Police officers' experiences responding to Latina intimate partner violence victims

This paper explores experiences of police officers responding to Latina intimate partner violence (IPV) victims in a predominantly Latino community. Individual interviews with both male and female officers provides special insights into their occupational world. This study focuses on police officers' experiences responding to IPV calls involving Latinas, the perceived role of the Latino culture in IPV and the perceived need for training to better respond to Latina IPV victims. Officers were asked questions pertaining to their perceptions regarding the prevalence of IPV, their personal experiences responding to calls, and causes and faults of IPV. They were also probed about their belief on the role of culture in IPV and their views of the appropriateness of current and future IPV training programs preparing them to respond to Latinas. The findings suggested that many of the officers avoided addressing the issue of culture when specifically asked about experiences involving Latina IPV calls. Findings also revealed that although officers routinely handle Latina IPV calls, they still need more training on IPV in general and more specifically on Latina IPV victims. On the whole, the information obtained in the interviews demonstrates that cultural and social factors related to IPV are acknowledged in part, but insufficiently. Future studies must continue to examine the interaction of police officers with Latina IPV victims. Key Words: Culture; Intimate Partner Violence; Latinas; Police Officers; Police Training