NCJ Number
191952
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 28 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2001 Pages: 50-52,54,55
Date Published
October 2001
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes techniques police, social workers, and community officials can use to work with young people who have witnessed or been victims of abuse in the home.
Abstract
In the past when responding to a domestic disturbance call, police often paid little attention to children at the scene, primarily because they did not know how to deal with the children. When children were removed from the scene, they would be interviewed by as many as six people (police, counselor, social worker, etc.) and be forced to describe the incident for each interviewer. Some police agencies have altered their procedures so that children will be interviewed in a non-threatening atmosphere and will be required to repeat the interview a minimum number of times. The Office of the U.S. Attorney General has published a guide to helping children who were witness to or victims of violence. The guide's eight core principals are: (1) Work Together--inter-agency coordination; (2) Begin Earlier--special attention to new parents and very young children; (3) Think Developmentally--how to best serve children of different ages; (4) Make Mothers Safe to Keep Children Safe--recognizing that child maltreatment and violence against women are closely related; (5) Enforce the Law--ensure accountability for offenders; (6) Make Adequate Resources Available--obtain investments from the public and private sectors; (7) Work From a Sound Knowledge Base; and (8) Create a Culture of Nonviolence.