Now, police can make an arrest if they see indications that an assault occurred within the prior six hours. That takes the blame off them. That change of attitude is quite clear, says Sandra Matheson, director of victim-witness assistance with the N.H. Attorney General's office, also sees a change in attitude. That belief isn't shared by everyone, police will attest. When a police officer takes this approach to domestic violence, the consequences can be deadly.
Police officers are often a victim's first and last line of defense.
A flippant approach by police only reinforces a domestic-violence victim's sense of helplessness, and lends tacit approval to the abuser, Sargent said. You've got to send a clear message that it won't be tolerated from the start. That message begins when new recruits are trained at New Hampshire's police academy. We fought hard to get those eight hours. And, an additional 40 hours of that training relates indirectly to domestic violence, such as victim-witness relations, says Maj.