Polaroid Presents Notes From the Field: One Unit’s Approach Toward Fighting Domestic Violence - and Avoiding Inappropriate Arrest

In the previous edition of Instant Evidence, noted domestic violence authority Mark Wynn offered strategies to help officers avoid the all-too-common problem of inappropriate dual arrest - or inappropriate victim-only arrest - in domestic violence cases. While such arrests are often regarded as an unfortunate result of pro-arrest domestic violence policies, they don’'t have to be. The experiences of the Domestic Violence Prevention Unit of the Pitt County Sheriff’'s Office in eastern North Carolina offer a case in point.

Established on January 1, 1997, the Domestic Violence Prevention Unit was created to address a manpower shortage that hampered investigation of domestic violence cases. Upon its formation, all members of the unit - which now consists of a sergeant, six deputies, an evidence technician, a civilian clerk and two advocates - received domestic violence training from Mark Wynn and another renowned domestic violence expert, Anne O’'Dell.

Avoiding dual arrest - more than 90% of the time

The Domestic Violence Prevention Unit has made valuable strides against domestic violence in North Carolina. The unit has seen a rise in the number of domestic violence calls (due to increased public awareness) and, more important, a decline in domestic violence deaths in Pitt County. In fact, while the county experienced four domestic violence deaths immediately before the unit’'s formation, there have been only two deaths from domestic violence in the seven-plus years since the unit’'s creation.

Just as impressive, only “five to ten percent - and closer to five percent” of the unit’'s domestic violence cases result in dual arrest, according to unit head Sergeant John Guard. Guard attributes this low figure to his unit’'s domestic violence training, coupled with good communication throughout the department, and with prosecutors.

“The bottom line is that when two people are arrested in a case of domestic violence in our jurisdiction, the case usually ends in dismissal,” notes Guard. “Both parties plead the fifth, and you can’'t get any evidence in, so there’'s no accountability for the abuser in court.”

Looking beyond the obvious to identify aggressors

To illustrate how domestic violence training has helped his officers identify primary aggressors and avoid inappropriate arrests, Guard offers the following examples from his unit’'s files:

• The facts: The responding officer encountered a man who was upset, holding his groin and claiming that his girlfriend hurt him during a fight. The girlfriend acknowledged the fight, but claimed that her boyfriend hit her in the arm and put her in a “sleeper” chokehold until she almost passed out. Upon being released, she attempted to call 911. As she and her boyfriend struggled for the phone, he grabbed her around the neck, and she kicked him in the groin.

  The result: Even though the woman had no visible injuries and the yuyman was more seriously injured, the officer arrested the boyfriend. The officer’'s training helped him analyze the circumstances surrounding the man’'s injury, and prompted him to look for witnesses. When he learned that the woman had been speaking to a friend on the phone when she was first hit, the officer spoke with this “witness,” who said that she heard the sound of someone being hit and heard her friend exclaim, “he hit me” before the phone went dead.

• The facts: The responding officer saw a shirtless man with a bite mark on his chest and a welt on the left side of his forehead. The officer talked to the woman involved in the case, who said that she and the man had been out drinking with friends. The man came home first and went to bed; the woman arrived home later and slept on the living room couch. When the man found her there in the morning, he grabbed her hair, accused her of seeing someone else, and grabbed her by the neck with his other hand. She slapped his head, escaping temporarily; when the man grabbed both her arms, the woman bit his chest before ultimately calling the authorities.

  The result: The officer saw red marks on the woman’'s neck that corroborated her account of being strangled, and arrested the man, even though he was also injured.

• The facts: After interviewing a woman who claimed she was assaulted in her home and ran next door to call 911, the responding officer went to her home to speak with the alleged abuser. At the home, the officer noticed a pair of eyeglasses on the floor, near where the woman claimed she had been hit. The officer returned to speak with the woman, who said the glasses were hers, and that she hadn’'t known what happened to them.

  The result: The officer recognized that domestic violence victims don’'t always provide all relevant details because they might not know what could be relevant, and might not be thinking clearly. Based on his discovery of the eyeglasses and the woman’'s account, the officer arrested the man for domestic assault.

Learning from success: Other keys to fighting domestic violence

While domestic violence training has been an important part of the Pitt County Domestic Violence Prevention Unit’'s success, it’'s not the only one. The unit’'s experiences offer lessons that can help any law enforcement agency or officer enhance the investigation - and, ultimately, prosecution - of domestic violence cases. Here’'s a quick at some of them:

• Understand the dynamics of an abusive relationship. “Abusive relationships have a public and private face,” says Guard. The private face, he notes, is often marked by threats and manipulation, which can make a victim fearful and less cooperative as time goes on. That’'s why Guard believes officers must try to obtain as much information as they can from a victim as quickly as possible.

• Subpoena all witnesses to a violent incident. “Domestic violence is typically a power and control issue between intimate partners,” notes Guard. “Manipulation and coercion decline significantly when you’'re talking about neighbors, which is why you need to make sure that any and all witnesses are in court.”

• Give judicial authorities the information they need to set appropriate bond and release conditions. “In North Carolina, district court judges are responsible for determining bond and the conditions of release in domestic violence cases,” says Guard. For this reason, his unit makes it a priority to share as much case information and history as possible with these judges. “With domestic violence, as with many things, the best way to predict the future is to look at the past,” Guard adds. “An appropriate bond can help prevent further tragedy, or even death.”

• Utilize interviewing and investigative skills as fully as possible. “Domestic violence cases always provide a witness and a suspect,” notes Guard. As a result, he believes such cases give officers a valuable opportunity to hone their interviewing and investigative skills. “Many officers believe that abusers won’'t admit to their actions, but they often do, trying to minimize or justify what they did,” says Guard. “That’'s why officers need to probe during their initial interviews, to gain a confession, or something that will corroborate evidence or a victim’'s story.”

• Educate the community. “We all need to stand up and say that violence in the home is wrong under any and all circumstances,” says Guard. His unit has tackled the challenge of public education through a variety of initiatives, including bumper stickers, slogans and a motorcycle parade.

In the end, Guard believes that the value of proper training and good communication simply can’'t be overstated in the fight against domestic violence.

“Domestic violence cases are the most complex issues we face as law enforcement professionals,” he says. “When investigating and prosecuting them, it’'s critical to know everybody is on the same sheet of music.”