A Worthy Training Program

“Just go in the bathroom, close the door and wait for him to cool off.” Several years ago, that was the type of advice a woman could get when she called police for help in fighting off an abusive spouse. Today, police officers know better because they receive training in handling domestic abuse cases. The state law that requires that training, due to expire next year, should be extended indefinitely.

A bill by Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) already has passed the Legislature and awaits the governor’s signature. The state Department of Finance, opposing the measure, said the mandated training program would cost $5.5 million a year, although last year it cost the state considerably less, $1.8 million. That $1.8 million must be weighed against the facts about the gravity of family violence. A woman is murdered by a husband or a boyfriend every six hours in the United States. Such cases account for one-third of women murdered; in California, the figure is 45%.

The training money spent last year pales in light of such chilling statistics. In an 8-hour course, officers and dispatchers learn the cyclic nature of spousal abuse and the psychological reasons why one person beats another and why another allows it to continue. Says one police officer who has seen how attitudes have changed since training programs began: “It lifts the veil on what used to be hidden and shrugged off.”

The legislation also requires police departments to compile statistics on the number of domestic abuse calls and to develop a protocol for responding to domestic violence calls. Sometimes a department’s response procedure seems to fall short, as it did last month when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department made a judgment that an emergency call from a East Los Angeles woman reporting that her estranged husband had threatened to kill her did not merit any officer response. Shortly after she called 911, Maria Navarro and three others were shot and killed by the estranged husband.

The law may need refining or toughening later, but the important goal now is that it remain law. It has the support of women’s groups, including the California Alliance Against Domestic Violence. And just as crucial, it is endorsed by the law enforcement community--the California Peace Officers Assn., the California State Sheriffs’ Assn. and the California Police Chiefs Assn. The officers in the street who are daily witnesses to the cycle of family violence know that training works.