When a child is the caller, these scenarios can escalate faster and become even more dangerous and complicated. An awareness of the issues surrounding these calls is necessary to increase victim and responder safety. Domestic violence is a brutal and often fatal act. If a child is witnessing the act, it is likely that the batterer can see the child as well. According to experts, the key words are power and control .
Psychological disorders coupled with jealousy can result in uncontrollable outbursts of violence.
To compensate for this, the dispatcher may have to give unique law enforcement pre-arrival instructions to a child caller. If possible, they should ask the child to go next door and call back, especially if the batterer has a gun, knife or other life-threatening weapon in his possession. It is also important to determine if there are any other children in the house. An often-overlooked but critical factor is what type of phone the child is using. Responder safety is a major issue in domestic violence incidents.