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Delving Into Responses to Domestic Violence
Ganapathy Narayanan, an associate professor from
the National University of Singapore, spent three
months with the Department of Criminal Justice
at the University of Nebraska researching domestic
violence and victims' experiences with police.
His research got off to a quick start, as he began
working immediately with Sargeant Jeff Gade, head
of the Family Crimes Unit at the Lincoln Police
Department (LPD), to gain access to the data on
interpersonal crimes kept by the LPD.
"To speak to an officer who had accumulated
more than 30 years of experience as a police officer
was simply amazing and an eye-opener," said
Narayanan. The two exchanged notes and research
and engaged in a very productive discussion about
this history of policing domestic violence.
The LPD also arranged for Narayanan to participate
in ride-alongs, giving him first-hand knowledge
of the local sensitivities and demands of police
work. He learned more about the community and
law enforcement response to domestic violence
by visiting the Rape and Spousal Abuse Center,
also in Lincoln.
Narayanan took full advantage of the resources
available to aid his research, acquainting himself
with the other aspects, processes and institutions
of the criminal justice system through visits
to the Nebraska State Penitentiary, Juvenile Detention
Centre of Lancaster County, County Jail, Court
Appointed Special Advocates and the Juvenile and
Adult Courts in Lincoln. Representatives from
all the institutions took time to explain their
facilities and programs and, more importantly
for Narayanan's research, the rationale and ideology
behind these processes.
Narayanan made several presentations to the University
of Nebraska community, one of which led to a collaborative
research proposal on the history of developments
in police response to domestic violence from a
cross-cultural perspective. Funded by the Occasional
Lecturer Program, Narayanan was also able to attend
the American Society of Criminology meeting in
Denver, Colorado. "It was simply fantastic
to meet and exchange views with so many criminologists
from all around the world," he enthused.
"It was particularly exciting to talk to
renowned criminologists whose work I read as a
student and now as a junior academic."
A sociologist by trade, Narayanan had a unique
perspective on life in Lincoln. "Spending
three months in Lincoln, a quiet, semi-urban,
university town where personalized relationships
prevail and are emphasized has been most cathartic,
and to an extent therapeutic. Quite a noticeable
difference to someone who has been socialized
into meeting the demands of everyday life engendered
by the fast-paced, highly industrialized and vastly
urban society of Singapore," he explained.
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--J. William Fulbright |
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