JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Officers and patrolmen of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and Hampton Roads law enforcement community attended a Domestic Violence Intervention Training course, June 12 through June 16, 2017.
The course was hosted by the 3rd and 221st Military Police Detachment from JBLE, along with instructors from the U.S. Army Military Police School Behavioral Science Education Training and Mobile Training Team.
Geared to teach alternative techniques in communicating with victims, family members and accusers of domestic violence, the 40-hour course was provided for civilian and military law enforcement officers from Camp Peary, Newport News and JBLE.
According to Larry Maxwell, DVIT instructor, the course helps first responders understand the dynamics of victims and abusers.
“You can’t help solve the problem unless you understand the problem,” explains Maxwell. “Students learn how to approach the victim on a softer level, yet still get more detailed information from the victim about the abuse.”
During the week-long training, the officers received lectures, scenarios, writing assignments and had to give presentations on different subjects, which included multi-disciplinary interventions, skills in assessing and calming situations, response techniques and interview techniques.
On the last day of the course, the class met with Savannah Allison, a local domestic violence survivor, for an open discussion about her experience as a victim, and now, as a survivor.
Two years after the conviction of her former abusive boyfriend, Allison was strong enough to discuss her psychological scars to a room full of officers.
For Allison, having a male police officer explain to her that the abuse was wrong made it more impactful to her.
“If this statement would have come from a female, I would have ignored it,” said Allison. “All I saw was the uniform--not the emotional connection.”
According to U.S. Army Capt. Kyle Zdrojewski, 221st and 3rd MPD commander, training jointly helps law enforcement departments use similar processes, in hopes that the additional tools will allow them to better handle domestic-violence situations.
“The DVIT training provides a better understanding of the psychological, sociological and physiological break downs of what domestic violence can cause within the subject and victims, and how that can translate in learned behaviors in children,” said Zdrojewski,. “This course allowed the students to receive more information that will allow them to better handle a domestic violence situation.”
At the end of the week, the officers and patrolmen graduated the course, knowing how to effectively navigate through a domestic violence call. The officers hope to take what they learned back to their departments enabling them to effectively handle domestic violence within their community.