Executive Summary
This study evaluates the relationship between domestic violence among police officers and factors such as stress, child maltreatment, police subculture, and divorce. The research is based on data from a primary study through the survey conducted for fifty respondents who are college students. The dependent variable is domestic violence while the independent variables are stress, police subculture, divorce, and child maltreatment. Through random sampling, the study aims at relating domestic violence among police officers to stress and police subculture among other factors.
Introduction
There is little evidence on the level or magnitude of domestic violence among police officers. The little information on the level of domestic violence among police officers could be attributed to the fact that fellow officers handling any reported case of domestic violence would cover for their colleagues for fear of destroying their careers (Zavala, 2013). In fact, many police departments are reported to persuade the victim of domestic violence perpetrated by a police officer to settle things off the record by arguing that when the spouse is retrenched, the family may be through into further disarray (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). This study will attempt to establish the magnitude of domestic violence among police officers to identify potential factors that trigger such behavior. The objective of this research is to establish the level of domestic violence among police officers and relative the behavior to stress, divorce, police subculture, and child mistreatment. This research will build on the current literature to establish explicit relationship between domestic violence among police officers and stress, divorce, child neglect, and police subculture. There are adequate reasons and values related to this research and the changes in the state’s legislation regarding minimizing domestic violence among police officers. This research is also crucial, as it will give a clear assessment of young people’s views on the legislation, that is, the importance of addressing factors that catalyze domestic violence among police officers.
Research hypothesis
Null hypothesis: There is a relationship between domestic violence and police subculture, stress, child mistreatment, and divorce among police officers.
Alternative hypothesis: There is no relationship between domestic violence and police subculture, stress, child mistreatment, and divorce among police officers.
Literature Review
Theoretical perspective
According to Lonsway (2006), problem behavior theory is a socio-psychological framework that explains the nature and development of problem behaviors such as domestic violence. This theory views problem behavior as purposeful, psychologically meaningful and a component of individual development. Lonsway (2006) concludes that police officers associated with domestic violence tend to have similar behavior orientations since factors that catalyze the occurrence of this act are similar across the board.
In order to minimize cases of domestic violence among police officers, Waters and Ussery (2007) suggest that social control effectiveness should be the cornerstone for modeling acceptable behavior during police training. The policies adopted should be aligned to the basic building blocks of stress management, and proactive culture when dealing with problems at home. These policies should incorporate the family relationship model and community social culture to guarantee peaceful conflict resolution at home as opposed to violence. Depending on the category that each domestic violence case falls in as defined by the federal and criminal law, severity and magnitude of punishment on each reported case should be based on the past record of mental and social health of a police officer (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). In the criminal code, the process of convicting suspected domestic violence offenders commences with the report of the investigation from the internal policing unit mandated with the responsibility of investigating fellow police officers.
Factors catalyzing occurrence of domestic violence among police officers
Several signals may suggest that a potential domestic violence problem is oncoming in the family of a police officer. For instance, symptoms of stress, increased isolation, excessive alcoholism, negative conversations about the family, and excessive application of force in the line of duty (Lonsway, 2006).
Separation and divorce cases have been on the rise in the recent years among police officers. Specifically, it has been demonstrated that an average of 15% of married couples either divorce or separate during their marriages in the police force (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). The two ways of terminating marriages have been reported to have negative impacts on family relationships. Family relationships are important for the well-being of spouses and children. After a divorce or separation, parent-child relationships may be negatively impacted because it becomes hard to maintain the relationships. Co-parenting roles may make a parent develop strong relationships with children and other family members. However, after a divorce or separation, the police parent adopts new ways of life that are characterized by daily activities that have effects on family relationships. Adjusting to new life takes a lot of time and would cause psychological disturbances to the affected spouses and family members (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). This state is likely to deteriorate into domestic violence when the police officer who is a victim of divorce does not get help on time.
Cases of domestic violence among police officers are rarely reported since the victim is often afraid of police power consisting of a gun, the ability to alter the content of the case, and intimidation which might turn fatal. The few cases that are reported are often shelved by fellow police officers for fear of being accused of snitching on colleagues or simply because of the unique policing subculture (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). For instance, when a spouse reports an incident of domestic violence perpetrated by a police officer, chances that she or he will be advised to solve the problem of the books is high simply because the department will reason from the perspective of career loss or further destruction of the family. In fact, many departments of the police across the US are very casual in handling cases of domestic violence reported that involves a police officer with very little effort made to make the whole incident a formal investigation (Waters & Ussery, 2007). In the end, the victims of the violence may have to live with this injustice for the rest of their lives as long as the argument of career loss is sold to them each time they report a domestic violence case perpetrated by police officers.
Domestic violence among police officers may also be attributed to the nature of work or assignments that police officers handle each day. For instance, on any typical day, a police officer is often subjected to immense pressure in performing his or her duties and constantly exposed to danger. When the level of exposure is high with very few intervention strategies by the department to make the work of the officers easy, chances that such an officer may carry the frustration at home is high. Since police officers are also human beings, they may resort to violence as a response strategy in extreme cases and the spouses may turn into their victims (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). In some cases, the victims of domestic violence by police officers tend to shy away from informing the police due to low confidence in the ability of the investigating authority to properly look into the case and develop a watertight case that can lead to successful prosecution of the offender (Blumenstein, Fridell, & Jones, 2012). Any spillover from such reports may result in more domestic violence directed towards them. Such fears make the topic of establishing the magnitude of domestic violence among police officers difficult to investigate (Zavala, 2013). The difficulty is in the ability to allocate enough cases that have been successfully prosecuted and actions were taken against perpetrators.
Another reason that has been identified as catalyzing domestic violence among police officers is their state of mind. Prolonged exposure to stressful situations has resulted in mild mental disorders among some police officers (Waters & Ussery, 2007). Since this state is very difficult to recognize, the mental deterioration may only be felt by the victim in the form of police violence since the current systems within the policing environment are not effective in testing the mental capacity of police officers suffering from mild mental disorders (Lonsway, 2006). Unfortunately, this state is often discovered when it is too late, especially during prosecution and probably when the victim has been subjected to a long period of physical and psychological torture (Zavala, 2013).
Countering domestic violence among police officers
Lonsway (2006) suggests that one of the most effective ways of responding to cases of domestic violence among police officers is through enactment of effective enforcement programs such as a formal internal investigation system in the police force. This system may be instrumental in establishing the right protocol for handling domestic violence cases reported such as “suspension of the officer’s police powers and reclamation of their weapon and police vehicle. Officers should be placed on off-duty status, pending administrative investigation and referral for a psychological fitness-for-duty evaluation” (Lonsway, 2006, p. 413).
Apart from law enforcement, mental health intervention may also be instrumental in minimizing cases of domestic violence among police officers. For instance, counseling therapy may be instrumental in addressing the factors that catalyze the occurrence of domestic violence among police officers. The therapy may be in the form of anger management, proactive communication development, and relationship building to ensure that the officer is supported through a stressful situation. The therapy may be important in understanding the causes of domestic violence in order to design ling terms strategies that deter the reoccurrence of the same in the families of police officers (Waters & Ussery, 2007). He or he or she finds it difficult to cope with. For instance, the accused officer may be given time to explain the difficulty that has motivated his or her action to participate in domestic violence within his or her family. However, this strategy is only successful when the police officer implicated with domestic violence is willing to be part of the therapy (Zavala, 2013).
Research gap
From the above literature review, there is little research that associates domestic violence among police officers to factors such as stress, divorce, child neglect, and the nature of police assignments. This research will build on the current literature to establish an explicit relationship between domestic violence among police officers and the above factors.
Methodology
Research approach
The study will use an interactive research survey design that is commonly applied in qualitative research studies. The survey approach will be utilized to gain insights into how the study participants make sense of domestic violence among police officers. The phenomena will be correlated with stress, divorce, child neglect, and the nature of police assignments.
Sampling, Population, and Sampling Techniques
Through the use of the survey interview questionnaire, data will be collected from 50 participants using semi-structured interviews that would allow a researcher to be curious. The use of interviews will enhance the interpretation of a detailed verbatim transcript. Data analysis would involve generation of codes that would not be based on any theory. An analysis will then be conducted by comparing phenomenological characteristics to insightful interpretation. A clear idiopathic focus will be maintained throughout the data analysis. The approach will offer the study psychological, interpretative, and idiographic characteristics.
Operationalization of the variables
In this research report, several factors such as stress, police subculture, child maltreatment, and divorce are linked to domestic violence among police officers. Specifically, the study will also establish the demographic variances between male and female officers who participate in domestic violence as part of recidivism and crime analysis. This is summarized in the table below.
Figure 1: Operationalization of the variables
Stress (Independent Variable)
Predictor Outcome
Validity and reliability
Validity and reliability determine the accuracy of collecting data in research. To achieve validity in the questions presented in the questionnaire, it is essential to carry out question pre-testing. The mixture of the questionnaire and direct interview will present a number of pre-specified competencies and best practices based on findings from a review of literature, and participants will be asked to indicate which of the practices they use or rely on most. Some items may be listed for comparison and respondents are asked to rate them in terms of frequency of use in order to gather their relative importance. Some basic information will be requested to identify the demographic characteristics of the sample and to confirm the eligibility of respondents concerning meeting criteria for participation.
Ethical considerations
The proposed study will have two important ethical issues. To deal with the issue of consent, the research will send consent forms to the respondents. The sample taken will represent the true picture of the research survey in terms of gender balance, age representation, and, regional balance. The research will be conducted in a school environment, thus, participants will be guaranteed safety. The researcher will have to convince participants that their information will remain confidential. The researcher will also try to remain unbiased and professional throughout the study. Lastly, the researcher will be sensitive to the fact that the participants may become distressed in the interview, and will allow them to withdraw at any time.
References
Blumenstein, L., Fridell, L., & Jones, S. (2012). The link between traditional police subculture and police intimate partner violence. Policing, 35(1), 147-164.
Lonsway, K. A. (2006). Policies on police officer domestic violence: Prevalence and specific provisions within large police agencies. Police Quarterly, 9(4), 397-422.
Waters, J. A., & Ussery, W. (2007). Police stress: History, contributing factors, symptoms, and interventions. Policing, 30(2), 169-188.
Zavala, E. (2013). Testing the link between child maltreatment and family violence among police officers. Crime & Delinquency, 59(3), 468-483.