By Karen Oehme, J.D.
Director, Institute for Family Violence Studies

In addition to maintaining a strong focus on child welfare issues with its Clearinghouse on Supervised Visitation, the Institute for Family Violence Studies has embarked on other ambitious projects over the past few years consistent with the College’s mission of conducting “research that matters.” One such project is The Law Enforcement Families Partnership (LEFP). The LEFP aims to prevent domestic violence in the homes of Florida’s law enforcement and correctional officers. It is the only project of its kind in the U.S., and it has made great strides since its inception in 2008.

With collaboration from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Police Chiefs Association, the Florida Sheriffs’ Association, the Department of Corrections, the Florida Highway Patrol, and domestic and sexual violence advocacy groups, the LEFP has many components, including an online, interactive curriculum for Florida’s 75,000 certified criminal justice officers.

In early 2009, the first two modules of that curriculum — “The Dynamics of Officer-Involved Domestic Violence” and “The Consequences of Officer-Involved Domestic Violence” — were unveiled at a press conference co-sponsored by FSU, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Florida Department of Corrections.

In 2010, four other modules were added to the online curriculum, providing tools for agency administrators, information about primary and secondary victimization, and support for healthy relationships. Florida State University awarded the project an SSPEG (Social Science Program enhancement Grant), commonly known as a Cornerstone Grant, to help build the project.

Since it went live, over 35,000 officers have taken at least one module of the training, and users have indicated nearly a 90% satisfaction rate in the curriculum. This impressive usage earned the project two Prudential Davis Productivity Award for the Institute in 2010 for saving taxpayer dollars. In addition, users have been completing voluntary, anonymous pre- and post-surveys designed to collect information about officers’ attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about domestic violence.

In 2010 the LEFP team began publishing scholarly articles on the project and began seeking ways to expand it nationally. We anticipate an unprecedented collection of data to result from the research generated by the project; these data should prove invaluable in contributing to the scholarly knowledge base and in refining the LEFP to make it even more effective in the future.

Multimedia tie-in materials, such as roll-call room posters, affirmation cards hand sanitizer spray bottles, lanyards and pens, supplement the LEFP message that “Preventing Violence Begins at Home,” and “There is no Code of Silence and No Excuse for Domestic Violence.” Thousands of anti-violence posters were mailed to every law enforcement and correctional agency in the state during the summer, and the Department of Corrections alone circulated over 20,000 laminated cards that recite an officer’s duty to “be a good example by keeping my own family free of domestic violence; get help when I need it; and report suspicion of anyone committing domestic violence, including fellow officers.”

These materials represent an unprecedented effort to highlight the problem of officer-committed domestic violence in an attempt to save lives, careers, and public confidence in criminal justice agencies. The Verizon Foundation recognized the value of the project and provided funds to help build the multimedia component of the project.

In addition to the online prevention curriculum, the LEFP formed a statewide committee to create Florida’s Model Policy on Officer-Involved Domestic Violence. Completed in mid-2010, the policy assists individual agencies with proactively managing the risk of domestic violence by developing careful hiring and screening practices, emphasizing prevention training, developing positive relationships with community agencies that serve victims, and prioritizing victim safety. The Florida Police Benevolent Association spearheaded the efforts to circulate the Model Policy across Florida, and it has been well received statewide.

A team of outstanding former and current graduate students have worked countless hours on the LEFP project. They include Theresa Androff, Stirling Barfield, Matthew Byrge, Laura Cassels Summerlin, Ericka Garcia, Katie Gerber, Annelise Martin, Alison McLeod, Brianna Schiavoni, Zachary Summerlin, Haley VanErem, Kendra Anderson, Catherine Araszkiewicz, Hannah Nelson, Hanna Johnson, Johnathan Phillips, Anthony McDonald, Rachyl Smith, Taylor Sisson, Emily Martin, Lisa Langenderfer, Elizabeth Hausfield, and Jennifer Holmes.