Domestic Violence Among Police Officers
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 states legislation regarding minimizing domestic violence among police officers. This research is also crucial, as it will give a clear assessment of young peoples 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), is a 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 should be the cornerstone for modeling acceptable behavior during police training. The policies adopted should be aligned to the 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
