Page 45 - February 2016

Are you up to speed on the ‘Domestic?’
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
So a little education about responding to domestic violence calls with help from Dr. Lynn Tovar, who teaches undergraduate and mas- ter’s classes on the topic at Lewis, as well as the domestic child abuse section at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy.
Dr. Tovar, by the way, has been writing about and teaching about domestic violence even prior to becoming a full-time faculty member at Lewis 10 years ago. That came after service 25 years for the Elk Grove Village Police Department, from which she retired as a commander.
Domestic violence calls continue to be among the most frequent and recurring for law enforcement officers. One in four women are vic- tims of domestic violence in the U.S., and, according to studies, 33 per- cent of all police calls are for domestic violence. That number is even higher in urban areas.
“When police officers keep on going back to these homes, going back to the same family over and over, they get very frustrated and might think these victims are not getting the services from the police they should be getting,” notes Dr. Tovar, who also is a certified domestic violence advocate. “They need to understand the cycles of abuse, and the further away from the academy, the more you seem to forget the cycles victims go through. Officers need to have a true understanding of why these women stay.”
Responding to domestic violence calls can often be counter- intuitive to law enforcement’s inclination to want to guide and protect victims by telling them they need to get out of the situation. The recur- rence often results from the phenomenon of power and control an abuser has over his partner.
The key point to understand is that the victims don’t necessarily want to leave their partners. They want the abuse to stop.
“Law enforcement officers have to go in to mediate the situation,” Dr. Tovar explains. “As a method of prevention, offer services that might be available. Let the victims know about orders of protection, or, depending on the agency, there might be counselors available. If the victim is ready to leave, then tell her you will be happy to drive her to a shelter.”
But an officer should never respond to a domestic alone. There are two parties involved. They are volatile to begin with. Volatility can easily turn into a dangerous situation.
Follow the policies and tactics that recommend each officer address an individual in a separate location. Be cognizant of the surroundings. Don’t sit an agitated partner on a couch, for example, without
“And never bring a party into the kitchen. Too many weapons in there. And always
be aware the call could escalate at any moment.”
~Dr. Lynn Tovar
checking first to see if there is anything in the couch that can be used as a weapon. After talking with one party, officers should switch and corroborate the other side of the story before determining if there is probable cause for arrest if there are no signs of abuse that by law of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act require arresting the offender.
“Don’t wind up with one officer in one room and the other in anoth- er where you can’t keep visual contact,” Dr. Tovar warns. “And never bring a party into the kitchen. Too many weapons in there. And always be aware the call could escalate at any moment.”
Like all other crimes, domestic violence has taken on new compli- cations due to the advent of technology. Threatening communication can come in any form from anywhere at any time. Prior to the use of cell phones, school or work was considered a safe haven for victims where they couldn’t be threatened. But now the threats can come via calls, text messaging and email.
“Officers have to be thinking that it’s not just a verbal threat, which is how most domestics start,” Dr. Tovar reasons. “By the time you respond, the perpetual contact could be ready to escalate. There could be evidence on the phone, so officers have to question whether the victim is willing to share it.”
Domestic violence calls also seem to spawn continuous learning events. When Tovar was on with Elk Grove Village, she responded to a domestic involving two women who were partners. She was able to remove one of the women and take her to her parents house. But the woman started fighting with her parents, and when she pushed one of them, Tovar had to make the arrest.
“I tried to handcuff her, and she started fighting me,” she recalls. “We rolled into a Christmas tree, and I’m thinking the parents are going to jump on my back. They want the situation resolved but when an officer starts to make an arrest, they think, ‘maybe this is not what I really wanted.’ And that’s when an officer can get really hurt.”
EDUCATION CONNECTION/LEWIS UNIVERSITY
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(traditional or Roth) for your spouse even if he or she has little or no taxable compensation of his or her own for the year of the contribu- tion. This is usually described as making a contribution to a spousal IRA, which is not a special type of IRA. It’s merely a way of describing the fact that you’re making a contribution to your spouse’s traditional or Roth IRA.
Rollovers and transfers
You can transfer funds from one traditional IRA to another tradi- tional IRA, or from one Roth IRA to another Roth IRA. You can also roll over funds from an employer’s qualified retirement plan (for example, a 457(b) plan) or a 401(k) to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA.
Choosing the right type IRA
How do you decide which type of IRA is right for you? Further, assuming that you qualify for both, do you contribute to a traditional IRA with deductible contributions or to a Roth IRA? There is no easy answer. You have to analyze your situation and determine which type of IRA offers the best fit for you. Learn more by consulting the Financial Planning and Education Center at Chicago Patrolmen’s Federal CreditdUnion at 312-499-8888, or emailing info@mafcompanies.com
Eric Cacioppo’s 15 years in financial services include retirement plan- ning, financial protection, investment planning, educational plan- ning and estate planning. He also works with small business owners for executive compensation, buy-sell agreements and deferred com- pensation. Reach him at 312-499-8888 or eric@mafcompanies.com.
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