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**U.S. Department of Justice**        Office of Community Oriented Policing Services            145 N Street, N.E.       Washington, DC 20530      www.cops.usdoj.gov×         Menu         - Home
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**Animal Cruelty: A Serious Crime Leading to Horrific Outcomes**
April 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 3

The stories are heartbreaking—a small Chihuahua tied up  and kicked around like a soccer ball, an emaciated horse with a deep wound to  his hind leg—and as numerous as they are sickening to hear. What’s more, these  cases of animal cruelty and neglect are often precursors or accompaniments to acts  of extreme violence against humans as well. 

 Intentional Animal Torture and Cruelty (IATC) offences frequently  begin in childhood or adolescence. Its psychological roots are usually in antisocial  or psychopathic personality disorders.1 Though  it is often an expression of rage, IATC is also used as a tool to coerce, control,  and intimidate human targets—usually family members, including children and the  elderly. Abusers punish their victims by tormenting their pets, or threaten  beloved animals with cruelty in order to gain victims’ compliance or silence. 
Precursors to Violent Crime and Accompaniments to Domestic Abuse
Reprehensible in themselves, these acts are almost always  precursors to violent crime directed at humans. Researchers have connected children’s  abuse of animals to bullying, aggression, school shootings, and sexual abuse. Through  these activities, children who feel powerless torment their own victims to gain  a sense of control and power for themselves. Moreover, FBI research indicates  that most serial killers, school shooters, and mass murderers tortured animals  as children.

 Another form of abuse, dogfighting, is also tied to  criminal behavior beyond the harm to the animals. In addition to illegal  gambling, dogfights are often accompanied by illegal drugs and weapons,  assaults, and even homicides, often involving gang members. 
Class A Crimes Requiring Response and Prosecution
In every state, animal cruelty is a crime, requiring  response and prosecution; in 2014 the FBI announced that it would upgrade it to  a class A crime. The public is fully supportive of law enforcement response and  prosecution—in fact, dispatchers report that calls from witnesses to animal  cruelty are often very emotional. Invariably, these community members are horrified  and perceive the problem as a crime requiring police response. 

 But most importantly, these crimes are windows into the  home, indicators of domestic abuse and other criminal activities, as well as  windows into the psyche, providing opportunities to prevent future crime by  directing early abusers into appropriate social services.

 The challenge of how to detect IATC, respond to, and  prevent it was addressed at a 2015 forum on Animal Cruelty as a Gateway Crime,  hosted by the National  Sheriff’s Association in partnership with the COPS Office and the National Coalition on Violence  Against Animals. The discussion focused on the often overlooked  correlation between IATC and other serious crimes as well as the need for  comprehensive officer training in all aspects of animal cruelty and methods for  detecting it.  
Recognizing the Signs of Cruelty and Neglect
Meeting participants noted that officers can learn to  recognize the indicators of cruelty or criminal neglect. In addition to  abnormal behavior—such as extreme aggression or shyness—and obvious signs of  trauma, these indicators include lack of food, water, or sanitation. If the  animal is caged or tied up so closely it cannot stand, especially if chains or  locks are embedded in its skin, or it is left in an abandoned property, the animal  is being neglected or abused. The presence of too many dogs on the property could  be a sign of dogfighting. 

 Officers responding to calls for domestic abuse should  keep in mind that if pets are present, they may be mistreated too, and look for  the same indicators as those above. It would be helpful to ask the individuals  in the home, including the children, what happens if their pets misbehave, if  their pet is healthy, and other questions that can reveal abuse or neglect of  family members as well as their pets. Officers can document these indicators  through photography or interviews, and call for a forensic veterinarian to  collect evidence.

 In all cases, detection, response, and prosecution of  these crimes is critical—not only to end the suffering of helpless animals, but  to prevent the commission of additional or future crimes by their tormentors.  IATC is the gateway to acts of extreme, remorseless violence, and must be as  vigorously addressed as any other crime.

 Faye Elkins              Sr. Technical Writer

**For more  information**:Animal CrueltyAnimal  Cruelty as a Gateway CrimeDogfighting:  Community Action Guide

References:              1.Mark Griffiths, “The Psychology of Animal Torture,” In Excess [blog], Nov 23,  2016,*Psychology Today,*https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201611/the-psychology-animal-torture. 

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The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

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