Danger To Police During Domestic Encounters: Assaults On Baltimore County Police, 1984-86

Abstract

How dangerous are domestic encounters to police officers? This question, posed by police, policymakers, and researchers, has been answered through anecdotes and assumptions, and more recently by empirical data. But the findings have been mixed. Police training manuals have focused on the danger of family disputes, citing high figures reported by the FBI of law enforcement officers killed. Researchers on family violence (Straus, et al., 1980), violent police-citizen encounters (Lester, 1980), and police response to spouse assaults (Parnas, 1967, and Buchanan and Perry 1986) agree that the domestic disturbance is the most dangerous police activity. Other researchers dispute this contention. Margarita (1980), Konstantin (1984), and Garner and Clemmer (1986) have found that robberies and burglaries are more dangerous than domestic disputes.

Confronting the Complexities of Domestic Violence: A Social Prescription for Rethinking Police Training

“…Here again, most of the incidents began immediately upon the arrival of the officers or shortly thereafter, resembling the ambush situation previously discussed, not the investigative stages of the police response. Some critics, however, have argued that while police fatalities may be relatively rare, assaults may be a significant source of injury for police officers in domestic violence cases (Uchida, Brooks, & Kopers, 1987).…”

Determining the correlates of police victimization: An analysis of organizational level factors on injurious assaults

“…K. Meyer, Magedanz, Dahlin, & Chapman, 1981;C. K. Meyer, Magedanz, Kieselhorst, & Chapman, 1979;Stobart, 1972;Uchida, Brooks, & Kopers, 1987;L. A. Wilson, Brunk, & Meyer, 1990;.…”

“…Subsequent research set out to find the most dangerous calls for service that the police respond to (Ellis et al, 1993;Garner & Clemmer, 1986;Hirschel, Dean, & Lumb, 1994;Stanford & Mowry, 1990;Uchida et al, 1987). Stanford and Mowry (1990), for example, examined 791,837 calls for service received by Tampa police in 1989 and observed that domestic calls were less likely than general disturbance calls to result in assaults to officers, but more likely to result in injuries.…”

“…Stanford and Mowry (1990), for example, examined 791,837 calls for service received by Tampa police in 1989 and observed that domestic calls were less likely than general disturbance calls to result in assaults to officers, but more likely to result in injuries. Using similar analytical strategy, Uchida et al (1987) developed a very comprehensive list of distinct calls for service in Baltimore County from 1984 to 1986. They pointed out that "legal interventions" 2 were the most dangerous incidents, followed by alcohol problems, domestic calls, and general disturbances (Uchida et al, 1987).…”

“…Using similar analytical strategy, Uchida et al (1987) developed a very comprehensive list of distinct calls for service in Baltimore County from 1984 to 1986. They pointed out that "legal interventions" 2 were the most dangerous incidents, followed by alcohol problems, domestic calls, and general disturbances (Uchida et al, 1987).…”