It was easy to lambast the police but officers did their best to deal with different crimes simultaneously in a toxic environment, psychologist Joan Camilleri said.
“A police officer has to not only confirm that there has been domestic violence but also determine what type of abuse while dealing with a mix of cases, including theft, violence and murder,” she said.
Dr Camilleri is coordinating training with officers on how to identify cases of domestic abuse and provide better service. Training has so far been held for 30 police orderlies, sergeants and inspectors from different localities and sessions are planned to be held with another 90 officers.
The officers attending the training were made aware of the victims’ difficulties and how to empower them as this could lead to a good rapport with the police and improve legal proceedings.
Training was also provided on how to identify risk factors that could help in holding a perpetrator accountable and also assess the safety of the victims.
Mount Carmel Hospital CEO Clifton Grima said the training formed part of a programme aimed at taking mental health services beyond the gates of the hospital and tackle the emerging needs. He noted that police stations were the first place victims of domestic violence usually went to. “We wanted to make sure that the first person they come in touch with recognises these problems and knows how to react.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had cases in which domestic violence was not always detected immediately and the problem keeps growing.”
The officers’ biggest challenge is to tackle different reports at once, such as drug trafficking, a lost wallet, a missing cat and domestic violence.
The officer dealing with such cases had to file a report about each one and, at the same time, give each report the same attention. “You would have a domestic violence victim in front of you but then you have to stop your conversation with this person, who is in pain, to answer the phone and tell the callers to hold the line.
“While, as psychologists and lawyers, we can sit down with the victim and have all the privacy we want, officers don’t,” Dr Camilleri noted.
“During the workshops we also raised awareness on instances when, without intending to, police officers end up seeming to be the perpetrator,” she added.
This happened, for example, when a perpetrator turned up at a police station to file a report against the victim and the officer had to call up a victim to confirm the report. The victim could easily think the officer was taking the perpetrator’s side and, yet, the perpetrator was using the police – through such reports – as a means to control the victim.
Officers also had to deal with false reports. Dr Camilleri said she knew of cases when the wife hurt herself to file a report against the husband or set up photomontages to accuse the husband of sexually abusing the children.
Such domestic abuse on men was discussed during the workshops and officers were informed of several stereotypes that kept men from reporting abuse.