained from the literature (Berk a Newton, 1985; Shenman a Berk, 1984). The question regarding the amount of jail space available was specific to the sample being studied and was obtained from conversations with officers. The second question was to detenmine whether situational aspects of the incidents may influence whether arrest was viewed as the optimal response. Officers answering in the affirmative were asked the next question to determine which situations they felt warranted arrest. Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence Calls, Victims and Assailants. This section was used to determine attitudes officers had about domestic violence calls, Victims and assailants. The first three questions were open-ended to encourage officers to make responses which may not have been covered by closed questions. These questions were followed by a set of scaled items to measure attitude. These items were obtained from the literature (Homant a Kennedy, 1982, March; Walker, 1979). Officers were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement with items on a five-point scale. The item was scored '1' if the officer strongly 51 disagreed, ”3" if the officer was neutral, and “5" if the officer strongly agreed. These items were used to develop and attitude scale and subscales. Attitude Scales and Subscales. The following items were considered to be negative statements, therefore, they were reverse coded for these analyses: (1) Police officers have no legitimate role in domestic disputes; (2) Domestic dispute calls are among my least favorite; (3) Since I began intervening in domestic disputes I have lowered my standards about what I can accomplish; (4) I feel as though I treat the disputants as if they were impersonal objects; (5) The basic fault for family fights usually lies with the woman; and, (6) The basic fault for family fights lies with the man. The attitude scale produced a reliability coefficient of .73 following the deletion of the following items: (1) Domestic dispute calls are among my least favorite; (2) The effectiveness I have with domestic violence calls depends on how cooperative the disputants are; (3) I try not to get emotionally involved with the events of the domestic disputes; (4) Batterers are usually substance abusers and cannot help themselves; and (5) The police officer has a harder time dealing with the man in a domestic dispute. Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation and unity weighting produced six subscales, however, only two were conceptually acceptable. The first was labeled ”interpersonal aspects“ and the second ”the importance of police intervention". Loadings are presented in Table 5. 52 Table 5 Attitude Scales Loadingg Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 Factor 1: Interpersonal Aspects Scale Harder time dealing with man* -.75 .26 .05 .18 -.O4 -.O4 Battered women are crazy .61 -.13 -.15 .40 .39 .12 Harder time dealing with woman .57 .22 .04 .02 .15 .25 Treat as impersonal objects** .50 .38 .45 .15 .02 -.25 Lowered standards** .49 .49 -.08 .34 -.02 -.10 Factor 2 Calls among least favorite** .08 .77 .13 -.19 -.10 -.09 Effectiveness depends .21 -.75 .20 -.05 -.09 .01 Factor 3: Importance of Police Intervention Scale Intervention very important -.08 -.21 .84 .01 .20 -.11 No legitimate role** .03 .12 .83 .23 .06 .22 Factor 4 FaUTt 1125 "1th man** ’007 .06 016 082 005 000 Fault lies with woman** .45 -.18 .21 .67 .O7 .05 Factor 5 Women do not enjoy battering .19 -.O7 .15 .O4 .73 .08 Positive influencing lives .12 .26 .25 -.O3 .65 -.18 Batterers psychopathic -.19 -.1O -.15 .54 .62 .03 Batterers substance abusers -.19 -.32 .35 -.20 -.4O -.35 Factor 6 Not get emotionally involved .06 -.14 .05 -.01 -.O4 .91 *Item deleted from final scale to increase conceptual consistency **Item was reverse coded 53 Open-Ended Question. A final open-ended question was asked to allow officers to make comments about domestic violence calls, potential needs, or anything else which may not have been covered in this interview. III. Results The organization of this section will be the same as the ordering of the research questions. Results of the analysis will be reported, then summarized to answer each specific research question. Training Needs The first research question asked whether officers felt a need for more education about domestic violence and training for more effective intervention. To place the answer to this question in some context, the first set of questions asked about how much training officers had already received. It was followed by the set of questions to determine the expressed needs for training. Training Received Open Ended Question. Officers reportedly received a variety of types of training they felt was relevant to responding to domestic dispute calls. The various types they reporting having are presented in Table 6. 54 55 Table 6. IgglglggOfficers Had Received: Responses to Open Ended Item Type of Training Frequency Percent Police Academy 46 57.5 College Psychology Class 19 23.7 Workshop/Seminar 17 21.2 College Sociology Class 17 21.2 On the Job 14 17.5 Human Relations 11 13.7 Other Job Experiences 9 11.2 Miscellaneous Reading/Videos 7 8.7 College Criminal Justice Class 6 7.5 Miscellaneous College Courses 5 6.3 Military 4 5.0 Crisis Intervention 3 3.7 No Training 9 11.2 Scaled Items. The mean amount of training for the overall scale was 2.67 with a standard deviation of .95, suggesting that officers had somewhere between little and some training in the various areas. Results of the subscales were very similar with officers receiving a mean of 2.74 (standard deviation .95) for intervention skills; a mean of 2.47 (standard deviation 1.01) for the psychosocial factors; a mean of 2.76 (standard deviation .86) for the family assistanceskills; and a mean of 2.69 (standard deviation .99) for police defusion skills. Training Needed Open Ended Question. The officers named a variety of types of training they felt a need for when intervening in domestic violence. Types of training named by officers are presented in Table 7. 56 Table 7. Reported Training Needs: Responses to Open Ended Item Types of Training Frequency Percent Family and Social Problems 31 38.6 Immediate Intervention Skills 29 36.3 On the Job/Role Play Practice 25 31.3 Communication Skills 17 21.3 Psychosocial Factors 15 18.7 Officer Role/Legal Aspects 15 18.7 Attitudes/Biases Impact 10 12.5 College/Social Science Classes 8 10.0 Did Not Know 5 6.3 Do Not Need More Training 2 2.5 Scaled Items. The mean amount of training for the overall scale was 4.15 with a standard deviation of .76. This suggests officers generally agreed to strongly agreed the types of training named would ' help to increase effectiveness when responding to domestic violence calls. Results of the subscales were similar to those of the scale. The mean for the psychosocial training needs was 4.03 (standard deviation .79); the mean for the communication/behaviors training needs was 4.11 (standard deviation .76); the mean for the victim assistance training needs was 4.08 (standard deviation .78); and, the mean for the police work techniques training needs was 4.55 (standard deviation .59). Relationships Between TrainingReceived and Training Need . A significant positive correlation was found between the amount of training an officer had reportedly received, and the amount of training an officer agreed would facilitate effectiveness (r-.39, p<.O5). This 57 would indicate the more training an officer has had, the more the officer would agree that training increases effectiveness. Training Summary. Although results of the training needs items suggested officers had already received somewhere between little and some training in this area, they expressed a need for further training in the area of domestic violence. As the amount of training an officer had received increased, the expressed need for training also increased. Referral Source Information Needs The question being answered in this section was whether officers felt a need for more information about referral sources available to assist victims and offenders. To put this in context, the first question sought to determine whether the officers felt referrals were effective, followed by questions to determine the extent to which referrals were utilized, and the types of agencies to which disputants were referred. When asked if they felt referrals were an effective method of intervention, 91.2% of the officers responded affirmatively, 7.5% negatively, and 1.2% did not know. Reasons cited for negative responses included the clients would not use the services (5 respondents); the agencies were too crowded (1 respondent); and they were not an immediate enough intervention (3 respondents). A total of 67.5% of the officers reported having made a referral within the last two months. Types of agencies officers used are presented in Table 8. 58 Table 8 Referrals Types of Agencies Used Types of Agency Frequency Percent* Housing/Shelter Agency 38 Violence/Trauma Intervention Project 30 Counseling/Mental Health Services 12 Telephone Referral Services 3 6 5 5 4 4 3 U'lVN‘DCOI—OOIOINUIO O m-h-hwwHVNNOI-h Department of Social Services Substance Abuse Services Court/Legal Services Crisis Services Victim Assistance Program Medical Social Work Department Religious Organization ‘Percent of officers who have made referrals When asked if knowledge of more referral sources would help to increase officer effectiveness with domestic violence calls, 83.7% of the officers gave a positive response, and only 16.2% felt it would not. Referral Needs Summary. The majority of officers felt referrals were an effective method of intervention. Most of them had made referrals within the previous two months, and referrals were made to a variety of agencies. Although they had been making referrals, most of the officers felt they could be more effective in utilization of referrals for intervention if they had more information about various sources 0 59 Needs for More Assistance From Professional Support Persons The questions being answered by these results is whether officers found professional support persons (e.g. social workers or other mental health specialists) helpful for intervention into domestic violence. Questions were asked to determine how officers felt about assistance from social workers, followed by a question to determine the situational need for such services. Open-ended question. Comments made by the officers regarding their feelings about assistance from a social worker were generally positive. The various responses are presented in Table 9. Scaled Items. The scale mean was 3.99 with a standard deviation of .74. This suggests that officers generally agree that social workers are an effective back-up with domestic disputes. Summary of Professional Support Needs. -Officers were generally positive regarding the assistance of social workers as back-ups for domestic violence calls, however, many responses indicated they would be willing to call only under certain conditions. Many of the responses also indicated officers find these services valuable and have a general appreciation for the training/expertise the social worker can bring to the situation. 60 Table 9. Attitudes About Assistance From Social Workers: Responses to Open-Ended Question Response Frequency Percent Positive with No Qualifying Statement 28 35.0 Helpful and/or Necessary 16 20.0 Their Area of Expertise 13 16.2 Acceptable Only If Requested by Officer 12 15.0 Positive if Parties Listen 11 13.7 Positive if the Situation is Calm 7 8.7 They Are Trained In This Area 6 7.5 They Have Time to Handle Problem 6 7.5 Not Sure About Attitude 4 5.0 Acceptable If Officers Can Leave 4 5.0 Acceptable If They Are Competent 4 5.0 Can Be A Team Effort 3 3.7 Makes Officer Job Easier 3 3.7 Acceptable, But Not In The Home 3 3.7 Can Prevent Return 3 3.7 Should Be Present At Crisis 2 2.5 Can Support Victims 2 2.5 Negative Response 2 2.5 61 Arrest Support Needs This set of questions was asked to determine whether officers felt a need for more support from the judicial and prosecutorial system, their peers and superiors, and victims when making arrests. Responses to the adequacy of support from the prosecuting attorney, judges, commanding officer, general public, victim, amount of available jail space, and other officers are presented in Table 10. These results indicate that most officers felt a need for more support from the prosecuting attorney, judges, general public, victims, and they felt there was a need for the availability of more jail space. Officers felt adequately by their commanding officer and the other officers when making arrests. Summary of Arrest Needs. These results indicate that officers felt a need for more support from the judicial and prosecutorial systems, as well as the victims and general public. Whether officers need more jail space available would be dependent upon their particular police agency, and how much local jail space is generally available. 62 Table 10 Arrest Support Source of Support and Amount Frequency Percent Prosecuting Attorney Enough 29 36.2 Need More 40 50.0 Do Not Know Enough 11 13.7 Judges Enough 16 20.0 Need More 50 62.5 Do Not Know Enough 14 17.5 Commanding Officer Enough 54 67.5 Need More 21 26.2 Do Not Know Enough 5 6.3 General Public Enough 16 20.0 Need More 56 70.0 00 Not Know Enough 8 10.0 Victims Enough 15 18.8 Need More 62 77.5 Do Not Know Enough 3 3.7 Amount of Jail Space Available Enough 9 11.2 Need More 68 85.0 Do Not Know Enough 3 3.7 Other Officers Enough 54 67.5 Need More 22 27.5 00 Not Know Enough 4 5.0 63 Stressful Aspects of Domestic Violence Questions in this section were asked to answer the question as to whether domestic violence calls are more stressful for officers than other types of calls, and whether they felt a need for personal support services to mediate this stressful effect. More than half of the officers reported they found domestic violence calls stressful at least sometimes (68.8%). Reasons they found the calls stressful are presented in Table 11. Scaled Items. The mean response for the statement regarding feelings of incompetency was 2.72 (standard deviation - 1.18). This suggests that, in general, officers did not experience feelings of incompetency when intervening in domestic disputes. The mean response for the statement which asserted that victims are often ungrateful for services was 3.39 (standard deviation - 1.10). This suggests that officers generally have neutral feelings in this area. The mean response for the statement regarding the excessive red tape involved in domestic violence intervention was 2.74 (standard deviation - .99). This would suggest that, in general, officers felt neutral or disagreed that the amount of red tape was excessive. The mean response for the statement that there is little personal fulfillment in domestic violence intervention was 2.84 (standard deviation - 1.10). This suggests that, in general, officers felt either neutral or disagreed that there was little fulfillment in domestic violence intervention. 64 Table 11 Stressful Aspects of Domestic Violence Calls Reason For Stress Frequency Percent* No Answer/Cannot Solve 17 30.9 Dangerous Situations 13 23.6 Their Unpredictable Nature 11 20.0 People Are Uncooperative/Hostile 10 18.2 Attacks By One When Arresting The Other 8 14.5 Explosive/Escalating Situations 7 12.7 Emotional Situations 6 10.9 Being Caught In Other's Problems 5 9.1 Often Drugs or Alcohol Involved 4 7.3 Same Calls/Stories 4 7.3 When Children Are Involved 4 7.3 Seeing Families Argue/Lack Values 4 7.3 Often Weapons Involved 2 3.6 Trying To Be Unbiased 2 3.6 Hard To Get All The Facts 2 3.6 Often Numerous Parties Present 2 3.6 Potential for Liability 1 1.8 Everything About Them 1 1.8 Civil Matters 1 1.8 IPercent ofT5ETOfficers Who Indicated Domestic Violence Calls Were Stressful 65 The mean response to the statement regarding the feeling that other officers felt similarly toward these calls was 3.40 (standard deviation - .93). This suggests that, in general, officers are somewhere between neutral and in agreement that the other officers share their feelings in this area. Types of Calls More Stressful Than Domestic Violence. The mean number of calls reported as more stressful than domestic violence was 2.24 with a standard deviation of 1.15. The various types of calls cited as being more stressful are presented in Table 12. Need for Stress Services. Sixty-one percent of the officers reportedly felt the availability of stress services would help to increase their effectiveness with domestic violence calls. Services in which officers expressed an interest are summarized in Table 13. 66 Table 12 Calls More Stressful Than Domestic Violence Type of Call Frequency Percent Person With Gun 25 31.3 Anmed Robbery In Progress 18 22.5 Breaking and Entering In Progress 14 17.5 Shootings 13 16.2 Homicides 12 15.0 Miscellaneous 10 12.5 None Are More Stressful 9 11.2 Large, Hostile Crowds 8 10.0 Back Up Officer/Officer Down 7 8.7 Injury/Fatal Accident 5 6.3 Hostage Situations 5 6.3 Dead On Arrival Calls 4 5.0 Rapes 4 5.0 Stabbings 3 3.7 Car Chases 3 3.7 Suicides 3 3.7 Unknown Weapons 3 3.7 Barricaded Gunman 3 3.7 Weapons Involved 3 3.7 Assaults 3 3.7 Life Threatening Calls 3 3.7 Mentally Ill 2 2.5 Building Searches 2 2.5 Serious Felonies 1 1.2 67 Table 13 Stress Services Type of Service Frequency Percent* Counselor/Psychologist 15 Physical Activities Stress Workshop Unaware of Specific Service Time Off More Training To Handle Calls Hobby/Enjoyable Activity Other Services Consultant To Understand Calls Breathing/Meditation ##OOQNNGNO O OOOOOOOOOO H mnwukmmmp *Percent of Officers Indicating an Interestiin Services Stress Needs Summary. Responses to these questions indicate that officers found intervention into domestic violence calls to be stressful, at least sometimes. Scaled item responses suggest that officers did not experience stress from feelings of incompetency, feelings that victims are ungrateful, excessive red tape, lack of personal fulfillment, or feelings that co-workers do not support them as the literature suggested. Officers generally named only 2 or 3 calls they found more stressful than domestic violence, which indicates intervention into domestic violence is one of the more stressful aspects of police work. The officers expressed a need for various services which would help to FBdUCB the stress they experienced. 68 Attitudes Toward Calls, Victims, and Assailants and Relationship Between Attitudes and QEngraphic Variables and Needs Questions regarding attitudes were asked to ascertain the officers' attitudes toward victims, assailants and domestic violence calls; and what the relationship is between attitudes and demographic variables and the various potential areas of need. Attitude Toward Calls Some responses to the question regarding how officers feel about responding to domestic violence calls included they did not like them (33.7%); they did not mind responding to them (23.7%); they are part of the job (18.8%); police should only handle the violent calls (11.2%); and that people do not try to help themselves or drop the charges (10%). See Table 14 for a summary of responses. 69 Table 14 Attitudes Toward Calls Statement Frequency Percent Do Not Like Domestic Violence Calls 27 33. Do Not Mind/They Are Okay 19 23. Part of the Job 15 18. Should Only Handle Violent Calls 9 11. People Do Not Try To Help Selves/ Drop Charges Police Intervention is Necessary Calls Are Unpredictable People Want Inappropriate Services Feel Needed/Can Help Find the Calls Interesting No Win Situation Prefer Other Calls Leary/Afraid of Calls Just Another Call Do Not Mind if Something Is Accomplished Frustrating Should Be Handled by Other Do Not Like Seeing Families Fight Depends on Nighthood/Situation Some Calls Are Very Serious Do Not Get Whole/True Story H HNNNwmmmmmmwwmmmo o O O O O O NMMU‘IVOOMQMWU‘IMVVNO NQNN HNNNu-bhmmmmmmuuwm Attitude Toward Victims Responses to the question regarding how officers feel about the victims are presented in Table 15. 70 Table 15 Attitudes Toward Victims Statement Frequency Percent Sorry For Them (No Qualifier) 27 33.7 Stay or Return to Situation 21 26.2 Depends on Victim/Situation 19 23.7 Sometimes Feel Sympathetic 16 20.0 Some Provoke Situations 15 18.8 They Need to Help Selves More 13 16.2 Badly Toward Those Who Do Not Follow 12 15.0 Sorry for True/First Time Victims 12 1 . Trapped by Circumstances 1 . Feel Sorry For Injured/Beaten No Feelings About Them Many Use Police Inappropriately Need to Help Them As Much As Possible Cannot Always Determine Victim Positive if They Follow-Up Some Enjoy It Feel Sorry For Children Emotional/Difficult to Deal With Lack Intelligence Get Frustrated With Them Often Drop Complaint Police/Victims Need Better Understanding They Need Counseling HHNNNQUUIU‘IUIUIQVQHUI O O O O O NNU‘IU‘IO‘INNOOOONUINNO HHNNNww-h-hhdhmmNCO Attitude Toward Assailants Responses to the question regarding how officers felt about assailants are presented in Table 16. 71 Table 16 Attitudes Toward Assailants Statement Frequency Percent Should Be Punished/Jailed 21 26.2 Feel Negatively 16 20.0 Have a Problem/Need Help 14 17.5 Depends on Assailants 13 16.2 Some Are Provoked 10 12.5 Cannot Condone Actions 10 12.5 Feel Empathy Toward Some/All 10 12.5 They Cannot Cope With Their Situation 6 7.5 Assailants Feel They Have the Right 6 7.5 Social/Cultural/Habit 6 7.5 No Feelings 5 6.3 Aggressive/Will Not Stop 5 6.3 They are Criminals 4 5.0 No Sympathy 3 3.7 Should Leave Before Violence 3 3.7 Alcohol/Drug Users 2 2.5 They are Not Cooperative 1 1.2 Would Not Say 1 1.2 Attitude Scales. The scale mean was 3.69 with a standard deviation of .83. This would suggest that officers felt somewhere between neutral and positively toward calls, victims and assailants. The mean for the interpersonal aspects scale was 3.69 with a standard deviation of .87. This would suggest that officers were neutral to positive regarding the interpersonal aspects of domestic violence. The mean for the scale measuring attitudes regarding the importance of police intervention was 3.89 with a standard deviation of .81. This would suggest that officers feel somewhere between neutral 82 72 and positively about the importance of police intervention into domestic disputes. Relations Between Demogpaphics and Attitudes and Needs of Officers These relationships were assessed using analysis of variance, chi- square and correlational techniques. Ag_. Age was significantly negatively correlated with attitudes regarding the effectiveness of social workers (r - -.22; p < .05). Officers who gave a positive answer to the question asking whether more knowledge about referrals would increase their effectiveness tended to be younger than those who responded negatively (chi-square - 26.07; p < .05). 3322. Significant differences were found between white and nonwhite officers for training needs (F - 5.6884; df - 1,77; p < .05); and effectiveness of social workers (F - 4.089; df - 1.78; p < .05). Nonwhite officers expressed more needs for training in general and were more positive about the effectiveness of social workers. White officers tended to respond positively to the question regarding whether they found domestic violence calls stressful, more than did black or hispanic officers (chi-square - 6.35; p < .05). White and hispanic officers more often agreed withthe statement that victims are often ungrateful for their services than did black officers (chi-square - 21.94; p < .05). Black officers more often disagreed with the statements that there was little personal fulfillment in intervening in domestic violence (chi-square - 19.91; p < .05); and, that other officers feel the same about responding to domestic disputes than white or hispanic officers (chi-square - 17.46; p < .05). 73 Time With Flint Police Force. Time on the Flint Police Force was significantly positively correlated with arrest support from the police department (r - .20; p < .05). It was significantly negatively correlated with the amount of training officers had received (r - -.22; p < .05); attitudes regarding the effectiveness of social workers (r - -.34; p < .05); and attitudes regarding the importance of police intervention (r - -.24; p < .05). Officers with less time on the Flint Police Force tended to answer affirmatively to the question regarding whether increased knowledge of referrals would increase effectiveness more often than those with increasing amounts of time (chi-square - 20.16; p < .05). §DlI£~ Significant differences were found between shifts for attitudes (F - 3.73; df - 3, 72; p < .05). Officers on second shift had the most positive attitudes (mean score - 3.89; standard deviation - .33); and officers on fourth shift had the least positive attitudes (mean score - 3.51; standard deviation - .35). In spite of the difference being significant, however, the scores fell between neutral and positive for all groups. Current Assignmen . Significant differences were found between patrol, foot patrol and traffic officers for attitudes (F - 3.53; df - 2,73; p < .05). The most favorable attitudes were expressed by traffic officers (mean score - 3.97; standard deviation - .07) and the least * favorable among patrol officers (mean score - 3.56; standard deviation - .39). All groups, however, scored between neutral and positive attitudes. 74 Marital Status. Significant differences were found between married and unmarried officers for the amount of training received (F - 5.28; df - 1,77; p < .05). The mean training score for unmarried officers was 2.84 (standard deviation - .54) and the mean for married officers was 2.52 (standard deviation - .66), which indicates that although both groups had received between little and some training, unmarried officers had received significantly more training. Education Level. Level of education was significantly positively correlated with the amount of domestic violence training officers had received (r - .22; p < .05). Attitudes. Attitudes were significantly positively correlated with training needs (r - .25; p < .05); and attitudes regarding the effectiveness of social workers (r - .30; p < .05). The interpersonal aspects attitude scale was significantly negatively correlated with perceived support for arrest (r - -.23; p < .05). A significant relationship was found between the attitude that referrals were an effective method of intervention and having actually made a referral (chi-square - 15.93; p < .05). Positive attitudes toward referrals were also significantly related to the attitude that social workers are an effective back-up with domestic violence (chi-square - 39.56; p < .05). Summary of Relationships Between Attitudes, Demographics and Ngegg. Younger officers were more positive in their attitudes toward the effectiveness of social workers and the need for more information for referral sources to increase their effectiveness, indicating there are different needs depending on the age of the officer, partly due to 75 attitudes regarding the effectiveness of each method of intervention. Nonwhite officers were more positive about the effectiveness of social workers and expressed more need for training to handle domestic violence calls. No significant relationship was found between age and race, therefore, there is no possibility of an age-race confound on this question. White officers found domestic violence calls more stressful than black or hispanic officers, however, white and hispanic officers more often agreed that victims are ungrateful for their services than did black officers. Black officers disagreed more often that there was little personal fulfillment in domestic violence intervention; and less often asserted that the other officers feel the same as they do about responding to these calls than did white or hispanic officers. In summary, racial differences were found in regard to attitudes toward victims and intervention into these calls as well as needs for increased training in this area. Officers who had been with the Flint Police felt more support for arrests from their department and reported receiving less training in this area. They had more negative attitudes regarding the effectiveness of social workers and the importance of police intervention. Officers with less time more often felt that increasing their knowledge of referral sources would increase their effectiveness than those with more time on the force. Shift differences were found between officers for attitudes with second shift officers being most positive and fourth shift officers being least positive, although all groups had a mean between neutral and positive. 76 Traffic officers had more favorable attitudes and patrol officers had the least, however, once again, all had a mean between neutral and positive. Unmarried officers received more training than married officers although both groups had received somewhere between little and some training. _ Officers who had more education in general also had more training relative to domestic violence. Officers who had more favorable attitudes toward the interpersonal aspects of domestic violence intervention perceived less support for arrest and reported more need for training and more positive attitudes toward social work intervention. In summary, there were differences in attitudes and needs related to demographic and attitudinal factors, some of which may need to be taken into account when responding to these needs. Situational Needs The purpose of this section is to answer the question regarding whether officers found all methods of intervention effective depending upon the situational aspects of the call. Specific Training Needs. A total of 63.7% of the officers indicated they need more training to handle specific situations. The types of situations named and the types of training officers felt would be helpful are presented in Table 17. Table 17 Specific Situational Training Needs Situations Described Situation Frequency Percent* All Domestic Problems 5 29.4 Involving Noncooperative People 7 13.7 Situations Involving Children 7 13.7 Needing Referrals 6 11.8 Involving Legal Matters 6 11.8 Mentally Ill 5 9.8 Battered Women/Assault 4 7.8 Other 3 5.9 Could Not Be Specific 3 5.9 Drugs/Alcohol Involved 3 5.9 Civil Matters 2 3.9 People Lacking Communication Skills 2 3.9 Volatile Emergencies 2 3.9 Hostage Situations 1 2.0 Specific Training Needs Type of Training Frequency Percent* Referral Agencies 9 17.6 Legalities of Domestic Violence 7 13.7 All Kinds of Training 7 13.7 Could Not Be Specific 6 11.8 Videos/Workshops/Lectures 6 11.8 Miscellaneous Techniques 5 9.8 Communication 5 9.8 Situation Role Play 4 7.8 Assisting Children 4 7.8 College/Continuing Education 3 5.9 Attitude and Its Effect 3 5.9 Drugs/Alcohol Abuse 2 3.9 Causes/Psychosocial Factors 2 3.9 Defusion of Violence 2 3.9 Mentally Ill 2 3.9 Crisis Intervention 1 2.0 FFercent of the 51 officers indicating they had situational needs for training i 78 Table 18. Situational Needs for Referrals Are There Situations? Frequency Percent Yes 52 65.0 No 28 35.0 Types of Situations Frequency Percent* Abused Women 17 Children Involved 11 Civil Problems Mentally Ill Drug/Alcohol Problems Couples Who Want Help Abused Men Legal Problems Domestic Assaults People Who Will Not Listen to Officers Situations Officers Cannot Handle Place to Send People to Calm Down Services for Unmarried Couples When All Resources Are Filled Rapes Ongoing Disputes People Needing Welfare Services Situations Involving Elderly Persons HHHNw NNNNNUUMU‘IO‘INN‘DHMQHN O o o o o o o o o o o cocoommmmmmmmmwwmu HHHHHNNNww-h-bmmNN *Percent of officers indicating situational needs Specific Referral Needs. When asked if there were specific situations for which the officers needed more referral sources, 65.8% of the officers indicated there were. Situations named are presented in Table 18. 79 Table 19 Situations Where Social Worker Would Be Called Situation Frequency Percent If Both Parties Requested 23 28.7 If The Officer Felt It Would Help 14 17.5 No Violence Had Occurred 12 15.0 To Prevent Further Violence 10 12.5 If Both Parties Would Talk 11.2 Officer Capabilities Taxes 11. Problems Involving Children Ongoing Disputes Calm Situation No Legal Resolution Minor Violence Parties Negative Toward Officers If One Party Requested Extreme Stress/Suicidal Person Victim Needs Assistance No-Win Situation Not Sure When Would Call Mental Disorders For Minor Problems When Officer Feels Negative Toward Parties If Follow-Up Were Necessary Drug and Alcohol Problems All Domestic Violence Calls If the Assailant Was Remorseful All Referrals Exhausted Both Parties Sober Would Not Call 1 1 Hi—IHHHNNN Nuuwabmmamwmmoo HHHHHNNN quummmmuwmoi-o O NNNNNUIUIUI O'IVNVOONUUIUINONN Circumstantial Needs for Assistance From a Social Worker. Responses to the question regarding under what circumstances officers would request a social worker for a domestic dispute are presented in Table 19. 80 Table 20. Stressful Situations Encountered Situation Frequency Percent* Weapons Involved 24 3 . Uncooperative Victim/Attacks Officer 16 2 . Children Involved 16 2 . Very Violence Incidents 1 . Repeat Calls DOA/Homicides Parties Refuse to Listen Many People Involved Hostage Situations Resistant Assailant Calls Earlier in Career Civil Matters One Party At End Of Rope Arrest Man and He Gets Out Of It Drugs/Alcohol Involved Officer Injured Prominent People Involved Could Not Name Specific HHNNNNNNu-hhmmmfl Hkuwqu#OONNDOMCflN O mmHHHHHh-Nuummhiooom ‘Percent of 61 Officers Indicating They Had Encountered Stressful Situations Situational Stressors. Seventy six percent of the officers reported having encountered domestic violence situations that were more stressful than normal. Of those reporting situations, the various situations which were described are presented in Table 20. Situational Aspects of Arrest The majority of officers reported there are particular situations where arrest would be the most appropriate method of intervention (96.2%). Some situations where officers would arrest included those where an actual assault had occurred (63.6%); those where it would 81 prevent further violence (35.1%); those where the parties are uncooperative (19.5%); when one of the parties is injured (15.6%); and those where children were involved (13%). Summary of Situational Needs. Officers expressed needs for more training, referral information, social work assistance, stress support and arrest support depending on the circumstances of the domestic violence situation. They named numerous types of situations that were especially difficult, indicating that variance in domestic violence calls caused some differences in needs. Relationships Between Areas of Need The question being answered in this section was whether there were any relationships between the potential areas of need (e.g. Is a need - for more referral sources related to a need for more professional support). A significant positive correlation was found between the training need scale and the social work scale (r - .39; p < .05). This would indicate that those who felt they need more training were also more likely to utilize the services of a social worker to assist with domestic violence calls. No other relationships were found between the areas of need. Summary of Needs Relationships. With the exception of needs for training and social work assistance, no relationships were found between the various areas of need. IV. Discussion The officers expressed needs for support in a number of areas, indicating they felt the need to improve their responses. Some of the findings of this study, which offers the perspective of the officer, are contrary to speculations about police officers and domestic violence which were found in the literature, particularly relative to attitudes about the calls and methods of intervention. This section of this paper will compare the results of this study to the review of the literature; discuss the implications of these results; give speculations regarding potential rationale for the results; and present the strengths and limitations of this study. Training Received and Training Needs The amount of training officers received to handle domestic violence calls was generally between little and some training, and was inconsistent in terms of content. Although the subject was reportedly covered by the training received at the police academy, it may not have been comprehensive enough to give the officers the skills necessary to handle the complex dynamics of domestic violence cases. Officers named many types of training they had received as helpful, although they were not directly related to domestic violence, such as college psychology, sociology, and criminal justice courses. This is indicative of a potential need for interdisciplinary training of a more comprehensive nature. 82 83 The extent of the agreement that the various types of training named would help to increase the effectiveness of officers would support the notion that current training in this area may be insufficient. Officers named numerous types of training they felt they needed in response to the open ended question, with a wide variety of topic areas. Many of the types of training which were named in the training needs scale had been described in the literature (Arthur, Sisson & McClung, 1977; Bard, 1974; Buchanan a Hankins, 1983; Driscoll, Meyer 4 Schanie, 1973; Mulvey a Reppucci, 1981; Pearce a Snortum, 1983). The effectiveness of these types of training has yet to be determined, therefore, advocating them based on the request of the officers may be premature. Results of the Mulvey and Reppucci (1981) study indicated that further work in this area is warranted, and results of this study which indicate officers do feel there is a need for further training support the findings of Mulvey and Reppucci. These results were also consistent with those of Buzawa (1982) who found that officers are interested in more training on the laws, social and psychological reasons why families fight, techniques for defusing potentially violent situations, and community and social agencies available to assist violence prone families. These results indicated that 96.2% of the officers agreed training on the legal aspects would be helpful; 82.5% of the officers felt training on the social and psychological reasons why families fight would be helpful; 96.3% agreed that training in techniques for defusing potentially violent situations would be helpful; and 92.4% agreed that training in referral techniques would be helpful. 84 The extent of agreement with the interview techniques (82.4%) and mediation techniques (88.7%) is in agreement with the findings of Hicks, et al. (1985) who found that officers would find interpersonal communication training for family disputes somewhere between badly needed and helpful. An especially interesting finding is the extent of agreement between these findings and those of Trojanowicz and Pollard (1986), whose study involved the same police force used for this study. The officers interviewed for that study indicated interest in updates on laws and ordinances, updates about referral services, and training in conflict management, as well as more training in the area of spouse abuse, child abuse, and general family problems. That study only included officers in the Flint Neighborhood Foot Patrol Program, however, this study also included those in the patrol and traffic divisions as well as the foot patrol division. The results of this study and those described in the literature indicate that officers are in need of more training in this area, and further experimental work is necessary to determine the scope, content, and effectiveness of the various potential training methods. The interesting finding was the positive correlation between the amount of training officers had received and the amount of training for which officers indicated a need. These findings are suggestive that officers with more training found it helpful. It could also, however, suggest that officers with more training are more aware of the inadequacies of their response, therefore, feeling that more training may alleviate this deficiency. 85 Officers who had received more training in the area of intervention skills expressed greater need for training in the area of psychosocial aspects, communication/behaviors and victim assistance. It is possible that greater knowledge of intervention skills made officers aware of the other aspects. An alternative explanation would be that this training was found helpful, therefore increasing interest in additional types of training. The same would be true for the significant positive relationships between the other subscales of training received and training needs. The expressed needs for training to respond to various situations encountered when handling domestic violence indicates that these calls involve more than simple altercations between two persons. Situations described included the need for referrals, drug/alcohol abusers, mentally ill, civil disputes, and those situations involving children. These requests for training to handle these problems which may accompany domestic violence calls indicate there is a need to recognize these aspects, and train officers more comprehensively. Referrals The high number of officers who agreed that referrals were an effective method of interventionis in agreement with those results found by Oppenlander (1982) and Brown (1984), although the number of officers who reported having made a recent referral was higher in this study. Although most of the referrals were made to specific domestic violence services, additional services utilized included housing services, substance abuse services, medical and counseling services. 86 This suggests that officers are aware of the problems which may be associated with the abuse. The responses to the situational needs for referrals indicates officers are not aware of all community services available and the services they have to offer. The high number of officers who indicated that increasing knowledge of referral sources would increase their effectiveness with domestic violence calls, in addition to the expressed need for more training in the area of referrals in the training segment of the interview, would indicate that an increase in training in this area is warranted. Actual effects of this training would need to be experimentally assessed. Professional Support The positive responses to assistance from a social worker by these officers is contrary to those found in the literature. Treger et al. (1974) found there was a uniformly negative predisposition of officers, toward social work and social workers, however, increased exposure was associated with more positive attitudes. These findings were supported by those of Fein and Knaut (1986). The officers in this study had been exposed to the assistance of a social worker for at least five months prior to this study, therefore, it is unknown as to whether their attitudes had changed as a function of the exposure. Only one officer stated unwillingness to contact a social worker to assist with a domestic violence call. These results indicate that social workers can be utilized as back-up resources for police officers, and officers will cooperate. The effectiveness of such arrangements is yet to be experimentally determined, therefore, it is premature to 87 advocate their use. Officers named various circumstances under which they would be willing to call in a social worker, therefore, it is possible that social workers may have utility in certain circumstances. Arrest Support At least half of the officers expressed a need for more support from the prosecuting attorney, judges, general public, victims, and the amount of jail space available when making an arrest for domestic violence. This perceived lack of support may somewhat explain the reluctance officer have to make arrests which was described in the literature. The need for support from the court system was supported by the findings of the Minneapolis study (Sherman a Berk, 1984) which found that only 3 of 136 arrested offenders received formal punishment from the court system. Officers who view the arrest as meaningless in the absence of court support following the arrest may not arrest in all cases where such action would be warranted. The need for more support from victims supports the results obtained by Berk and Loseke (1981) who found that the citizens arrest by the female victim had the greatest effect on arrest. Nonsupport by the victim would tend to make the arrest meaningless. Bell (1984, March, 1985, November) found that arrests did in fact increase significantly when the victim initiated the complaint. Bell suggests that responsibility for arrest be placed on the officer, however, since the testimony of the victim may be necessary in court, lack of support of .the victim in the case of victims who either refuse to testify, or 88 testify against the officer and for the batterer could still render the arrest meaningless. Officers' responses supported the notion that there are situational influences on their arrest decisions with 96.2% agreeing that there are particular situations where arrest is the most appropriate method of intervention. This supports the findings of Berk and Loseke (1981) and Worden and Pollitz (1984) who found that arrest decisions were based on situational cues. A number of officers (63.6%) felt that arrest was warranted in the event of an actual assault. Many (33.7%) felt that arrest could prevent further violence, at least for the moment. A number of officers (18.8%) viewed arrest as a way of controlling noncooperative parties, which would indicate they see arrest as a last resort when all other intervention methods would be ineffective (for example, if parties will not listen to reason, or show general lack of respect for the skills the officer has). Stressful Aspects Response to the question regarding the stressful nature of these calls indicates they are generally stressful for officers. The most prevalent reason for the stressful nature was the uncertainty involved 'with how to intervene effectively, and the unpredictability of the calls. Calls involving weapons, uncooperative victims, children, and excessive family violence were seen as especially stressful. An interesting result was the frequent response (25%) involving potential attacks by victims and/or their uncooperative nature. This issue has been Virtually ignored in the literature, although Walker (1979) does acknowledge the existence of the problem. Over half of the officers 89 agreed that victims were ungrateful for the services they offered, which could increase the stress level. Some of this stress could be tempered by the feeling of support of other officers. Over half of the officers agreed that other officers feel the same as they do about these calls, which would indicate there is some perception of peer support in this area. The mention of the danger involved in responding to calls is in agreement with the assertion that stress may be experienced when responding to the calls if they are perceived as dangerous. The expression of increased stress as a result of intervention into domestic violence calls indicates more work is warranted in this area to determine ways in which officer effectiveness may be increased, and if that in fact will decrease the stress level in this area. The fact that officers generally named between two and three calls as being more stressful than domestic violence does indicate that domestic violence calls are among the more stressful calls to which officers are required to respond. Many of the officers were interested in stress services to reduce the stress associated with domestic violence calls. Officers were especially interested in services of a counselor, or some type of physical activity to alleviate the stress. Future studies would need to assess the impact of such services to determine whether they are in fact beneficial to officers, and determine whether they do help to increase the effectiveness of the officer, not only with domestic violence, with police work in general. 9O Attitudes Responses to the question regarding the officers' attitudes toward these calls rendered mixed results, with some officers expressing negative feelings and others seeing domestic violence calls as part of the job or having neutral feelings. Only 11.2% mentioned that police should only intervene when violence was involved, which is less than the 40% of officers who felt this way in the study by Walter (1981). Officers mentioned the fact that people do not try to help themselves (10%) and the fear involved (6.3%) in responding to these calls, which was also found in the studies by Brown (1984) and Loving & Quirk (1982). Over one half of the officers indicated they felt sympathetic toward the victims at least sometimes, however, many mentioned that it was somewhat dependent on the circumstances. An interesting item was the mention that some victims provoke the situation. Further research into the dynamics of these situations (from an objective point of view) would be warranted to determine whether the response of the police to the victim circumstances is somewhat dependent on the actions of the victim, and the dynamics of the situation. Responses to the question assessing the attitudes toward the assailants indicated officers generally feel negatively or empathetic toward assailants. Officers also mentioned the possibility that the assailant may have been provoked. The link between the attitude of the officer toward the assailant and actions taken would need to be assessed. An interesting contrast to the literature was the small percent of officers who mentioned alcohol and drug use as a factor 91 (2.5%) compared to nearly all officers in the study by Walter that drinking was usually involved. The differences in locations of the study may be an explanatory factor, however, empirical studies of the prevalence of alcohol use in domestic violence calls involving the police may be warranted. Results of scaled items indicated officers feel somewhere between neutral and positively toward calls, victims and assailants. The finding that 72.5% of the officers felt intervention by police officers is important in domestic violence closely approximates the 78% of the officers who agreed to this statement in the study by Homant and Kennedy (1982, March). These findings were also supported by the high number of officers (92.2%) who disagreed with the statement that police have no role in domestic violence. The situational aspects of effectiveness of officers with these calls was supported by the high rate of agreement (91.2%) with the statement that the effectiveness of the officers is dependent on the parties involved. Attitudes of the officers toward victims as measured by the scaled items indicates they were generally positive, with most officers agreeing that battered women do not enjoy being battered; and disagreeing that the fault for family fights lies with the woman, the officers have a harder time with the woman, and that battered women are crazy. Although previous studies (Walter, 1981) indicated that alcohol and drug use play a role in domestic violence, only 17.4% of the officers surveyed agreed that batterers were substance abusers and could 92 not help themselves. Only 13.7% saw batterers as psychopathic personalities, 26.2% felt the fault for the family fight was with the men, and 27.5% indicated they have a hard time with the men involved. These results paired with those regarding the attitudes toward the women involved indicate that officers do not see either party as being at fault. This would indicate they either view the fault as being an interaction of the parties, or external causes. Further studies to assess the responsibility for family fights, and the responsibility as perceived by officers, would be warranted, since this may affect their responses and needs for training and services. Differences in Needs and Attitudes by Demographic Factors The differential needs of white and nonwhite officers for training, and social work effectiveness were of interest. Minority officers tended to indicate further needs for training, although no significant differences were found in terms of the amount of training each group had received. They were also more positive about the effectiveness of social workers. Although significant differences were found between black and white officers in the study by White et al. (1985) to identify major areas of stress, with black officers scoring higher than white officers on the evaluation systems component of a stress index, white officers in this study viewed domestic violence calls as more stressful than black officers. Black officers were less apt to view victims as ungrateful, and disagreed with the statement that there was little fulfillment in responding to these calls. Black officers disagreed with the statement that other officers feel the same about responding to domestic violence calls more often than white or 93 hispanic officers, which may indicate that black officers are cognizant of the differences in feelings about the gratefulness of victims and the amount of fulfillment gained from responding to domestic violence calls. Possible explanations for these results may be embedded in cultural factors which are beyond the scope of this study. Further examination of these differences is warranted. Some relationship was found between age and the perception of the effectiveness of increased knowledge of referrals, and attitudes regarding the effectiveness of social workers. Younger officers were more positive about both referrals and social workers. The strong correlation between age and time on the Flint Police Force indicates that this effect could be due to experience with the calls or time on the job as opposed to just the age of the officer, since the same relationships were found between time on the force and these variables. Repeated negative experiences with referrals may tend to decrease the expectations of their effectiveness, however, this relationship would need further study. Studies to determine whether parties actually use the services, whether the services are available when the parties call, or whether the services themselves are effective are warranted to determine whether referrals are a viable method of intervention. Time on the Flint Police Force was positively correlated with need for more support for arrests from the police department; and negatively with the amount of training officers had and attitudes regarding the importance of police intervention. These results indicate that officers with more experience perceive a lack of support from the department. Reasons for these perceptions are unknown, although they could be 94 somewhat based on the experiences of the officers over the years and the amount of support they had received. Officers who had more time on the force had received less training in this area than those who had less time, indicating that the amount of training for domestic violence may have increased over the years. The decreasing feeling of importance of police intervention as a function of experience indicates that officers may have lacked the tools necessary (either training or support services) to intervene effectively, or that most calls actually do not necessitate police intervention. These results regarding experience are in agreement with those obtained by Homant and Kennedy (1983, March, 1985). They found that officers with less experience tended to score higher on involvement, which would indicate they felt they had more of a role in domestic violence calls. Traffic officers tended to have more favorable attitudes toward domestic violence calls. They have the least amount of exposure, which would support the notion that increased exposure results in declining attitudes. Foot patrol officers were less favorable than traffic officers, but more favorable than those of the patrol officers. However, mean attitude scores for all groups were between neutral and positive indicating that although attitudes may decline, they generally do not become negative. The finding that officers on second shift expressed more positive attitudes than those on first, third and fourth would indicate further research is necessary to determine whether calls are more prevalent ’ 95 during the third and fourth shifts, or whether the types of calls differ depending on the time of day Unmarried officers had more training, and expressed more needs for training than their married cohorts. One reason for this is they may have had more time to attend school or training sessions than officers with responsibilities at home. Kennedy and Homant (1983, March, 1985) found that married officers scored lower in involvement than unmarried officers, which may indicate that unmarried officers who are more involved are more interested in additional training in domestic violence. The significant correlation between level of education and training is what would intuitively be expected. The lack of relationship between education and attitudes or needs was of interest and indicates that the level of education of the officer does not impact needs. Relationships Between Training Received, Needs Expressed and Attitudes Having more training overall positively correlated with the attitude toward the effectiveness of social workers, and the attitude regarding the importance of police intervention. The same results were found for the training needs scales, with positive correlations between training needs and attitudes regarding the effectiveness of social workers, and general attitudes toward domestic violence, and the importance of police intervention. The strong relationship between all of these variables could be explained by various factors. One possible explanation would be that officers with more training have a greater appreciation of the role of 96 the social worker, and a more positive attitude toward domestic violence as a function of having more tools to work with and an easier time with the calls. A second possible explanation would be those officers who have more needs for training may be more willing to accept their limitations in this area, which could make them more willing to accept assistance from a person with more training in family problems. A final explanation may be those officers who have more positive attitudes toward calls, and view their role as more important may be more interested in increasing their effectiveness_through increased training and/or support services. Further studies to determine the relationships could help to determine the nature of these relationships. Officers who agreed that referrals were effective at least sometimes had all reportedly made a referral within the previous two _months, which would indicate there is a link between the attitude and behavior. Those with more positive attitudes regarding the effectiveness of referrals were more interested in increasing their knowledge of referral sources for specific situations, and more often agreed that social workers are an effective back-up for police officers. Needs for arrest support were negatively related to the interpersonal aspects attitude scale, indicating that those individuals who had more positive attitudes regarding the interpersonal aspects of intervention into domestic violence felt less need for support when making arrests. One possible explanation for this finding could be that officers who have more positive attitudes toward the interpersonal aspects of intervention into domestic disputes may be less inclined to utilize arrest as a method of intervention. 97 Stggggths and Limitations One strength of this study is the high rate of participation (5% refusal rate). This would decrease the chance of potential biases being introduced by nonparticipation. An second strength would be the interviews having been conducted in the patrol cars while officers were on duty, and in the majority of cases with no other officer or civilian present so as to limit the socially desirable responses. The ability of officers to be able to respond to questions while in their own environment, and in the privacy of their patrol car would facilitate their responding in a more truthful manner. A third strength of this study was the inclusion of a high enough number of subjects to achieve statistical power. A final strength of this study was the utilization of a police force whose members respond to a high number of domestic violence calls. This helped to insure that officers had sufficient and recent exposure to these calls to be able to respond to the questions in an informed manner. A limitation of this study was the use of only one police force, which somewhat limits the generalizability of the findings. Further work would be warranted which covers a number of police agencies situated in various geographical regions, and in various types of cities or towns. Summary The results of this study indicate that officers do express a need for various types Of training, and SBI‘VICBS to increase their 98 effectiveness. The actual impact of these methods has yet to be experimentally determined. Officers expressed needs for various types of training, however, the actual effects of increased training are unknown, therefore, to advocate training as the way to increase effectiveness would be premature. Officers also expressed interest in increased knowledge of referrals and had generally positive attitudes regarding assistance from social workers. Further research to assess the effectiveness of these types of intervention is warranted. It is possible that these resources may be more effective for intervention since family violence does involve the dynamics which social workers and mental health agency personnel are equipped to deal with.' The stressful nature of these calls indicates officers are in need of more supportive stress alleviating services to mitigate the stressful effects of intervention into these calls, in addition to the stress involved in other aspects of police work. Services which would be most helpful, as indicated by these officers, would include some type of psychological remedy (a counselor or psychologist) and physical activities (possibly health club memberships). The reluctance of officers to arrest in domestic violence situations as described in the literature may be attributed to their lack of perceived support from the supporting infrastructures whose support is necessary to make the arrest meaningful. Further work is warranted to determine the role the victim plays in the arrest process and the actions of the judicial system following the arrest. 99 Attitudes regarding domestic violence calls, victims, and assailants are generally positive or neutral, which would contradict the notion that officers are negative toward domestic violence calls and victims as described by the literature which assesses the victim perceptions. The situational attitude of officers toward the victims and assailants (especially the statements regarding more positive attitudes toward first time victims) may indicate that negative attitudes are the result of repeatedly intervening in the same situations, with no effort being made by thevictim to improve the circumstances. In summary, a great deal of empirical work is necessary in this area to assess the dynamics of the situation (from a more neutral perspective) and the best methods of intervention by officers, who would generally respond positively toward these efforts. 100 References Arthur, G.L., sisson, P.J., a McClung, C.E. (1977). Domestic disturbances--a major police dilemma and how one major city is handling the problem. ggggggl of Police Science and Administration, § (4), 421-429. Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence (1984). Final Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Attorney General's Office. Bard, M. (1974). The study and modification of intra-familial violence. In S.E. Steinmetz a M.A. Straus (Eds.), Violence in the Family (pp. 127-139),_ New York: Harper 4 Row. Beating victim dies: homicides hit record. (1985, October 16). The Flint Journal, p. A1. Bell, D.J. (1984, March). The police response to domestic violence 1981. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Chicago, IL. Bell, D.J. (1985). Domestic violence: victimization, police intervention and disposition. Journal of Criminal Justice, 13, 525-534. Bell, D.J. (1985, November). Domestic violence victimization: a multiyear perspective. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Society of Criminology, San Diego, CA. 101 Berk, R.A., Rauma, D., Loseke, D.R., a Berk, S.F. (1982). Throwing the cops back out: the decline of a local program to make the criminal justice system more responsive to incidents of domestic violence. Social Science Research, 11, 245-279. Berk, S.F., a Loseke, D.R. (1981). “Handling“ family violence: situational determinants of police arrest in domestic disturbances. Law a Society Review, lg, 317-346. Berk, R.A., a newton, P.J. (1985). Does arrest really deter wife battery? An effort to replicate the findings of the Minneapolis Spouse Abuse Experiment. American Sociological Review, §Q, 253-262. Bowker, L.H. (1982). Police services to battered women: bad or not so bad? Criminal Justice and Behavior, g, 476-494. Bowker, L.H. (1983). gggglgg wife beating. Lexington: Lexington Books. Brown, S.E. (1984). Police responses to wife beating: neglect of a crime of violence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 1;, 277-288. Buchanan, D.R., a Hankins, J.M. (1983). Family disturbance intervention program. §§l_ggy Enforcement Bulletin, §§,(11), 10-14. 102 Burke, R.J., a Deszca, E. (1986). Correlates of psychological burnout phases among police officers. Human Relations, 39 (6), 487-502. Buzuwa, E.S. (1982). Police officer response to domestic violence legislation in Michigan. ggggggl of Police Science and Administration, l9 (4), 415-424. Carr, J.J. (1979). An administrative retrospective on police crisis teams. Social Casework, §Q, 416-422. Caster, T. (1986). [Domestic violence data for the City of Flint]. Unpublished raw data. Driscoll, J.M., Meyer, R.G., & Schanie, C.F. (1973). Training police in family crisis intervention. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 2 (1), 62-82. Erez, E. (1986). Intimacy, violence and the police. Human Relations, pg, 265-281. Fein, E., a Knaut, S.A. (1986). Crisis intervention and support: working with the police. Sgglgl Casework, p1, 276-282. 103 Fishman, D.B., a Neigher, W.D. (1980). Needs assessment: overview. In National Institute of Mental Health, Evaluation in practice: a sourcebook of program evaluation studies from mental health care systems in the United States (DHHS Publication No. ADMBO-763, pp. 15-25). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Garner, J., a Clemmer, E. (1986). Danger to police in domestic disturbances--a new look. National Institute of Justice. Washington, DC. Gee, P.A. (1983). Ensuring police protection for battered women: the Scott v. Hart suit. §1gg§i Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Q, 554-567. Hicks, R.D., Gruetzemacher, R.R., Leonard, R.L., a Pierce, W.L. (1985). Journal of Criminal Justice, 13, 513-524. Homant, R.J., a Kennedy, D.B. (1982, March). Battered women and the police: a comparison of perceptions. Paper presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Louisville, KY. Homant, R.J. a Kennedy, D.B. (1983, March). Police perceptions of spouse abuse: a comparison of male and female officers. Paper presented at Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, San Antonio, TX. 104 Homant, R.J., & Kennedy, D.B. (1985). Police perceptions of spouse abuse: a comparison of male and female officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 1;, 29-47. Jaffe, P.G., Thompson, J.K., a Paquin, M.J. (1978). Immediate family crisis intervention as preventative mental health: the family consultant service. Professional Psychology, 551-560. Jason, J., Flock, M., 5 Tyler, C.W. (1983). Epidemiological characteristics of primary homicides in the United States. American Journal of Epidemiology, llZ.i4)’ 419-428. Loeb, R.C. (1983). A program of community education for-dealing with spouse abuse. Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 241-252. Loving, N., a Quirk, M. (1982). Spouse abuse: the need for new law enforcement responses. §§1_Lgy Enforcement Bulletin, gl, 10-16. Lovitt, R. (1976). Psychological consultation to a police training academy: problems and opportunities. Community Mental Health Journal, 12, 313-319. Malloy, T.E., a Mays, G.L. (1984). The police stress hypothesis: a critical evaluation. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 11, 197-224. 105 Martin, D. (1976). Battered wives. San Francisco: Volcano. Medler, J.F., Schneider, P.R., a Schneider, A.L. (1981). Statistical power analysis and experimental field research: some examples from the National Juvenile Restitution Evaluation. Evaluation ngley, g, 834-850. Michaels, R.A., a Treger, H. (1973). Social work in police departments. Social Work, 1g, 67-75. Morash, M. (1986). Wife battering. Criminal Justice Abstracts, lg (2), 252-271. Mulvey, E.P., a Reppucci, N.D. (1981). Police crisis intervention training: an empirical investigation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 2, 527-546. Nickens, J.M., Purga, A.J., III, & Noreiga, P.P. (1980). Research methods for needs assessment. Washington DC: University Press of America. Oppenlander, N. (1982). Coping or copping out: police service delivery in domestic disputes. Criminology, Q, 449-465. Pearce, J.B., & Snortum, J.R. (1983). Police effectiveness in handling domestic disturbance calls: an evaluation of crisis intervention training. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 19, 71-92. 106 Rios, B., Parisher, D. a Reilley, R.R. (1978). Need for psychological services as perceived by urban police departments. Psychological Reports, 3;, 126. Schreiber, F. (1985). The changing police response to domestic violence. St. Cloud: St. Cloud State University, Center for Studies in Criminal Justice. Schulman, M.A. (1979). A survey of spousal violence ggainst women in Kentucky. (Study No. 792701) Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Shenman, L.W., a Berk, R.A. (1984). The specific deterrent effects of arrest for domestic assault. American Sociological Review, 52, 261-272. Smith, D.A., a Klein, J.R. (1984). Police control of interpersonal disputes. Social Problems, g1, 468-481. Straus, M.A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: the Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41, 75-88. Straus, M.A., a Gelles, R.J. (1986). Societal change and change in family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys. Journal of _Ma_rri_age and the Family, 43}, 465-479. Treger, H., Thomson, 0., a Jaeck, 6.5. (1974). A police-social work team model: some preliminary findings and implications for system change. Crime and Delinquengy, 22, 281-290. 107 Trojanowicz, R., a Pollard, B. (1986). Community Policing: The Line Officer's Perspective. National Neighborhood Foot Patrol Center, Community Policing Series No. 11. United States Commission on Civil Rights. (1982). Ipe federal response to domestic violence. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Walker, L.E. (1979). The battered woman. New York: Harper 4 Row. Walter, J.D. (1981). Police in the middle: a study of small city police intervention in domestic disputes. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 3, 243-260. Wilt, G.M., a Breedlove, R.K. (1977). Domestic violence and the police: studies in Detroit and Kansas City. Washington, DC: Police Foundation. Worden, R.E., a Pollitz, A.A. (1984). Police arrests in domestic disturbances: a further look. tgy_§ Society Review, lg, 105-119. APPENDICES APPENDIX A Recruitment Statement Domestic Violence and the Police: A Needs Assessment Recruitment Statement You were randomly chosen to take part in a study to determine the needs of police officers to handle domestic violence calls effectively. Most of the work that has been done on the police and domestic violence has been done from the perspective of the victims and the "experts". In order to plan to increase the effectiveness of officers, it is important to get input from them. The interviews take from 45 minutes to one hour. The names of all participants will be entered in a $100 lottery drawing. All answers you give will be kept confidential and your name will not appear anywhere on the interview form. The interview will be done in the patrol car while you are on duty. Your participation in this study is voluntary. I'll take a few minutes now to answer any questions you may have and if you are interested in participating we can schedule and appointment and get your signature on the consent fonn. 110 APPENDIX B Consent Form 112 HURLEY MEDICAL CENTER Domestic Violence and the Police: A Needs Assessment Consent Form The study entitled “Domestic Violence and the Police: A Needs Assessment" has been explained to me and I freely consent to take part in this study. I understand that all responses I make will be kept confidential and I am free to discontinue my participation at any time without repercussions. My name will not be placed on the interview form and I will remain anonymous. My participation in this study does not guarantee any beneficial results to me, however, I will be given the opportunity to participate in a lottery drawing for $100.00 cash. I can receive the results of this study at my request when it is complete. I understand that if I have any further questions regarding my rights as a research subject, that I can contact the Institutional Review Board at Hurley Medical Center by calling 257-9134. Participant Signature Date Investigator (or designee) Signature Witness Signature APPENDIX C Interview Schedule 114 Officer Number: Interviewer: Date: Domestic Violence and the Police: A Needs Assessment Survey Form 115 The purpose of this survey is to determine potential areas of need that police officers may have when intervening in domestic disputes. By domestic disputes I mean spouse abuse as well as persons living under the same roof who have been involved in either a verbal or physical altercation. You are free to decline answering any of the questions and may discontinue this interview at any time. Demographic Information To begin with, I need to know a few things about you. 1. In which of the following age categories do you belong? 18-20__ 21-25_ 26-30_ 31-35_ 36-40_ 41-45_ 46-50_ 51-55_ 55-Up__ 2. Sex [Do not ask] Male ‘(1) Female (2) 3. To which racial group do you belong? (1) White (2) Black (3) Hispanic (4) American Indian or Alaskan Native (5) Asian or Pacific Islander (6) Other (Please specify) 4. Have you worked for the Flint Police Department: Less than 1 year____ 1-2 years____ 3-5 years____ 6-10 years____ 11-15 years____ 16-20 years____ 21-25 years____ 26-30 years____ More than 30 years____ 7. 9. 116 Did you work as a police officer prior to employment with the City of Flint Police Department? (1) yes (2) no If yes, for how long? years months What is your current position in this department? How long have you held this position? years [DONUTS Please tell me the two positions you held with the Flint Police prior to this position. Current Shift [do not ask] (1) First (2) Second (3) Third (4) Fourth What is your current marital status? (1) Single (2) Married (3) Separated (4) Divorced 10. Do you have any children? (1) yes (2) no 117 11. What is the highest level of education you have completed? (1) High School (GED Equivalent) (2) Police Academy (3) Military Training (MP) (4) State Police Training (5) College credit certificate in a vocational program (6) Two-year college degree (7) Four-year college degree (8) Master's degree (9) Other (please specify) Training Section I: This section of the interview will concern the training you may have had which would relate to intervening in domestic disputes. 1. What types of training have you received which would provide the skills and knowledge necessary for handling domestic disputes. By training I mean all workshops, classes, or lectures you have had. 118 For the next set of questions, I will name a topic area. Please tell me whether you have had extensive training (a full workshop or course on the topic), some training (two or three hours of instruction), little training (either read a book or it was included in a lesson with other material, or no training at all. Extensive Some Little None Attitude or values 4 3 2 1 clarification in regard to your attitudes toward h. i. J. k. n. 0. domestic violence The role of the police officer in domestic disputes Interviewing techniques Mediation techniques Safety techniques when handling domestic disputes Causes of spouse abuse Legal alternatives in responding to spouse spouse Social and psychological reasons why families fight Alcohol and drug abusers Crisis intervention Assisting victims of domestic violence Referral techniques Defusion of violent situations Information gathering techniques Handling mentally ill persons 119 Extensive Some Little None p. Listening and empathy 4 3 2 1 skills q. Evaluation of behavioral 4 3 2 I evidence r. Stress recognition 4 3 2 1 s. Nonverbal communication 4 3 2 1 Section II: This section contains questions to determine which types of training you feel are necessary for effective intervention into domestic disputes. 1. What types of training do you feel officers need to effectively handle domestic disputes? 2. I will not name some specific types of training. Please tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree: nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree that this training can help to increase the effectiveness of police officers answering domestic disputes. Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree a. Attitude or values 5 4 3 2 1 clarification in regard to your attitudes toward domestic violence b. The role of the 5 4 3 2 1 police officer in ' domestic disputes c. Interviewing techniques 5 4 3 2 1 d. Mediation techniques 5 4 3 2 1 e. Safety techniques 5 4 3 2 1 when handling domestic disputes h. n. 120 Strongly Agree Agree Causes of spouse 5 4 abuse Legal alternatives 5 4 when responding to spouse abuse Social and psycholo- 5 4 gical reasons why families fight Alcohol and drug 5 4 abusers Crisis intervention 5 4 Assisting victims of 5 4 domestic violence Referral techniques 5 4 Defusion of violent 5 4 situations Information . 5 4 gathering techniques Handling mentally 5 4 ill persons Listening and 5 4 empathy skills Evaluation of 5 4 behavioral evidence Stress recognition 5 4 Nonverbal 5 4 communication Neither Disagree Strongly Disagree 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3. Is there any type of situation you feel you need more training to handle more effectively? (1) yes [go to question #4] (2) no [go to next section] 121 4. What type of situation? 5. What type of training would be helpful? Referrals The next set of questions will be related to the use of referrals as a method of intervention into domestic disputes. 1. Do you feel referrals are an effective way of handling domestic disputes? yes (1) [Go to question #3] no (2) [Go to question #2] 2. Why not? 3. Have you referred domestic disputants to a social agency in the last two months? yes (1) [Go to question #4] no (2) [Go to question #5] 122 4. To which social agencies? a. b. C. d. 5. Are there any types of situations in which you feel knowledge of referral sources would make you more effective? (1) yes [go to question #6]- (2) no [go to question #7] 6. What types? 7. Do you feel it would make you more effective with domestic violence calls if you knew more about community referral sources? (1) yes (2) no Professional Support This section of the interview will ask questions about your potential needs for more support from social workers or other mental health specialists. 123 1. How do you feel about assistance from social workers when intervening in domestic violence situations? 2. Now I will ask you some questions about the effectiveness of professional support from social workers. I will give you a statement and you tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree,.or strongly disagree. Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree a. Social workers are 5 4 3 - 2 1 an effective back-up for police officers with domestic disputes D. Social workers 5 4 3 2 1 cannot help the disputants in domestic violence, a legal remedy is necessary c. Social workers can 5 4 3 2 1 more effectively -resolve domestic disputes than police officers d. Domestic violence 5 4 3 2 1 is a legal matter, not a social work problem e. Domestic disputants 5 4 3 2 1 will request a social worker to avoid arrest 124 Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree f. Domestic violence 5 4 3 2 1 is a social work problem, not a problem requiring police intervention 3. Under what circumstances would you call in a social worker to assist with a domestic violence call? Stressful Aspects of Domestic Violence Intervention and Need for Personal Support Section I: This section will focus on the personal effect of intervention into domestic violence may have on the officer and how stressful domestic violence calls are in comparison to other police work. 1. Do you find it stressful to answer domestic dispute calls? (1) yes [go to question #2] (2) no [go to question #3] 2. What is it about handling domestic disputes that you find stressful? 125 3. Are there any particular situations you encountered that caused you to feel more stress than you normally would? 4. Please indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statements. Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree a. There are times 5 4 3 2 1 when I feel I am not competent to intervene in domestic disputes b. Victims in domestic 5 4 3 2 1 disputes are often ungrateful for the services I give them c. The amount of red 5 4 3 2 1 tape necessary to effectively intervene in domestic disputes is excessive d. I feel there is 5 4 3 2 1 very little personal fulfillment in intervening in domestic disputes e. I gather from 5 4 3 2 1 discussions with other officers that they feel the same as I do about intervening in domestic disputes 126 5. What types of calls, if any, do you find more stressful to answer than domestic dispute calls? Section II: 1. Do you feel it would make you more effective with domestic violence calls if some type of stress reduction services were available to reduce any stress you may feel as a result of answering domestic violence calls? (1) yes [go to question #2] (2) no [go to next section] 2. Please name any specific type of stress reduction service which you may find helpful. Support for Arrests This section will address your needs for more support when making arrests in domestic disputes. 1. Please indicate whether you feel you receive enough support, or need more support from the various sources I will mention. Enough Need More a. The Prosecuting Attorney 0 1 b. The Judges 0 1 c. Your Commanding Officer 0 1 d. The General Public 0 1 127 Enough Need More e. The Victim O 1 f. The Amount of Jail Space 0 1 9. Other Officers 0 1 2. Are there any particular situations where you feel arrest is the most appropriate method of intervention? (1) yes [go on to question #3] (2) no [go to next section] 3. Which types of situations? Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence Calls, Victims and Assailants This section will look at some attitudes you may have about domestic violence calls, victims and assailants. 1. How do you feel about answering domestic dispute calls? 128 2. How do you feel about victims? 3. How do you feel about assailants? 4. After each statement I read please indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree. Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree a. Police officers 5 4 3 2 1 have no legitimate role in domestic disputes b. Intervention by 5 4 3 2 1 police officers is very important in domestic disputes c. Domestic dispute 5 4' 3 2 1 calls are among my least favorite d. Since I began 5 4 3 2 1 intervening in ’ domestic disputes I have lowered my standards about what I can accomplish e. The effectiveness I 5 4 3 2 1 have with domestic violence calls depends on how cooperative the disputants are f. k. 0. I try not to get emotionally involved with the events of the domestic disputes I feel as though I treat the disputants as if they were impersonal objects I feel I may be positively influ- encing the lives of the disputants through my intervention Battered women do not enjoy being battered The basic fault for family fights usually lies with the woman The police officer usually has a harder time dealing with the woman in a domestic dispute Battered women are crazy Batterers are usually substance abusers and cannot help themselves Batterers are psycho- pathic personalities The basic fault for family fights lies with the man The police officer has a harder time dealing with the man in a domestic dispute 129 Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 130 Open Ended Question Are there any other comments that you'd like to make about domestic violence calls that weren't covered in this interview? Thank you for taking the time to complete this interview. Please fill out this index card [Hand the subject the appropriate index card] so you can be included in the lottery drawing for $100.00