The Trauma-Based Interface by Police Officers with Victims Coincident to the Scenes of Domestic Violence: A Qualitative Study of Original Police Domestic Violence Probable Cause Statements

AbstractThis study presents the results of an examination of 135 police probable cause (PC) statements, supporting the arrest of defendants in domestic violence (DV) cases. The statements consist of the narrative documents prepared by police officers following conclusion of their response to DV incidents, their investigations of the incidents, and their factual and legal justifications for their decisions to arrest. Specifically, the examination qualitatively assesses officers’ protocols, practices and training in response to the trauma typically occurring to the DV victims at the time of the DV incidents. The PC statements yielded from the recently closed case files of the Municipal Court, Sparks, Nevada (a city of 100,000 within a metro area of approximately 500,000). The author held the position of judge of the court at the time of the study. The officers of the Sparks Police Department generated the cases during the years 2013-2017. The methodology of the study consisted of a five-step and three-step analysis of officers’ responsivity to victims’ trauma, i.e. the extent of their trauma-informed policing, as revealed in the PC statements. These raw data statements display in narrative form the steps that officer took during DV incidents. The five steps consisted of objectively detecting, to the degree possible, from the statements whether and how officers did or did not recognize, assess and process victims’ trauma, preserve evidence of victims’ trauma, and relate victims’ trauma to the arrest decision. The three steps consisted of objectively detecting, to the degree possible, from the statements whether and how officers did or did not initiate assurance of safety to victims, re-initiate autonomy (agency, life control) for victims, and initiate ongoing support for victims with counselors, community agencies and other extended support sources. Findings showed that police typically omitted (non-incompetently) the five steps and limitedly applied the three steps, with the exception of providing safety to victims. Conclusions and recommendations prominently include fundamental re-prioritizing of police protocols, practices and training equipping officers to perform constituents of trauma-informed policing. Officers’ investigatory methods, presumptions, victim and perpetrator interviews, attitudes and biases, among other constituents, are discussed. The limitations of the study, chiefly perhaps its confines to this police department, are discussed. Suggestions for future research include longitudinal surveys of both officers and victims regarding officers’ trauma-related responses to DV incidents.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctorate Degree

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Spoo, James Lee

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Marsh, Shawn

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Leone, Matthew
• Lanterman, Jennifer
• Payne, Pamela
• Adams, Britni

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholarwolf.unr.edu/handle/11714/11821

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarwolf.unr.edu:11714/11821