JWI’s National Alliance to End Domestic Abuse is hosting a webinar, March 10th at 12pm: When the Batterer is Law Enforcement. Jan Russell from the Cook County Sherrif’s Office (Chicago) will be the featured speaker.
From the site:
When the abuser is a law enforcement officer, domestic violence victims face unique obstacles and barriers. Batterer accountability is often challenging, but even more so when the abuser is an officer. Jan Russell, our presenter, was instrumental in the development of Chicago’s model response to officer-involved domestic violence and worked with victims abused by Chicago officers for 16 years. She will discuss the obstacles and barriers victims’ face, policy considerations to hold abusers accountable that put victim safety first and appropriate ways of advocating for victims abused by officers.
Leading the discussion:
Jan Russell, JD, is the Violence Against Women Policy Project Director for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. It is her responsibility to evaluate the policies and procedures of the Sheriff’s Office regarding domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking and to work collaboratively with other office personnel and community organizations to improve the Office’s response to these issues. She has been involved in domestic violence work for 28 years. In 1994, Jan created within the Chicago Police Department the first in-house program to provide direct services to victims of domestic violence who were abused by members of the department and continued to serve as an advocate for that program for 16 years.
Agenda:
- Unique challenges of officer-involved cases
- The Chicago model
- Policy considerations for law enforcement agencies
- Advocating for victims abused by officers
- Firearms laws and issues