The problem of violence within police families has been increasingly recognized as an important sociolegal issue, but there is a lack of empirical data on what has commonly been referred to as officer-involved domestic violence (OIDV). There are no comprehensive statistics available on OIDV and no government entity collects data on the criminal conviction of police officers for crimes associated with domestic and/or family violence. Prior self-report officer surveys are limited by the tendency to conceal instances of family violence and the interests of officers to maintain a “code of silence” to protect their careers. The purpose of the current study is to provide empirical data on OIDV cases. The study identifies and describes cases in which police were arrested for criminal offenses associated with an incident of family and/or domestic violence through a content analysis of published newspaper articles. Data on these cases is presented in terms of the arrested officer, employing agency, victim, charged offense(s), and criminal case dispositions. The paper includes a discussion regarding OIDV and policy implications.
AdamsK.JennisonV. (2007). What we do not know about police use of Tasers. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 30, 447-465. doi:10.1108/13639510710778831
AmmonsJ. (2005). Batterers with badges: Officer-involved domestic violence. Women Lawyers Journal, 90, 28-39.
4.
AnemaA.FreifeldC. C.DruytsE.MontanerJ. S. G.HoggR. S.BrownsteinJ. S. (2010). An assessment of global internet-based HIV/AIDS media coverage: Implications for United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’ Global Media HIV/AIDS Initiative. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 21, 26-29. doi:10.1258/ijsa.2009.009500
5.
BarakG. (1988). Newsmaking criminology: Reflections on the media, intellectuals, and crime. Justice Quarterly, 5, 565-587. doi:10.1080/07418828800089891
6.
BarakG. (2007). Doing newsmaking criminology from within the academy. Theoretical Criminology, 11, 191-207. doi:10.1177/1362480607075847
7.
BarakG. (Ed.). (1995). Media, process, and the social construction of crime: Studies in newsmaking criminology. New York, NY: Garland.
8.
BeckerH. (1997). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance (New ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.
BittnerE. (1978). The functions of the police in modern society. Policing: A view from the street (pp. 32-50). Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.
11.
BlumensteinL. (2009). Domestic violence within law enforcement families: The link between traditional police subculture and domestic violence among police (Thesis). University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1862
12.
BuzawaE. S.BuzawaC. G. (2003). Domestic violence: The criminal justice response. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
BuzawaE. S.BuzawaC. G.StarkE. (2012). Responding to domestic violence: The integration of criminal justice and human services (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
14.
CarlsonM. (2007). Order versus access: News search engines and the challenge to traditional journalistic roles. Media, Culture & Society, 29, 1014-1030. doi:10.1177/0163443707084346
15.
ChevignyP. (1995). Edge of the knife: Police violence in the Americas. New York, NY: The New Press.
16.
CrankJ. P. (2004). Understanding police culture. Dayton, OH: Anderson/LexisNexis.
17.
CunninghamK. (2005). Health and medical news on the web: Comparing the results of news-providing web resources. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 24(4), 17-40. doi:10.1300/J115v24n04_02
18.
DentonE. (2010). International news coverage of human trafficking arrests and prosecutions: A content analysis. Women & Criminal Justice, 20, 10-26. doi:10.1080/08974451003641321
19.
DishlacoffL. (1976). The drinking cop. Police Chief, 43(1), 32-39.
20.
FergusonC. H. (2005). What’s next for Google?Technology Review, 108(1), 38-46.
21.
Florida Police Chiefs Association. (2010). Florida’s model policy on officer-involved domestic violence. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Police Chiefs Association. Retrieved from http://www.fpca.com/FloridaOfficerDVModelPolicy2010.pdf
22.
FlowersR. B. (2000). Domestic crimes, family violence and child abuse: A study of contemporary American society. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
23.
FreifeldC. C.MandlK. D.ReisB. Y.BrownsteinJ. S. (2008). HealthMap: Global infectious disease monitoring through automated classification and visualization of internet media reports. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 15, 150-157. doi:10.1197/jamia.M2544
24.
GalbraithJ. (2007). A squatter on the Fourth Estate, Google News. Journal of Library Administration, 46, 191-206. doi:10.1300/J111v46n03_13
25.
GellesR. J. (1990). Methodological issues in the study of family violence. In PattersonG. R. (Ed.), Depression and aggression in family interaction (pp. 49-74). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
26.
GershonR. (2000). Project shields: Final Report (NCJ 185892). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/185892.pdf
27.
GershonR.BarocasB.CantonA. N.LiX.VlahovD. (2009). Mental, physical, and behavioral outcomes associated with perceived work stress in police officers. Journal of Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36, 275-289. doi:10.1177/0093854808330015
28.
Greene-ForsytheC. L. (2000). Precursors of physical domestic violence in police families: Lessons from intensive psychotherapy of participants and investigating officers. In SheehanD. C. (Ed.), Domestic violence by police officers: A compilation of papers submitted to the Domestic Violence by Police Officers Conference at the FBI Academy, Quantico, VA (pp. 163-180). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
29.
Gun ban for individuals convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (“Lautenberg Amendment”), Pub. L. 104-208 §658, 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9) (1996).
30.
Gun Control Act Pub. L. 90-618, 18 U.S.C. §921, et seq. (1968).
31.
HinesD. A.Malley-MorrisonK. (2005). Family violence in the United States: Defining, understanding, and combating abuse. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
32.
International Association of Chiefs of Police. (2003a). Discussion paper on IACP’s police on domestic violence by police officers: A product of the IACP Police Response to Violence Against Women Project. Alexandria, VA: International Association of Chiefs of Police. Retrieved from http://www.theiacp.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=NzsLwlSvR2g%3d&tabid=87
33.
International Association of Chiefs of Police. (2003b). Domestic violence by police officers: A policy of the IACP Police Response to Violence Against Women Project. Alexandria, VA: International Association of Chiefs of Police. Retrieved from http://www.theiacp.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=p3MQ8yU3EZY%3d&tabid=87
34.
JohnsonL. B. (1991). On the front lines: Police stress and family well-being. Hearings before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, Families, House of Representatives, 102 Congress, First Session (pp. 32-48). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
JohnsonL. B.ToddM.SubramanianG. (2005). Violence in police families: Work-family spillover. Journal of Family Violence, 20, 3-12. doi:10.1007/s10896-005-1504-4
37.
KaneR. J.WhiteM. D. (2009). Bad cops: A study of career-ending misconduct among New York City police officers. Criminology & Public Policy, 8, 737-769. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2009.00591.x
38.
Kurst-SwangerK.PetcoskyJ. L. (2003). Violence in the home: Multidisciplinary perspectives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
39.
LaFreeG. (1989). Rape and criminal justice: The social construction of sexual assault. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
40.
LaFreeG.YangS.-M.CrenshawM. (2009). Trajectories of terrorism: Attack patterns of foreign groups that have targeted the United States, 1970-2004. Criminology & Public Policy, 8, 445-473. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2009.00570.x
41.
LaRosaP. (2006). Tacoma confidential. New York, NY: Signet.
42.
LeeC.BarrR. G.CatherineN.WicksA. (2007). Age-related incidence of publicly reported shaken baby syndrome cases: Is crying a trigger for shaking?Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 28, 288-293. doi:10.1097/DBP.0b013e3180327b55
43.
LillyJ. R.CullenF. T.BallR. A. (2007). Criminological theory: Context and consequences (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
44.
LonswayK. A. (2006). Policies on police officer domestic violence: Prevalence and specific provisions within large police departments. Police Quarterly, 9, 397-422. doi:10.1177/1098611104268884
45.
LonswayK. A.WetendorfD. E.ConisP. (2003). Lessons learned from Tacoma: The problem of police officer domestic violence. Wauconda, IL: Diane Wetendorf. Retrieved from www.dwetendorf.com/Lonsway_TacomaLessonsPDV.pdf
46.
MaderK. (1997). Report of the Domestic Violence Task Force to the Board of Police Commissioners: Domestic Violence in the Los Angeles Police Department. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Police Department, Office of Inspector General.
47.
MertlerC. A.VannattaR. A. (2010). Advanced and multivariate statistical methods: Practical application and interpretation (4th ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak.
48.
MorrisR. G. (2010). Identity thieves and levels of sophistication: Findings from a national probability sample of American newspaper articles 1995-2005. Deviant Behavior, 31, 184-207. doi:10.1080/01639620902854969
49.
MullinsW. C.McMainsM. J. (2000). Impact of traumatic stress on domestic violence in policing. Domestic violence by police officers: A compilation of papers submitted to the Domestic Violence by Police Officers Conference at the FBI Academy, Quantico, VA (pp. 257-268). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
50.
National Center for Women & Policing. (2005). Police family violence fact sheet. Beverly Hills, CA: National Center for Women & Policing. Retrieved from http://womenandpolicing.com/violenceFS.asp
51.
NeidigP. H.RussellH. E.SengA. F. (1992). Interspousal aggression in law enforcement families: A preliminary investigation. Police Studies: The International Review of Police Development, 15(1), 30-38.
52.
NeidigP. H.SengA. F.RussellH. E. (1992, Fall/Winter). Interspousal aggression in law enforcement personnel attending the FOP biennial conference. National FOP Journal, 25-28.
53.
NordlichtS. (1979). Effects of stress on the police officer and family. New York State Journal of Medicine, 79, 400-401.
54.
OehmeK.MartinA. (2011). A practical plan for prevention and intervention: Florida’s new Model Policy on officer-involved domestic violence. Criminal Justice Studies, 24, 395-408. doi:10.1080/1478601X.2011.626152
55.
OehmeK.SiebertD. C.SiebertC. F.SternN.ValentineC.DonnellyE. (2011). Protecting lives, careers, and public confidence: Florida’s efforts to prevent officer-involved domestic violence. Family Court Review, 49, 84-106. doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2010.01355.x
56.
OjalaM. (2002). Google expands Google News. Information Today, 19(10), 18.
57.
RiffeD.LacyS.FicoF. G. (2005). Analyzing media messages: Using quantitative content analysis in research (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
RubinsteinJ. (1973). Police city. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
60.
SeifterA.SchwartzwalderA.GeisK.AucottJ. (2010). The utility of “Google Trends” for epidemiological research: Lyme disease as an example. Geospatial Health, 4, 135-137.
61.
SgambelluriR. (2000). Police culture, police training, and police administration: Their impact on violence in police families. Domestic violence by police officers: A compilation of papers submitted to the Domestic Violence by Police Officers Conference at the FBI Academy, Quantico, VA (pp. 309-322). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
62.
SheehanD. C. (2000). Domestic violence by police officers: A compilation of papers submitted to the Domestic Violence by Police Officers Conference at the FBI Academy, Quantico, VA. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
63.
ShernockS. K. (1995). Police solidarity. In BaileyW. G. (Ed.), The encyclopedia of police science (2nd ed., pp. 619-623). New York, NY: Garland.
64.
SkolnickJ. H. (1994). Justice without trial: Law enforcement in democratic society. New York, NY: Macmillan.
65.
StinsonP. M.LiederbachJ.FreiburgerT. L. (2012). Off-duty and under arrest: A study of crimes perpetuated by off-duty police. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 23, 139-163. doi:10.1177/0887403410390510
66.
StolzB. A. (1999). Congress, symbolic politics and the evolution of 1994 “Violence Against Women Act.”Criminal Justice Policy Review, 10, 401-427. doi:10.1177/088740349901000304
67.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2011). Misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence: Information needed to enforce the firearm prohibition. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
68.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2002). National Crime Victimization Survey, 2002: Codebook. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
Violence Against Women Act Pub. L. 103-322, Title IV, §§ 40001- 40703 (1994).
72.
WalkerS. (2005). The new world of police accountability. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
73.
WetendorfD. E. (2000). The impact of police-perpetuated domestic violence. Domestic violence by police officers: A compilation of papers submitted to the Domestic Violence by Police Officers Conference at the FBI Academy, Quantico, VA (pp. 375-382). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
