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“THE LINK BETWEEN ANIMAL VIOLENCE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIVIDUALS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1098-E1101 on June 10, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE LINK BETWEEN ANIMAL VIOLENCE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIVIDUALS
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HON. TOM LANTOS
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 10, 1998
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my colleagues to the important connection between violence against animals and violence against humans. Recently, we held an important Congressional briefing to explore the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. This briefing was jointly cosponsored by the Congressional Friends of Animals, which our colleague, Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and I chair; the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, chaired by Congresswomen Eleanor Holmes Norton and Nancy Johnson; and the Congressional Children's Caucus chaired by Congresswomen Sheila Jackson-Lee and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and with the support of Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, Congressman Jon Fox, and Senator Robert Torricelli.
Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that individuals who brutalize animals are very often guilty of committing similar crimes against people. Not all of us are aware of the well defined link between cruelty to animals and both domestic violence and violent crimes like murder, assault and serial crimes.
Violence towards animals precedes and co-exists with domestic violence including: spouse abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, as well as murder and assault. Unfortunately, pets often serve as surrogate targets of a troubled offender's wrath. A 1997 survey found that 85.4 percent of women in shelters talked about violence towards pets as part of the cruelty at home. Mr. Speaker, Animal Abuse is recognized as a symptom of mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, which considers animal abuse one of the diagnostic criteria of a conduct disorder.
Animal abuse can also be an important indicator of future violent behavior. When a child is caught hurting an animal, this problem should be addressed immediately because this problem is not self-correcting. Abusing animals is often a precursor to more violent offenses, and a child that is abusing animals must be taught the value of all life. The FBI has used this connection between animal abuse and violent behavior for two decades in profiling serial killers and violent criminals.
Mr. Speaker, we must focus attention on this important connection. If we can help increase reverence for the life of animals, we will foster a greater respect for human life. Strengthening laws against animal abuse and publicizing this issue will serve to protect humans in the long run. Animal abuse is a warning sign, and we must learn to look for it and recognize it.
This past week, Mr. Speaker, I introduced H. Con. Res. 286 which expresses the view that the link between violence against animals and violence against humans should be given greater emphasis and that it should be used to identify and treat individuals who are guilty of violence against animals. This resolution notes that animal abuse is a crime in its own right in all 50 states, but such abuse should also be identified and treated because of the link with violence against humans. The resolution also urges research to increase understanding of the connection between cruelty to animals and violence against humans.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of my colleagues to statements that were given at the recent briefing on this issue. I want to mention the remarks of Barbara Sweeney, a social worker from Alexandria, Virginia. She testified that individuals who batter often abuse animals to threaten, control, and intimidate their partner. Ms. Sweeney also discussed how the Alexandria Domestic Violence program addresses the link of violence through such programs as counseling and humane education for children who witness this form of abuse and are deeply affected. The Alexandria Domestic Violence Program has taken this link seriously and should be considered a model program.
A number of distinguished and well-informed experts provided outstanding testimony at this important briefing. They were Kim Roberts, M.S.W., First Strike Campaign Manager for the Humane Society of the United States; Special Agent Alan C. Brantley of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Julie Bank of the ASPCA (the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and founder of the ASPCA'S Family VISION (Violence Information Sharing, Intervention, and Observation Network); and Suzanne Barnard, M.S., Assistant Director of the Children's Division of the American Humane Association.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that their statements be placed in the Record, and I ask that my colleagues give careful and thoughtful attention to their remarks.
Congressional Informational Briefing--Animal Abuse and Domestic
Violence
(By Kim Roberts)
The HSUS' campaign about the connection between animal cruelty and human violence is called ``First Strike'' because the first strike is often against the family pet. The family pet may be the most vulnerable victim in a violent household. Violence against a family pet is often used to control, manipulate or terrorize family members. Animal abuse can also be a warning sign that the violence is escalating. Taking animal cruelty seriously offers an opportunity to intervene in violent households and with violent individuals, and strong anti-cruelty laws can provide the means. Through enforcement of laws and intervention with perpetrators we may prevent future violence against animals and people. In a violent household, all family members are victims. Enforcement of strong anti-cruelty laws can also provide an opportunity to provide assistance to other victims in the family.
Strong state anti-cruelty laws are a major focus of The HSUS. Some of the key components of a strong anti-cruelty law include a wide range of options such as felony provisions, psychological evaluation and counseling, a wide range of available fines and prison sentences, restitution, reimbursement of costs, seizure of animals and community service. Cross-reporting and cross-training of humane investigators and those charged with investigating child abuse and domestic violence are also valuable tools in the identification of current and possible future victims of violence, both human and animal.
In addition to supporting strong anti-cruelty laws elected officials and other leaders can also help address this issue by encouraging data collection and research at the local, state and federal level; support emergency housing programs for pets of individuals seeking to leave a violent situation and the development of community coalitions; stronger penalties for perpetrators who abuse animals in front of a child; and mandatory reporting of animal cruelty.
The next steps to prevent violence include formal recognition by the federal government of the connection between animal cruelty and various forms of human violence; assistance in making others aware of the connection through inclusion of this connection in discussions of violence-related issues; cooperation between various government agencies and organizations interested in anti-violence efforts; inclusion of animal cruelty in state and federal level crime data collection; and the incorporation of animal abuse into the Justice Department's comprehensive plans for research and program development in violence-related areas such as domestic violence, child abuse, youth violence, etc.
The main message I would like to leave you with is that strong anti-cruelty laws don't just protect animals, they protect people too.
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Congressional Briefing
(Remarks of Alan C. Brantley)
I come to you today from your National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, which is part of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group located at Quantico, Virginia. The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime or NCAVC, was formed in the mid-1980's as the direct result of the then burgeoning phenomena of stranger-to-stranger homicides or so called murders with no apparent motive. At that time, we in the NCAVC were tasked with the identification and tracking of serial killers and other violent offenders who committed unusual or particularly vicious offenses.
It is our belief that since all crimes are committed by human beings then at some stage along the crime commission continuum there will be the display of behavior that lends itself to analysis and interpretation. From this interpretation, information of lead value can be gleaned from the results and provided to investigators, prosecutors, judges, and juries who may not encounter these types of behaviors in their professional or personal life experiences.
Since the mid-1980's to the present, the NCAVC has expanded its examination of criminals and offenses to include not just the serial offenders but all types of violent crime. One of the services provided by the NCAVC is in the area of threat analysis and the assessment of dangerousness. To aid in the prediction of dangerousness in law enforcement settings, we have developed a checklist or guide which enumerates sixteen categories. These categories and the elements within each, serve as risk indicators or warning signs that when critically reviewed and recognized can assist during assessments of subjects suspected or known to be dangerous.
Provided to you today is a copy of the checklist which is entitled the ``Traits and Characteristics of Violent Offenders.'' You will note categories number twelve and sixteen which are two of the most important warning signs. Both of these categories concern an individuals history of actual violence to include violence against people and animals. It has long been accepted among professionals who must assess dangerous populations that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and a past history of violence is the single most important predictor of future violence.
Some in our society make too much out of qualitatively distinguishing between violence against humans and violence against animals. Ladies and gentlemen, violence against animals is violence and when it is present, it is considered by the people I work with to be synonymous with a history of violence. In many cases reviewed at the NCAVC we have seen examples whereby violence against animals is a prelude to violence against humans. We in the NCAVC find ourselves in the unenviable position of literally seeing the absolute worst that human beings can do to other human beings and animals. Some offenders kill animals as a rehearsal for targeting human victims and may kill or torture animals because to them, the animals symbolically represent people.
In many cases, depending on the context and quality of the behavior, animal violence does not occur in a vacuum and co-exists with other major adjustment problems. It is not only highly predictive in identifying children at risk for committing future acts of violence but also in identifying children being abused and cases of spousal abuse. The most profound predictor of future violence against humans, in my opinion, is when the animal abuser kills the animal in a very public way and flaunts the act in order to seek attention and gain a perverted sense of status. They begin to identify with the role of becoming a violent criminal and in many cases achieve their goal.
To close I will leave you with some insight into how convoluted the thinking of such individuals can become. For them what is good is bad, what is bad is good, and what is cruel, violent and inhumane is even better.
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Traits and Characteristics of Violent Offenders
The prediction of dangerousness in law enforcement settings has long been a topic of interest, especially for those who must make arrests, conduct threat assessments, are hostage negotiators, and who preside over parole decisions. A number of factors have been identified by researchers as risk indicators for future violence to include past violence, substance abuse, mental disorders, brain damage, and a history of witnessing violence in the home. While the above risk indicators are well known to many, there has been no systematic method of combining all that is known about risk indicators into an off-the-shelf, user friendly model that can be applied to individual cases.
The following checklist was developed by Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Alan C. Brantley of the Critical Incident Response Group's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. It is intended to serve as a guide when conducting assessments of subjects suspected or known to be dangerous. The items included on the checklist were selected primarily on the basis of both law enforcement and mental health experience with violent offenders. Questions about this checklist may be directed to SSA Brantley at (540) 720-4902.
1. ANGER/LOW FRUSTRATION TOLERANCE--Reacts to stress in self-defeating ways, unable to effectively cope with anxiety, acts out when frustrated. Frustration leads to aggression.
2. IMPULSIVE--Is quick to act, wants immediate gratification, has little or no consideration for the consequences, lacks insight, has poor judgment, has limited or impaired cognitive filtering (A-C vs. A-B-C).
3. EMOTIONAL LABILITY/DEPRESSION--Quick-tempered, short-fused, hot-headed, ``flick,'' rapid mood swings, moody, sullen, irritable, humorless.
4. CHILDHOOD ABUSE--Sexual and physical abuse, maternal or paternal deprivation, rejection, abandonment, exposure to violent role models in the home.
5. LONER--Is isolated and withdrawn, has poor interpersonal relations, has no empathy for others, lacks feelings of guilt and remorse.
6. OVERLY SENSITIVE--Hypersensitive to criticism and real or perceived slights, suspicious, fearful, distrustful, paranoid.
7. ALTERED CONSCIOUSNESS--Sees red, ``blanking,''
``blackouts, derealization/depersonalization (``it's like I wasn't there; it was me but not me''), impaired reality testing, hallucinations.
8. THREATS OF VIOLENCE--Towards self and/or others, direct, veiled, implied, conditional.
9. BLAMES OTHERS--Projects blame onto others, fatalistic, external locus of control, avoids personal responsibility for behavior, views self as ``victim'' vs. ``victimizer,'' self-centered, sense of entitlement.
10. CHEMICAL ABUSE--Especially alcohol, opiates, amphetamines, crack, and hallucinogenics (PCP, LSD), an angry drunk, dramatic personality/mood changes when under the influence.
11. MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS REQUIRING IN-PATIENT HOSPITALIZATION--Especially with arrest history for any offenses prior to hospitalization.
12. **HISTORY OF VIOLENCE**--Towards self and others, actual physical force used to injure, harm, or damage. **This category is the most significant in assessing individuals for future dangerousness.**
13. ODD/BIZARRE BELIEFS--Superstitious, magical thinking, religiosity, sexuality, violent fantasies (especially when violence is eroticized), political, social, delusions.
14. PHYSICAL PROBLEMS--Congenital defects, severe acne, scars, stuttering, any of which may contribute to poor self-image, lack of self-esteem, and isolation. History of head trauma, brain damage/neurological problems.
15. PREOCCUPATION WITH VIOLENT THEMES--Movies, books, TV, newspaper articles, magazines (detective), music, weapons collections, guns, knives, implements of torture, S&M, Nazi paraphernalia.
16. PATHOLOGICAL TRIAD/SCHOOL PROBLEMS--Firesetting, enuresis, cruelty to animals, fighting, truancy, temper tantrums, inability to get along with others, rejection of authority.
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Cruelty to Animals Through My Eyes
(By Julie Bank)
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I'm honored to be here but I'm saddened by the need to describe the world of animal cruelty to you. You see, I have been crusading against cruelty for over a decade and although I have seen positive results of mine and other advocates' efforts, there still seems to be much to do. Working at the ASPCA has given me a first hand look into the eyes of the victims of abuse and not only the four legged victims. I remember working as an adoption counselor, eager and energetic to find animals a home. One afternoon, a man walked in, he was a tall man, he was dragging a dog that was so thin I could almost count his ribs. The dog had almost no hair and was bleeding from the ears. It had looked like the ears had been chopped off with scissors. You could see the terror and the panic in the dog's eyes as he tried to pull away from the man. Trailing behind the man was a young boy, about eight, carrying a box. The box was filled with puppies. Two of them were already dead. I could swear the boy had the same look in his eyes as the dog. He too was thin, pale, and dirty. The man dumped the dog on the counter, turned to the boy and said, ``I am going to teach that bitch a lesson once and for all.'' When the boy bent down to say goodbye to his once beloved friend, the father smacked the boy in the face, grabbed him by the arm and said, ``Just you wait till we get home.'' The man and the boy left and the dog was humanely euthanized by ASPCA technicians. One of the puppies survived, and is now living in a happy home.
I think it was that day that I began to recognize the cycle of violence. I couldn't help but wonder what other abuse was occurring in this home since the man was willing to show us a brutal display in the shelter. Was there anything I could do as an individual or as an animal worker to stop the abuse from happening again?
Eight years later, and a lot of hard work, we have begun to make headway. I am proud to say that the ASPCA is part of a network in NYC which is recognizing that animal abuse is an important piece of the abuse puzzle. The network consists of a whole range of city social service and protection agencies including:
The NYPD, Administration for Childrens Services, Department of the Aging, Human Resource Agency, Mental health, education, animal welfare, and other public and private agencies.
NYC Family VISION, as it's called looks at violence as a societal issue and is working on programs to address it. All members of Family VISION bring to the table different perspectives and experiences. Many of us define abuse differently but, no matter what our background is or who the population is we are serving, whether adult, child, or animal, abuse is abuse and must be stopped.
NYC Family VISION has five goals: Cross training animal, law enforcement, and social service workers to recognize animal and human abuse. For example, In January of this year, ASPCA staff trained 800 Domestic Violence police officers on animal abuse.
Cross reporting so that we can gather statistics and make sure that the proper agency is informed when an abuse case occurs. Recently, ASPCA humane law enforcement officers went into a home to investigate an animal abuse complaint and found three children under five home alone. They immediately called the Family VISION NYPD and ACS representative and the mother who was found in the local bar was brought up on child abuse charges.
Intervention which is a new program where adjudicated offenders of animal abuse are sent to the ASPCA by the courts for a twelve-week psycoeducational program.
Education. As an educator, I recognize the importance of establishing school and family programs that will continue to foster the human animal bond that exists in millions of households. NYC Family VISION is helping educators support their students, and to continue to promote programs that stimulate responsible, empathetic behaviors toward all life.
Foster care. Helping victims of domestic violence by temporarily placing their animal so they can leave an abusive situation quickly.
Programs like Family VISION are not limited to NYC. Humane Organizations around the country already understand the impact violence has on humans and animals.
In Colorado Springs, the DIVERT program receives federal funding to collaboratively review Domestic Violence cases.
The Toledo Humane Society has developed a comprehensive training program for law enforcement personnel to recognize all forms of abuse.
At Purdue University, an animal foster care program was developed to address the needs of human victims of domestic violence.
The Quad Alliance Against Abuse in Alabama run by the Civitan Club, has a logo that reads, ``There's No Excuse for Abuse, Child, Elderly, Spousal, and Animal.''
And, in Oregon, the Domestic Violence Assistance program's motto reads, ``Protecting Women Children and their Pets.''
The emergence of programs like the ones mentioned above show a clear recognition by all individuals working on preventing abuse, that abuse does not stand in isolation. Working together to understand family dynamics, the role of each individual (and animal) in the household, and to develop programs to address the needs of the family, can only help to put an end to the awful violence that exists today. As part of the legislative process you have the opportunity to support programs like NYC Family VISION in your community.
In the past, child abuse used to be considered a family affair where people shouldn't meddle. Today we are all concerned with child abuse. We are becoming more sophisticated to seeing the connection among all abuses.
It is no longer acceptable to look the other way when someone is hitting an animal on the street.
It is no longer acceptable to say ``Boys will be boys'' when there is a news report about a peer group setting fire to a cat singeing its whiskers off.
It's no longer acceptable for the court to let someone off with a slap on the wrist for tying up an animal to a car and dragging it throughout the streets for the whole neighborhood to see.
Its time that we take animal abuse seriously, look at it for inherent wrongs, and look at it as an indicator of other problems in society. As leaders, you have a responsibility to stand up for all your constituents and their families. If any of you currently have or had a pet in the past, you can remember how important an animal is in the entire picture of a family. I applaud your efforts in the past on behalf of animals, and plead with you to continue to support stronger laws, and programs that can help to solve Americas abuse problem.
Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today.
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American Humane Association
(Presented By Suzanne Barnard)
As the jury deliberated the death penalty for convicted pedophile and child murderer Jesse K. Timmendequas, whose crimes were the incentive for Megan's Law, lawyers argued that Timmendequas allegedly endured years of childhood physical and sexual abuse during which family pets were tortured in front of him to ensure his silence. In Janesville, Wisconsin, police arrested a man after finding numerous cats and dogs, in his home, that had been beaten to death. In his statements to police, the man indicated that he had been beaten as a child and killing the animals helped to release his anger. And finally, a teenager accused of murdering his mother and two classmates in Pearl, Mississippi wrote of his torturing and killing of the family pet. He described how he and an accomplice beat his dog, then set it on fire and threw it in a pond . . . ``it was true beauty'', he wrote.
Good morning, my name is Suzanne Barnard and I am with the Children's Division of the American Humane Association. I am a social worker with over 20 years of experience in the field of child protection.
My organization has a long history of concern for and involvement in the protection of both children and animals. In 1877 The American Humane Association was founded by those concerned with both animal and child abuse. Using rudimentary animal protection laws to remove an abused child from horrifying conditions, a church worker and an attorney made history with one of the first recorded cases of legal child protection in this country. Today, the fate of children and animals is more linked than ever, and both child welfare organizations and animal protection groups are beginning to refocus their attention on recognizing and responding jointly to abuse, neglect, and cruelty toward both children and animals.
This refocused attention brings forward several issues for consideration, First, and at the heart of any discussion concerning the links between human and animal abuse must be the understanding that we are not talking about child welfare vs. animal welfare, but rather about creating a more comprehensive response to both children and animals. Second, we must focus attention on teaching children compassion toward animals as a regular part of any school curriculum. Although the issue of the relationship between childhood cruelty to animals and later violence to adults is far from settled, enough information currently exists that illustrates the association between repetitive acts of severe cruelty in childhood and severe antisocial behavior in adulthood. Groundbreaking studies by Alan Felthous, Stephen R. Kellert, Fernando Tapia, Frank Ascoine and others indicate that those who have been cruel toward people share a common dual history of cruelty to animals. There is also a need to research and develop treatment techniques for those children who do show early antisocial behavior toward animals. Third, we must ensure that training for different professions such as social work, psychology, law, law enforcement, veterinary medicine, medicine, animal control and others includes information about the research linking different forms of violence and abuse including child abuse, animal abuse, and domestic violence. Lastly, the significance of these links must be fully explained and understood across professions and specific programmatic linkages and treatment protocols must be created that in practice produce a linked response.
Those of us who work in child protection know that animal abuse, by a parent or a child is one indicator that abuse may be occurring in the family. Animals, especially pets, get caught in the family ``cycle of violence.'' The sexual abuse of children has also been associated with cruelty to animals. Sometimes, adult perpetrators of abuse will threaten to harm or destroy the family pet if the child victim tells of the abuse.
Other times, animal abuse may indicate that a child is deeply disturbed as is indicated in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which includes cruelty to animals as a behavioral characteristic of the diagnosis of conduct disorder.
My colleague, Dr. Frank Ascione, a Developmental Psychologist at Utah State University, indicated in a chapter we co-wrote that in some cases animal maltreatment may come from the natural curiosity and exploration common in very young children. In those cases, parents or guardians may use existing education programs to help instill values concerning the humane treatment of animals in the children. Peer pressure in the form of group initiation or proof of loyalty or to shock adults may also account for some cases of cruelty to animals where the child, if alone would not have harmed an animal. Children may also mistreat animals if that is what they have learned as a model for animal treatment within the family. If the family practice is the beat or torture animals to discipline them, the child may assume that this is part of regular animal care.
AHA's campaign against violence toward children and animals has taken us to many states where we have organized collaborative programs in communities, at the grass roots level, and trained both animal control officers and social workers about how to recognize and report abuse. We have also designed a curriculum on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect for animal control officers nationally and for third year veterinary medical students in Colorado, where veterinarians are now mandated to report suspected child abuse. We provided support for the passage of legislation, in San Diego, California, that modified an existing municipal code which required animal control officers to report suspected child abuse to additionally require child protection social workers to report abuse of animals.
On June 4, 1997 Colorado Governor Roy Romer signed HB 1181 into law. This historic piece of legislation has both severe financial penalties for animal cruelty and a mandatory requirement for mental health treatment/anger management as part of the penalty phase for convicted adult and juvenile perpetrators of animal cruelty.
AHA is also working jointly with Dr. Ascione to develop a book titled Children and Animals, Kindness and Cruelty which would be directed at a lay audience, especially parents, counselors, teachers, clergy, children care and other child serving professionals and which will explore the relational issues between cruelty to animals and child development--particularly as they pertain to the development of childhood interpersonal skills such as compassion, empathy, and nonviolent problem solving. This is a topic on which very little has been researched or written.
We urge you to join in our efforts to awaken and inform the public about the need to take both animal abuse and child abuse seriously. By keeping issues like animal cruelty and human violence separate in nature, in implication, and in remedy, we risk taking a dramatic step backward in our efforts to protect both children and animals.
Some excerpts taken from Protecting Children, a publication of the American Humane Association.
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