FAMILY/ COMMUNITY

ISSUES IN POLICING
CHAPTER XI
 POLICE AS MEDIATORS IN
DOMESTIC DISPUTES
Domestic violence has occurred, and
even been condoned among certain
cultures through out history. It is
unarguable that domestic violence is a
pervasive societal problem and affects
not only victims and their offenders,

BUT ALSO THE POLICE who must deal with such a delicate,
emotionally laden and often controversial subject.
MEDIATORS are most often police
officers who deal with domestic
disputes.

Research indicates that about half of

victims call for police service in
DOMESTIC DISTURBANCES, in
which intimate partners have
engaged in loud/abusive arguments,
or even physical violence.
(Barnett, Miller-Perrin, & Perrin,
2011)
ONE way the legal system has begun to intervene in domestic
violence cases is the use of protective orders—which forbid
abusers from having contact with their victims.

It is thought that protective orders can help victims of domestic

violence feel safer.
RESEARCH CONSISTENTLY SHOWS that most
police officers, regardless of individual or
departmental characteristics, strongly dislike
responding to domestic violence calls.
Several reasons include:
(a)ORGANIZATIONAL IMPEDIMENTS
(b)LACK OF TRAINING
(c)POLICE ATTITUDES and
(d)FEAR OF INJURY
 Some attitudes and beliefs that may cause an officer to be
hesitant to make an arrest are:

(1)If assaults are victim’s fault, they are justified

(2)If she stays with her abuser, there is no real victim
(3)If abused women are manipulative and unbelievable
(4)Police involvement is not the best way to stop domestic
violence
(5)If real police work is catching “real” criminals or responding
to domestic violence calls it is not “real” police work
(6)If intervening in domestic violence is the most dangerous
work police can be involved with
 POLICE STRESS
• Constant danger
• Severe intensity of job responsibilities
• Threat of personal injury
• Grueling shift changes
• A myriad of rules and regulations
 TWO BASIC TYPES OF STRESSORS
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRESSORS—events stemming
from police administration which
are found to be bothersome or
intolerable to members of the
police force
OPERATIONAL POLICE
STRESSORS—refer to those
occurrences that may threaten to
harm the police officer either
physiologically or psychologically.
Included in this category are items
such as high-speed chases,
dealing with crises and personal
physical attacks. (Violanti & Aron,
1993)
SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Given the many varied sources of police stress, it is of little surprise

that officers often utilize unhealthy ways of coping with these
stressors. One of the most common, yet unreported ways police
officers cope with these stressors is through the use and abuse of
alcohol.
POLICE AS TARGETS OF VIOLENCE

One need not to be a psychologist or criminologist to understand

that being assaulted, especially unexpectedly, can result in a
tremendous amount of stress and emotional turmoil. Everything
from recurring nightmares to a “quick-trigger syndrome may
develop as a result of being a victim of assault.

It is no wonder that some officers harbor feelings of violation and

psychological disarray.
SUICIDE

There is no doubt that the ultimate and most tragic

result of an inability to cope with police stress is
suicide

An occupation surrounded with constant death

deceit, antisocial behaviors and personalities,
defiance, ridicule, criticism, boredom, rigid
hierarchical structures and lack of social support
may result in suicide in some cases.
STIGMA in ASKING for HELP

As with many other occupations, law enforcement includes in

its own unwritten code of conduct and subculture.

A traditionally masculine occupation, many male police

officers feel the need to keep psychological distress signs to
themselves for the fear of being viewed as “SOFT”.

Likewise, female police officers often do not wish to display

their negative psychological states for fear that they will be
viewed as “WEAK” in character.
POLICE AND THE MENTALLY ILL

A POLICE OFFICER’S JOB is one

riddled with a variety of pitfalls and
potential dangers.
 Law enforcement agents often find themselves
having to deal with populations that cannot or are
incapable of rational and reasonable thought.

Research demonstrates that people with mental

illness and substance abuse disorders are major
contributors to police-identified criminal violence.
(Lamb, Weinberger, & Gross, 2004; Cant, 2007;
Cambell, 2010).
 POLICE TRAINING: COMMUNICATION
SKILLS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
• Crisis Negotiation—technique utilized by law enforcement to communicate
with individuals who are threatening violence, including barricaded subjects,
hostage takers, workplace violence, or persons threatening suicide.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION TACTICS—include a large group
of behaviors which are intended to either gain compliance in
an interaction or resolve the interaction in a way which is
satisfactory to both parties.

Such tactics are necessary when two parties have goals or

desires in an encounter which are incompatible, yet the
interaction must end in some sort of COMPROMISE.

This scenario describes the great majority of interactions

involving the police and the public.
NON-CONVENTIONAL CONFLICT-RESOLUTION
METHODS—include mediation, arbitration, third party
negotiation, facilitation, reconciliation, counseling,
problem solving, and problem management.
PSYCHOLOGISTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL
HAVE USED A VARIETY OF METHODOLOGIES TO NEGOTIATE
WITH SUBJECTS IN CRISIS SITUATIONS

ONE SUCH MODEL IS THE

SAFE model (Hammer, 2007)
This model identifies four triggers typically characteristic of
crisis negotiations from which its acronym was derived.

(1)SUBSTANTIVE DEMANDS—the instrumental

wants/demands made by parties.
(2)ATTUNEMENT—the relational trust established between
parties.
(3)FACE—the self-image of each of the parties that is
threatened or honored.
(4)EMOTION—the degree of emotional distress experienced
by the parties.
REGARDLESS of the model of negotiation used,
researchers have demonstrated the importance of
juxtaposing high-probability and low-probability request
in order to increase the livelihood of successful resolution.

HIGH-PROBABILITY REQUEST—one with which the

subject is likely to comply

LOW-PROBABILITY REQUEST—one with which the

subject is unlikely to comply.
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
TERRORISM:MOTIVATIONS, IMPLICATIONS
AND HEALING
• Acts of terrorism are psychological by nature. They
are typically intended to disrupt ways of life and effect
political change by sending ripples of fear throughout
the society, far outreaching the relatively small
numbers of physical victims killed or injured in the
actual bombings.
SUICIDE BOMBERS—individuals who carry out a
terrorist attack using bombs and who do so with the intent
of dying in the attack.
ALTRUISTIC SUICIDE—self-inflicted
death owing to powerful beliefs,
resulting in individuals losing their
sense of autonomy.
SUBCLINICAL SUICIDAL
CHARACTERISTICS—an individual
maybe experiencing symptoms of
depression and have thoughts of suicide,
but does not have an active plan to
commit suicide.
Researchers noted that personality factors
alone cannot account for the willingness of
some individuals to carry our suicide
attacks since these missions are typically
organized by groups.