Inconsistency of Law Enforcement in Minnesota: How the System Fails Victims of Domestic Violence

Presenter Information

Katrina Culhane, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Brandon Kuphal, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Alesha Sullivan, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 253/4/5

Start Date

4-4-2011 9:00 AM

End Date

4-4-2011 10:30 AM

Student's Major

Social Work, Sociology and Corrections, English

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Dawn Davis

Mentor's Department

Gender and Women's Studies

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

According to the 2010 Femicide Report put out annually by the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW), 28 people were murdered in 2010 in Minnesota as a direct result of domestic violence. Of those, 15 women were killed by a ―current or former intimate partner.‖ A third of these women had a known history of domestic abuse with their killer, prior law enforcement involvement, and/or an Order for Protection (OFP) in place at the time of the homicide. Of the 15 femicide cases, we compared those that had prior law enforcement involvement and those that did not. Our research shows that in cases where law enforcement was involved, opportunities for critical intervention were missed, and law enforcement allowed these victims to fall through the cracks into lethal violence. Women need better protection against threats and attempts to leave their abusers. Ten of the aforementioned femicides were separated from the perpetrator or attempting to leave when they were murdered. Our research shows and illuminates the need for better implementation of the existing domestic violence laws in Minnesota so that no one has to lose a family member, a loved one, or a friend to domestic violence ever again.