Celeste Dean

Criminal Investigations

Fall Semester 2017

Abuse- History of abuse and how it is

investigated
Originally Domestic Violence was considered to be a mans duty

(Criminal Investigations, by Orthmann & Hess) not as a criminal act. When

the colonists settled down in the new world, men were known as the head of

the house or the authority figure in the family and they were to keep their wife

and children in line or under the fathers control.

In the year 1868, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that,

Although a husband had the right to whip his wife, if the switch was thicker

than the thumb, it was considered abuse (Criminal Investigations, by

Orthmann & Hess). This court case was State v. Rhodes. This ruling became

the overall ruling for most of the states across the nation. At this time in

history, domestic violence was considered a family matter that was dealt with

privately. During the 1970s and the 80s Police made arrests in only 7 to 15

percent of the intimate partner violence cases to which they were called

(Criminal Investigations, by Orthmann & Hess). By the 2000s roughly 50

percent of domestic violence cases resulted with an arrest.

Domestic violence is often thought of as occurring in a three-phase

cycle. The fist stage of the cycle is the build up of tension stage, second is the
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small amount of battering episode, and the last stage of the cycle is called

the honeymoon.

Tension build up between two people may seem like an obvious start to

the domestic abuse cycle, however most of the time it goes unnoticed by the

people involved and those who are around them. Tension build up can be

brushed off as just couple fighting. When stage two occurs most couples

think that they can still get past it and be happy, they think that the other

person can and will change it was a one-time thing. This stage is often what

people call the denial stage.

The last stage, the honeymoon stage, is the worst one. This is the stage

where the frequency and severity (Criminal Investigations, by Orthmann &

Hess) of the abuse starts to increase whether it be every night or once a week.

It is the stage that people start to actually pay attention to.

Domestic violence is not always about the male being the abuser. In our

day and age, there are many different types of families and couples; two

women, two men, man and woman, etc the woman isnt always the innocent

victim in the abusive situation, although that is what we tend to see in society.

Women are not typically as strong as men in the physical aspect, but

they are very manipulative and can be emotionally and mentally abusive

towards their partners. It is more common for women to be abusive in the

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mental and emotional aspects but there are times when women use physical

abuse to harm their partner. It is less common for women to be the abusive

ones which is why society focuses on the males being the abusers; however

women abusers do very much exist.

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, more than 1 in 3

women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the United States have

experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in

their lifetime. Domestic violence isnt always with married couples, often

times it occurs in non- married relationships.

Abuse is not strictly between couples. Children are more common than

not, victims of abuse. Child abuse can occur in many forms; Neglect,

maltreatment, sexual, etc. According to the American Society for the Positive

Care of Children or SPCC the United States has one of the worst records

among industrialized nations- losing on average almost 5 children everyday to

child abuse and neglect. The SPCC also states that 75.3% of children victims

are neglected, 17.2% of children victims are physically abused, 8.4 are the

victims of sexual abuse, and victims of psychological maltreatment ranks at

6.9%.

80% of child fatalities involve at least one parent (SPCC). Neglect is

the most common form of child maltreatment and may be fatal. (Criminal
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Investigations, by Orthmann & Hess), there are programs that attempt to

prevent and stop children from child abuse such as the CPS (Child protective

services). According to the office for victims of crime (crime clock, 2009),

one child is reported abused or neglected every 34.9 seconds. (Criminal

Investigations, by Orthmann & Hess).

Abuse towards humans is a widely known subject, however abuse

against animals is just as bad and pushed aside more often. Animals are

commonly thought of as family, but sometimes people treat them as

replaceable objects. The animals whose abuse is most often reported are

dogs, cats, horses, and livestock (Humane Society). According to the

Humane Society the breakdown of the abused animals is; 70.1% of dogs.

20.9% of cats and 24.1% of other animals are involved in animal abuse cases.

People tend to think that animal abuse has nothing to do with human

abuse cases, so why even mention it? The answer is simply because animal

abuse is closely related to human cases. Many animal abuse cases end with the

result of someone in the family being abuses as well. 76% of animal abusers

also abuse a member of their family (Spotabuse.org).

Even though animal abuse case are not investigated the same way as

human abuse cases, animal abuse connects with the violence towards people,
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and gives a wider range of violence that most people tend to brush off or

cannot comprehend.

treat domestic violence calls as a high priority or a life-

threatening situation (domestic shelters). Investigators need to be aware

that there is a danger when responding to a domestic call. They also are

responsible for interviewing witnesses, interviewing the two people

involved (if both are still alive), collecting evidence that pertains to the

case, and making an arrest if mandatory.

Investigating animal abuse is a little different, as you are working

with creatures that cannot communicate what is happening to them. You

have to first respond in a polite manner to the call, as you dont want to

accuse anyone without proof.

You also need a warrant or consent in order to search the persons

home for any indicators that an animal is being harmed, where as if a

domestic or child abuse situation is occurring and you know the human is

in danger, you are able to just go into the home. The Fourth Amendment to

the United States Constitution ensures that all citizens are protected from

unreasonable search and seizure. When animals are being abused and

neglected, you must either (1) obtain consent (in writing) from the property

owner (which may not necessarily be the owner of the animals) to enter the
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property for purposes of investigating, or (2) work with your prosecutor to

obtain a search warrant approved by a judge. It should always been the goal of

any law enforcement agency to acquire evidence of animal abuse via a duly

authorized search warrant. (Investigating and Prosecuting animal abuse-

Guide by Phillips & Lockwood).

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Citations
http://aldf.org/resources/laws-cases/investigating-and-prosecuting-

animal-abuse/

https://www.domesticshelters.org/domestic-violence-articles-

information/how-police-are-trained-to-respond-to-domestic-

violence#.WjBtWGdy4dU

file:///C:/Users/user/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary

%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/1ZMAI6I4/NDAA%20Animal%20Abuse

%20monograph%20150dpi%20complete.pdf

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/facts/animal_cruel

ty_facts_statistics.html

https://americanspcc.org/child-abuse-statistics/

http://www.thehotline.org/resources/statistics/

http://www.spotabuse.org/

Criminal Investigations 10th edition by Christine Hess Orthmann & Kren

Matison Hess