Police Article is More Lip Service
An Article appeared today on abusive police officers, focusing in New York. Don't get me wrong, I am happy when any article highlights abuse within the homes of law enforcement. But, more has to be done that mere lip service. It is not a criticism but, an observation. You can work and be an expert in the field, and I applaud all those who have been diligent in the area of police officers as it pertains to abuse. The real problem lies within the departments themselves. Sugar Coating a deadly issue like police violence should be left for application on M&M Candies, it must not be applied to the lives of spouses and their children. The day when wives of Law Enforcement can receive concrete assistance, without fear, or loosing their lives, will be the day when departments are truly held accountable for those who cries for help still fall on deaf ears.
An abusive spouse, with a badge:Police culture may contribute to domestic violence, some experts say
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When she read about the murder of Jeanne Kane two weeks ago, Carla Giordano got chills.
It wasn't just because she could relate to the years of abuse Ms. Kane allegedly suffered at the hands of her police officer husband.
"It was because that could have been me," said Ms. Giordano, a resident of the Rossville neighborhood of Staten Island who was married to an NYPD officer for seven years.
While Ms. Giordano admits her ex-husband was not as physically violent as Ms. Kane's ex-husband, John F. Galtieri, is alleged to have been, she said the details of their two marriages appear eerily similar. Galtieri, a retired NYPD sergeant, has been charged with shooting Ms. Kane in a Pleasant Plains parking lot on Jan. 30.
These women's stories may not be uncommon.
Domestic violence is the No. 1 cause of calls to police departments nationwide, according to a U.S. Department of Justice study. The study concluded one incident of domestic violence occurs every 29 seconds.
Even though there are very few studies on domestic violence specific to police officers, one study suggested domestic abuse occurs about four times more frequently in families with police officers than in those without.
Some experts blame the job itself. Police work is filled with stress, irregular working hours, violence and hyper-machismo -- all ingredients for difficult marriages, they say.
Others say department initiatives are insufficient and department policies are ineffective.
The NYPD disagrees. Spokesman Martin Speechley said domestic violence involving police officers is less of a problem than it is among the general population. The so-called Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1996 has served as an effective deterrent, he added.
The amendment makes it a felony for anyone with any domestic violence conviction to own or even handle any firearm or ammunition, effectively taking away an officer's ability to perform his or her duties.
However, the NYPD has not conducted an internal study nor would it disclose any statistics on domestic violence incidents involving police officers to bolster its claim.
Margaret Moore, a former NYPD officer and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms official who is now the director National Center for Women & Policing (NCWP), said domestic violence by police officers "a real problem," even though there are few statistics to prove it. The NCWP conducted one of those rare studies on the issue in 1991, and about 40 percent of police officers surveyed admitted to some form of spousal abuse.
A Princes Bay marriage counselor -- who has worked with police officers and their spouses for over 35 years -- linked the problem of spousal abuse to the "extremely difficult culture" of the police department.
Officers are taught to take charge of situations, tamp down their feelings, and employ a "fix-it mentality" rather than a listening mentality, said the counselor, who did not wish to reveal his name for fear of the compromising the privacy of his clients.
"The job is always at odds with family life. Even ordinary things, like the hours these guys work," he added.
One of the largest obstacles police officers have to overcome is their mistrust of just about everyone, said the Prince's Bay marriage counselor. Most cops are jaded by the department's beauracracy, and often have an "us vs. them" mentality. They don't trust their superiors, they don't trust counselors, and they feel civilians -- including their spouses -- don't understand them.
"The whole thing comes together to make a very difficult marriage," he said.
The ones in happier marriages try very hard not to "bring the job home," and to separate their work social system with their family social system. They make a deliberate effort not to join in the fraternizing after work.
But that also costs them -- often in lost promotions, he added.
And if they ever admit they have domestic abuse problems, officers are offered little help from inside their departments, he said. Many departments, including the NYPD, have a "zero tolerance" policy for officers convicted of domestic violence offenses.
Ms. Moore said this puts both the victim and the perpetrator in a "lose-lose" situation. She suggested better psychiatric screening for officer candidates, and an intervention program that addresses the needs of police officers' spouses.
"Very few people are going to go through with reporting these cases, because what they stand to lose," she said.
Ms. Giordano ran into that very dilemma.
Shortly after she and her husband split, Ms. Giordano's former husband was arrested for harassing her. But she was told by officials in the NYPD that if she pursued the charges, he would lose his job and his pension, and thus Ms. Giordano and her two children would lose the family's primary source of income and health insurance.
Ms. Giordano eventually obtained a permanent order of protection from a judge, but without much help from the police department, she said.
"I really don't think the NYPD cares ... they don't want to get involved," she added.
Ms. Giordani formed the Staten Island Single Parents Meetup group last year, in part, so single women like herself can help each other deal with the difficult adjustment of life after an abusive relatuionship. She was surprised to find there many others, she said.
Diane Wetendorf, who developed S.A.B.L.E. (Spousal Abuse By Law Enforcement)
"Many departments are simply reluctant to change. It's still a very authoritarian, domineering culture that sometimes transfers to domestic violence at home," she said.
Ms. Wetendorf, who has spoken to hundreds of domestic violence victims around the country and wrote a book about the abuse suffered by female police officers, offered another way to address the problem: Hire more female police officers.
In recent years, the NYPD has made a concerted effort to recruit more female officers. Currently, 17.4 percent of the NYPD officers are women, more than double the percentage a decade ago.
"More female officers may help a lot to address the hyper-macho police culture," she said.
Source: Staten Island Advance
PETER N. SPENCER
