|
|
|
| NEWS > 15 May 2011 |
Other related articles:
Clovis police detective charge
A Clovis Police Department detective was arrested Wednesday on charges of embezzlement. He’s accused of using a department computer for personal use.
Keith Farkas, 38, of Clovis was arrested by state police and charged with one felony count of embezzlement and one count of tampering with evidence. The arrest occurred after seven months of investigation by Clovis police and state police.
Farkas, who was released on a $10,000 appearance bond, has been with the Clovis Police Department for more than 17 years. He has been on paid administrative leave since May while the dep... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
Times-Georgian
15 May 2011
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
Ethics in Policing
|
Police: When domestic violence involves their own
Many have seen the headlines.
“Police officer fired after investigators confirm allegations of domestic violence.”
“MCSO deputy turned reality star arrested for domestic violence.”
“Temple police officer faces several charges including sexual battery.”
The latest headline stems from the most recent incident of officer-involved domestic violence in Carroll County. Officer Lee Powell was terminated May 2 by a unanimous vote of the Temple City Council. Domestic violence incidents may not be as prevalent here as they are across the country, but three studies by the National Center for Women and Policing indicate it is two to four times more common among police families.
Despite evidence that domestic violence involving officers remains a problem, few police departments in the country have policies and programs to address it, according to the NCWP. A 1994 nationwide survey shows that almost half of the police departments surveyed had no specific policy for dealing with officer-involved domestic violence. According to the center’s Family Violence Fact Sheet, departments “typically handle cases of police family violence informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even check of the victim’s safety.”
“The reality is that even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution, raising concern that those who are tasked with enforcing the law cannot effectively police themselves,” the fact sheet says.
But law enforcement officials in Carroll County say they take domestic violence complaints against officers very seriously and immediately conduct internal investigations to determine the next course of action.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and Carrollton Police Department are among the state-certified agencies that are required to have a policy specifically addressing how the department is to handle officer-involved domestic violence incidents.
“We have three internal affairs investigators and we turn the case over to them,” Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs said. “Then they start the procedures of an internal investigation and we go from there. We interview officers, we review tapes, we review 911 calls. We open a full blown investigation into the complaint. ... If we did find something that the officer did possibly was wrong, then we start the disciplinary action for that depending on what kind of complaint it was. In Georgia, if an officer is convicted of domestic violence, they can’t carry a firearm so you can’t be a police officer.”
Dobbs doesn’t recall any officer-involved domestic violence complaints in the last 10 years. If an officer responds to a call involving a Carrollton Police Department employee, the officer is instructed to immediately notify the on-duty supervisor who will then notify the police chief, according to the policy.
The chief will then notify one of the three captains to initiate an investigation. If the case is serious enough, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or other outside agency may be called in.
The Sheriff’s Office policy, which went into effect May 1, 2010, outlines the procedures for handling an officer-involved domestic incident inside and outside its jurisdiction. For example, if a deputy or employee is arrested outside the department’s jurisdiction, they “shall contact his or her chain of command and advise them of the incident within 12 hours.”
For incidents that occur inside the department’s jurisdiction, the responding deputy “shall summon the watch commander, who shall in turn notify his or her chain of command.”
Chief Deputy Brad Robinson reiterated the fact that the law prohibiting officers convicted of domestic violence from carrying a firearm limits the options departments can make in determining whether an officer should remain at the department.
“The law is pretty specific on if you’re convicted of a family violence incident, whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony, you cannot possess a firearm so it makes it almost impossible for us to keep someone in a certified position as an employee if they are convicted,” Robinson said.
In the 25 years he has been at the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Robinson can think of only a couple of incidents of officer-involved domestic violence.
“Most of those, if they are serious domestic violence, the officer’s terminated,” he said. “You look at an officer being held to a higher standard, but there’s going to be sometimes an officer and his spouse or her spouse is going to disagree with each other. There might be sometimes, there may be some other things involved that excites that argument so I’m not going to say that there’s never going to be a time that 911 is not called on one of our officers. We certainly dread the time, but we know it’s going to happen because they’re human beings.”
He pointed out that what actions are taken depends on the seriousness of what’s being alleged in the complaint. For example, the department considers whether the incident was more of a verbal altercation or if injuries were involved.
“But if it leads to the arrest, it even heightens the bar much higher,” Robinson said. “Sheriff [Terry] Langley treats his employees being involved in domestic violence incidents very seriously.”
Police departments in Villa Rica and Temple are in the process of becoming state-certified. While the agencies don’t currently have a policy specifically addressing how to handle officer-involved domestic incidents, officials believe their current code of conduct already addresses such behavior.
“We do an internal affairs investigation on pretty much any serious complaint,” Villa Rica police Capt. Keith Shaddix said.
Shaddix remembers one Villa Rica officer-involved domestic violence incident about four years ago that was handled by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office which conducted a criminal investigation and decided not to file any charges.
“We also conducted or own investigation into it and based on the findings, the officer was allowed to resign in lieu of termination,” Shaddix said. “Even though the officer resigned we notified post of the resignation and the conditions of resignation. We take these things very, very seriously. We have policies in place to handle complaints against officers.”
One of the questions the department asks potential officers on a polygraph is whether they have been involved in a domestic violence incident.
“We look at that as part of pre-screening of the applicant,” Shaddix said.
The Temple Police Department is in the process of rewriting its policy to be in compliance with the state accreditation requirements, according to Chief Tim Shaw. In addition to a code of ethics, Shaw launched what he calls an Office of Professional Standards when he first became chief. The office is comprised of two officers who act as the investigative arm of the department when it comes to investigating complaints about officers from the community.
“We investigate every complaint that comes in by the citizens,” Shaw said.
It is this tough stance on officer misconduct that led to the decision to terminate Powell, who had worked for the city since October. He was charged April 20 with felony false imprisonment, as well as misdemeanor charges of sexual battery, battery under the Family Violence Act and third-degree cruelty to children resulting from an investigation of claims made by Powell’s ex-girlfriend related to an April 3 incident that allegedly took place at the woman’s Carrollton home.
Shaw made the recommendation to the City Council that Powell’s employment be terminated based on the findings of an internal affairs investigation.
While officer-involved domestic violence incidents continue to make headlines, Carroll County Emergency Shelter Director Martha Boyce believes Carroll County law enforcement are doing an outstanding job in protecting victims.
In Boyce’s 23 years at the shelter she can recall about three times when a victim at the shelter had been abused by an officer.
“The few times we had women whose abuser worked in law enforcement, whatever agency was involved worked diligently with us to see whatever needed to be done was done,” Boyce said.
She commended the heads of each department in the area for what they have done and continue to do to help victims and hold the abuser accountable.
“They do a tremendous job,” Boyce said. “It always pleases a woman and any victim to know that they when they go to court, when they do have a problem, regardless of who their abuser is that the judge and law enforcement will not let that hinder justice being done for her.”
|
| |
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
