title: Law enforcement officers' attitudes about domestic violence.
abstract: This exploratory study examines attitudes about domestic violence among officers from a large urban police department. Additionally, this study examines whether attitudes vary according to officer characteristics. A total of 309 police officers responded to a survey that explored their attitudes and perceptions of domestic violence incidents. The results show that officers are well versed in handling domestic violence, though self-reports indicate that police personnel who respond to the calls are concerned about their limited amount of discretion. Additionally, when comparing attitudes based on officer characteristics, more similarities are found than differences. Implications for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 525, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA. angela.gover@ucdenver.edu
authors.forename: Angela R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Gover
authors.forename: Dagmar Pudrzynska
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dodge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D016495:Police; D011361:Professional Competence; D057566:Self Report; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D014481:United States