[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 59 (Thursday, May 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4630-S4631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

 Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, Derrick Robie's tiny, battered body 
was discovered in the afternoon of August 2, 1993. The small town was 
shocked to find

[[Page S4631]]

that 13-year-old Eric Smith had murdered this 4-year-old child.
  Investigators found an indicator of violent crime in Eric Smith's 
behavioral pattern: 1 year prior to killing Derrick Robie, Eric had 
strangled his neighbor's cat with a hose clamp. At the time, no one 
paid much attention to this so-called prank.
  Mr. President, it is time that we took a serious look at animal abuse 
and it's link to crimes against people. Perpetrators of serious animal 
abuse often lack empathy and respect for life in general. The absence 
of empathy is often manifested by striking, torturing and abusing an 
innocent animal. Abusing animals is a despicable act, and psychologists 
and criminologists tell us those who lack empathy for animals may also 
lack empathy for humans. As a result they may be predisposed to other 
violent behavior.
  Violence begets violence. Child, spousal, and elder abuse are 
unfortunately too commonplace in our society. Often physical abuse is 
coupled with sexual abuse against a family member. Aggression is passed 
from one generation to another. In a hostile home environment, children 
often mimic their parents' abusive behavior. They become abusive to 
others, including the family pet, and learn that violence and cruelty 
are a way of life. Unless intervention occurs, this child is likely to 
continue violent acts to others, perhaps become an abusive spouse, and 
possibly commit other criminal acts.
  The National Research Council and the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
agree that cruelty to animals is one childhood behavior that is a 
powerful indicator of violence elsewhere in the perpetrator's life. 
There is a strong probability that youths who abuse animals are 
themselves victims and perpetrators of violence.
  Dr. Frank Ascione of Utah State University has been conducting 
research on the animal-people abuse phenomenon for more than 15 years. 
He has studied the common roots of violence toward people and animals 
and has found a strong correlation between animal abuse and people 
abuse. He is a leader among many researchers who have been 
scientifically studying this phenomenon since the 1970's. One study of 
38 abuse victims at a crisis shelter found nearly 75 percent of women 
with pets reported their partner had threatened, hurt, or killed the 
animal. Researchers in child abuse cases found that in 88 percent of 
these family situations, the pet was also abused.
  Violence is not an isolated event and animal abuse is often part of a 
larger cycle of violence. For this reason, violence toward animals must 
be taken much more seriously. Cruelty to animals can be a predictor of 
future violence and an indicator of the violence already in the 
perpetrator's life.
  Experts in the family violence field instruct us to treat a single 
act of violence as indicators of past and future violence. Our public 
support systems must be coordinated so when an adult or child abuses an 
animal, the animal control officer will notify other public health 
officials to determine whether there is evidence of child, spousal or 
elder abuse. The perpetrator of animal or people abuse may, himself, be 
a victim of sexual or other abuse. Further, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation has identified animal abuse as one of a cluster of 
juvenile behaviors that could suggest serious violent behavior later in 
life.
  The good news is that experts are finding that compassion and empathy 
can be taught. Various schools across the country have recognized the 
linkage of animal and people violence. They have added specialized 
humane education to their curriculum in order to teach compassion and 
empathy.
  In 1994 the National Research Council released a comprehensive study 
on understand and preventing violence, showing that childhood behavior 
is more important than teenage behavior in predicting future violent 
behavior. The report suggests that early prevention efforts have a 
greater potential for reducing adult crime than criminal sanctions 
applied later in life.
  Cities and towns across the country are beginning to recognize the 
potential for further violence in the link between animal abuses and 
other abuses. Last year the city of San Diego enacted an unprecedented 
interagency agreement, requiring its children's services agencies to 
report to animal control officials suspected instances of animal abuse 
within 24 hours of becoming aware of it. Further, the animal control 
officers must report suspected child abuse to the proper authorities. 
These workers are cross trained to recognize signs of abuse in animals 
and people.
  Other cities and States are strengthening penalties for animal abuse 
as well as requiring mental health care to be administered to the 
perpetrators of animal abuse. There is much to be done, and progress 
begins when those of authority become educated on the significance of 
animal cruelty.
  It is the responsibility of our private and public support systems to 
recognize signs that a child is in trouble and intervene in an 
effective manner. The FBI has identified clusters of traits indicating 
problems: firesetting, cruelty to animals, truancy, et cetera. When 
there is fire setting, there could be sexual abuse. When there is 
truancy, there could be drug problems. When there is fighting, and 
cruelty to people or animals, the perpetrator could be responding to 
abuses he is suffering or has suffered. Most importantly these signals 
should not be treated as isolated events, but rather trigger responses 
from the educators, criminal justice professionals, public health 
officials, and animal control specialists, working in concert.
  I believe that this cycle of violence merits further investigation. 
We must recognize there is continuity between animal abuse and people 
abuse. Further research is needed on the predictable influences of 
violence. Meanwhile, we must take action on the known data. 
Individuals, the public health system, the criminal justice 
professionals, and the educators must coordinate their efforts in 
recognizing, intervening and preventing future violent acts.
  In order to encourage more in-depth analyses of this link between 
people and animal violence, I have asked Attorney General Janet Reno to 
accelerate the Department of Justice's research in this area and to 
take appropriate action based upon what we already know. One particular 
area of interest to me is the education of prosecuting attorneys and 
judges regarding the correlation of animal cruelty to other crimes. 
While experts agree the penalties for such abuse should be stiffened, 
they are also in agreement that a mental health analysis of the entire 
family involved in an abusive case may be necessary.
  I intend to continue my examination of violence prevention and I 
intend to continue investigating where the public support systems may 
be further strengthened in breaking this cycle of violence. The 
professionals in criminal behavior are reporting to us that violence 
has warning signals. It is our responsibility to recognize these 
signals and intervene swiftly and effectively.
  Admittedly this is not an exact science. Every child that abuses an 
animal will not necessarily become a violent offender or become a 
victim of violence himself, but it would be a mistake to dismiss the 
strong correlation between animal and people violence. As a society, we 
must realize that violent behavior rarely exists in a vacuum. We must 
recognize at-risk youths who lack empathy and compassion for animals 
and other human beings. It is our responsibility to do all that we can 
to teach these personality attributes to our youth so that today's 
animal abusers don't continue these despicable actions and become 
tomorrow's dangerous felons, thereby perpetuating the cycle of violence 
that has taken such a devastating toll on our society.

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