Other LanguagesDomestic Violence Involving Law Enforcement Officers
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Training Materials |
The April 2003 murder of Crystal Brame by her husband, Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, focused attention on the issue of domestic violence involving law enforcement officers and on the law enforcement community's response to such incidents.
Statewide Forum: DV Involving Law Enforcement
In October 2003, the Attorney General's Office sponsored a statewide forum to address officer-involved domestic violence issues. The Office produced a handbook for the symposium entitled Handbook for Developing, Implementing, and Administering Local Programs to address Domestic Violence involving Law Enforcement Personnel.
As the name implies, the handbook outlines important considerations for police departments as they develop polices. It also includes case studies from other communities in Washington and around the country and provides a variety of useful resources.
New Laws
Legislation (SB 6161) signed into law in March 2004, required law enforcement to work in partnership with community-based domestic violence victim advocates to develop officer-involved domestic violence policies by June 2005.
Officer-Involved Domestice Violence Training Pilot
| Officer-Involved Domestic Violence Training Co-Sponsors |
To build upon the groundwork at the symposium, the Attorney General's Office, in partnership with stakeholder organizations, sponsored an Officer-Involved Domestic Violence Training Pilot in June 2004 in Yakima.
More than 70 sheriffs, police chiefs, line officers, prosecutors, 911 administrators, risk managers, and community based domestic violence victim advocates from Kitsap, Yakima, and Walla Walla counties spent two days engaged in exercises regarding mandatory reporting, confidentiality and victim safety, recruitment and screening, and weapons.
In November 2004, an executive summary of the training and the scenario exercises (including key points), the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) model policy, and other materials were mailed to all law enforcement agencies in Washington.