HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Public Eye - Fourth Edition •
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L. AWL
amin,, Th p E e
%I A publication of the College Station Police Department's Community Policing Unit
November 1994 Letter from the Chief of Police
Fourth Edition As we understand that the idea of the police being merely law enforcement agents has had its
day, and that the reshaping of American Policing is simply going back in time and having the
officer become acquainted with the people of the community, it is very imperative that the citizens
of the community know that law enforcement cannot solve the problems of crime on its own. It takes
the citizens of the community and law enforcement working together to help rid the community of
violent crime.
Because of this, many cities across the nation are forming citizen - police partnerships to help
break down barriers of communication, and are beginning to work together to release the strangle-
hold that drugs and crime has placed on these communities. While at first a partnership may
address only a selected group of issues that are of concern to a limited number of residents, the
success of a police- community partnership will eventually require an expansion of both its goals
and participants.
With your help, our community will become a place where citizens are no longer afraid to go out
of their homes at night, but it will also become a safer place for our children to grow and thrive in.
We need your help. Without you, the College Station Police Department and the Community
Policing Unit will not be able to make our community what it should be. If you are interested in
working with us, please give us a call at 764 -3611, or you may reach Community Policing Officer
Craig Anderson at 764 -3611. Remember, TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Chief Edgar Feldman
Family Violence Hurts Everyone
In the last newsletter (May 1994), information was given on Youth Gangs. What they were, how to
identify membership, indicators of gang involvement, and possible factors that lead to adolescent gang
involvement. Listed as possible factors that lead to adolescent gang involvement included:
• low self esteem
• low grades
• poor communication skills
• dysfunctional families
• poor school attendance
• use of drugs
• desperately seeking an identity
• lack of parental involvement with school activities
These factors not only identify adolescents who may become involved in gang activity, but they may
also identify adolescents who are victims of Family Violence. Family violence has been a leading
indicator of distinguishing a dysfunctional family for many years. Because of family violence, homes
become broken and children become abused. Many children therefore seek a sense of belonging, an
identity, love and acceptance outside the home. This then leads many of them to join a gang in order to
find what they may not have at home. What must be understood is that family violence not only hurts
•
- - - the mothcr or father involved, but the child niJV expel icut.es many negative feeling's and einUtiOnS. The
following are some myths and facts about family violence:
Myth: Family violence is not a crime. It occurs in the home and is strictly a private matter that doesn't
affect anyone else.
Fact: Any physical attack against a person is a crime, no matter where it happens or who does it.
Violence within a family threatens the entire community. Children of abusive parents often are
physically or sexually abused. In many cases, these children perpetuate the cycle of violence
by later abusing their own children.
Myth: Family violence is not widespread.
Fact: The 1984 Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence estimates that family violence
occurs in this country in staggering proportions. Nearly a third of female homicide victims are
killed by their husbands or boyfriends. Almost 20 percent of all murders are family related. In
addition to the one million reported cases of child maltreatment, there may be yet another
million unreported cases.
continued on page 2
Myth: Family violence happens mostly among low fine and possibly an order for counseling rather than a prison
income groups and minorities. sentence. The victim s' : 'u1d let her wishes be knov
Fact: Although violence in families is drastically that she doesn't ant her abuser jailed, but
under - reported, it is known to wants the abuse stopped and her abuser given
affect all ages, races, and eco- help.
nomic levels. ( Why bother to have someone arrested? It
lets the abuser know that violence will not be
Myth: Wives and children seldom tolerated. It gives you as a victim some
get hurt, and when it gets control over the situation and allows the
that bad, they can simply t court to mandate treatment for the abuser.
leave.
Fact: The victim needs medical I What Else To Do?
attention in 20% of all self- • The abuser's power is based on
reported assaults by a spouse. secrecy. Abuse must be brought into the
Economic dependence, fear, open and talked about. Many women's
complex family emotional health centers and mental health agen-
ties, and lack of safe places to w � - cies sponsor support groups for abused
go make leaving almost im- women and children. Call ancc ve your -
possible for many abused self the chance to talk to oti victims.
women. You'll fi a n
•
Med nd out you centers , usua ot alo operated
Myth: No one can help. The police, by the courts or law enforcement, have
the courts, and social workers been successful in helping couples resolve
either don't want to get involved, or can't do any- their conflicts, particularly when the abuser has relied
thing effective about a family's problems. more on threat and intimidation, and the incidents of
Fact: Women's health centers, mental- health agencies, physical abuse are infrequent.
volunteer groups, and law enforcement in more and • No single tactic may work by itself. In many cases, a
more areas are trying to help victims of family combination of legal intervention and counseling is the
violence by providing safe shelters, counseling, best way to protect victims, help the batterer, and mini -
emergency assistance, legal aid, and mediation pro- mize damage to family relationships.
grams. • Don't let yourself believe it won't happen again. Tell
someone and help to protect your future.
The Cycle of Violence
Most people, when beaten or intimidated by someone in If It Happens To Someone You Know?
their own family, feel helpless, afraid, embarrassed, and • Share this information
guiity. These emotions, plus the belief that what happened • Urge the victim to call the police, a community health
was not really a crime, often keep victims from taking any center's crisis hotline, or a battered women's shelter.
action. Everyone hopes it won't happen again. Unfortu- • Look at your community's resources for victims of
nately, abusers usually follow a predictable cycle — tension family violence. Are they adequate and do people know
builds and erupts into an attack; remorse and a period of about them? Volunteer to help.
reconciliation follow, until tension again builds and is re- • If no local resources are available, contact the National
leased by violence. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1500 Massachu-
setts Ave., N.W., Suite 35, Washington, D.C. 20005.
How Can You Protect Yourself Against Abuse? (202) 347 -7017.
• Leave home if you feel you are in real physical danger. • Encourage family and friends to channel anger construc-
If you think relatives may not want to help, seek a shelter tively. Talk, walk around the block, hit a pillow, or seek
for battered women. Police, sheriffs, hospitals, churches, help.
and community mental health centers can give you
information. fr)
• Save evidence of the assault. Keep torn or bloodied
clothing, go to the hospital for treatment and get copies �! tC7�JLl�l2 fil
of your treatment records. See if witnesses will testify. meelii/q (vat
• Report the assault to the police or sheriff as soon as viiideAtts eveily dheA, <741&claiy
possible. They will investigate to see if they can make an
arrest. They also can tell you about iucai assistance, citi .tnr��ui VevuPi�
counseling and shelters, and take you to the hospital. If QiiilavLl C13wePJU?a
you decide to leave home temporarily, they can stay
while you pace clothing and other personal items. J// mile iem
• Don't leave the children alone with the batterer. They /A
may be in danger of abuse. Also, leaving them could co, would fm oi2e
constitute abandonment in the eyes of the court and hurt
Call your chances of getting custody in the future. �>✓u� G 764-3611.
How to Use the Legal System
Many battered women do not report abuse because they
don't want to break up the family and they worry about loss Cub Scout Troup
of income if their spouse were jailed. In reality, abusers who l' Ages 6
are arrested will be taken to the police station, booked, and `r '1
probably released the next day or as soon as an appearance is Contact Officer Craig Anderson
made before a magistrate. When offenders in family violence at 764 -3611 for more information
cases plead guilty to the charges, judges usually impose a