What Is Officer Involved Domestic Violence [OIDV]?

What is officer involved domestic violence [OIDV]?

OIDV is domestic violence committed by a person who has a position of power within the government [police officer; firefighter; prosecutor; judge; elected official; city/ county official, etc.] and is able to use that position/authority to avoid the consequences of their criminal acts of domestic violence.

In incidents of OIDV it is the word of the victim against the word of someone who has a position in which a lot of trustworthiness is placed. Therefore the victim is not only questioned for her honesty, but may also be questioned as to her motivations in reporting the incident. Not only may the OIDV victim be viewed as fabricating the incidents of OIDV, but she may also be seen as wanting to destroy her abuser’s career.

The focus quickly turns from what the abuser did to the victim, to what the victim is doing to the abusing officer and his/her department. A case of OIDV is not seen through the same critical eyes as non-officer involved domestic violence, where the abuse victim is the victim, and the abuser is the abuser. Instead, because of the position the abuser has, there is a shift of who the victim is: the officer receives sympathy and is viewed as the victim, because he may lose his job…and the OIDV victim is viewed as the actor, because all of the officer’s and department’s troubles could have been avoided if only the victim had not reported the assault.

Also in cases of OIDV, abusers in position of power are also able to use their positions/power to carry out other acts of domestic violence/ retaliation against their victim, if she/the victim reports the domestic violence…either through the abuser’s position or by the abuser’s connections to others in position of power who can carry out the abuser’s OIDV acts or protect the abuser [harassment; filing of false police reports; refusing to take an OIDV victim’s police report; etc.].

And unlike in non-officer domestic violence, with OIDV, there is a tendency for departments to ignore the victim or cover-up incidents of OIDV, in order to avoid ‘problems’ for the officer and the department. This in turn does not stop the abuse or protect the victim, but instead protects the abusing officer.

When an abusing officer realizes that his department is going to ignore/ cover-up his victim’s reports, it is the same as putting a bow on the victim and handing her directly over to her abuser as a gift, to do with as he pleases. Without any consequences for his actions, the abuser is going to continue abusing and his abuse is going to escalate. Which is why the abuse in an OIDV situation escalates so rapidly…and why it is so deadly.


LINKS:

PROBLEMS OF OIDV AND PROPOSED CHANGES

CURRENT MICHIGAN POLICE DEPARTMENT OIDV POLICIES


DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OIDV CASES AND NON-OFFICER RELATED DV COMPLAINTS

INSIDE AN INTERNAL COMPLAINT FOR OIDV

INTERNAL COMPLAINT OF OIDV & THE BULLARD-PLAWECKI ACT

INTERNAL COMPLAINT OF OIDV & THE DISCLOSURES BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ACT




MIOIDV. Renee' Harrington. Michigan Officer Involved Domestic Violence.