Reintroduce S2439: FBI database Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act | Change.org

Reintroduce S2439: FBI database Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act Change.org


Reintroduce S2439: FBI database Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act

To: Your U.S. House Representative, Your U.S. Senators and The President of the United States

Started by: L. Swa_

PLEASE REINTRODUCE OR HELP SPONSOR Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act of 2007 (S 2439)

Sponsored by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), this bill would have required the FBI to add animal cruelty as a separate category in its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Doing so would have helped law enforcement agencies track animal cruelty crimes, and would have allowed researchers to study animal cruelty’s connection to other forms of societal violence.

The FBI considers animal cruelty to be one of the predictors of violence and considers past animal abuse when profiling serial killers.
http://www.change.org/actions/view/reintroduce_s2439_fbi_database_tracking_animal_cruelty_crimes_act

The United States of America is an extremely violent nation; it has been long proved violent crimes against people oftentimes had its "training ground" with the abuse, torture, and killing of helpless animals-all part of the "power trip" or "God complex" these violent criminals have deciding if the living creature lives or dies and enjoyment of the sounds, and sights, of agony and torture. And death.

VIOLENT AMERICA: Some statistics:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-166094302.html

Gunshot wounds: "Each year, approximately 30,000 to 50,000 Americans are killed secondary to gunshot wounds. This upper range nearly equals the number of fatalities (59,021) sustained during the 12 years (1961 to 1973) of the Vietnam war. (1) In 2003, the last year for which these statistics are available, 30,136 persons were fatally wounded by firearms, representing 18.4% of all injury-related fatalities."

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

Just last year, 16,272 Americans were murdered in USA-in one year. 1,382,012 individuals suffered violent crime; 89,000 individuals were victims of forceful rape. Last year, 304,059,724 populated the United States and 11,149,927 were the victims of some forceful traumatizing and/or lethal crime.

SERIAL KILLERS LOOSE IN AMERICA: http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/serialkillers.htm

"Authorities estimate that there are between 35-50 serial killers on the loose in the United States-and new reports of suspected killers are constantly surfacing all over the globe." According to an FBI Behavioral Unit study 85% of the world's serial killers are in America.

People who abuse and torture animals are clearly psychopaths. I've seen homeless people beaten up, kicked, bloodied-you know those thugs kicked cats for fun and find such activities "fun." So it does not bother them to kick homeless, ill people. Animal cruelty, especially cat/kitten abuse, is especially linked with rape and sexual assault because cats have this "female" connection whereas dogs are more "masculine". Even note the terminology of "pussy cat"; it's all about power and domination and enjoyment of HURTING, even killing, a helpless creature. "Pussy" cat and the derogatory word used for female genitalia is not an accidental label. THUGS who torture and kill cats-next it could be minor girls, or women; cats and kittens will be the FIRST victims before graduating to human (including child) victims.

When people take delight torturing animals demonstrates deviant behavior and high at risk for violent crime, domestic violence, even murder and serial killing; such individuals often abuse children. It must be clear when one abuses an animal-they will go to jail. People get away with what society allows them to get away with. Further, adults will teach their children to abuse animals and they will grow up thinking this is "normal" thus perpetuating violence and crime in America.

EXAMPLES:  http://www.animaltherapy.net/animalabuse.html

When a cat left footprints on Randy Roth's newly waxed car, he caught the cat and bound it to the driveshaft of its owner's car with duct tape. When the car was started, the cat was quickly dismembered, its screams muffled by the sounds of the engine. Roth later murdered his wife by drowning her near Bellevue, WA.

Richard Davis reportedly set fire to cats and used dogs for target practice as a child. He was convicted of murdering 12-year-old Polly Klaas after kidnapping her from her Petaluma, CA home.

Jeffrey Dahmer had an early fascination with dismembering animals. He tortured and cannibalized 11 people.

David Berkowitz shot his neighbor's dog. He confessed to six murders as the Son of Sam.

Albert DeSalvo put dogs and cats in crates and then shot them with arrows. We know him better as the Boston Strangler.

Luke Woodham... "Kip" Kinkel... Eric Smith.... Russell Weston Jr... Andrew Golden and Mitchell Johnson ...the list goes on and on. When asked how many serial killers had a history of abusing animals, FBI Special Agent Alan Bradley answered, "The real question should be, how many have not?"

The body of evidence linking animal abuse to human violence is convincing and growing. In study after study, a high incidence of animal abuse is found in the childhood histories of violent criminals, and embedded within the constellations of child abuse and domestic violence. Battered pets are a serious component of family violence and a sentinel indicator of other social problems and acts of interpersonal violence.

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/domestic-violence-and-animal-cruelty.html

The Connection Between Domestic Violence and Animal Cruelty


How is Animal Abuse Related to Domestic Violence?

In recent years, a strong connection has been documented linking animal abuse and domestic violence. A New Jersey study found that in 88 percent of families where there had been physical abuse of children, there were also records of animal abuse. In Wisconsin, battered women revealed that in four out of five cases, abusive partners had also been violent toward pets or livestock. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence conducted its own study in which 85.4 percent of women and 63.0 percent of children reported incidents of pet abuse after arriving at domestic violence shelters. The Chicago Police Department's Domestic Violence Program took a look at the criminal histories of animal fighting/animal abuse arrestees for 2000-2001 and found that approximately 30 percent had domestic violence charges on their records. There is legitimate evidence that the individuals involved in violent acts against animals present a danger to the public that must be addressed. Intentional animal abuse is often seen in association with other serious crimes including drug offenses, gang activity, weapons violations, sexual assault and domestic violence—and can be one of the most visible parts of an entire history of aggressive or antisocial behavior.

Why do Abusers Batter Animals?
* To demonstrate power and control over the family
* To isolate the victim and children
* To enforce submission
* To perpetuate an environment of fear
* To prevent the victim from leaving or coerce her to return
* To punish for leaving or showing independence

Published October 29, 2007:

LINK BETWEEN ANIMAL ABUSE AND SERIAL KILLERS
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/425882/the_link_between_animal_abuse_and_serial.html?cat=17

"Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz and Jeffrey Dahmer have more in common than just being serial killers. These three murderers are also connected by the fact that each of them tortured and/or killed animals during their childhoods. "Researchers as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies nationwide have linked animal cruelty to domestic violence, child abuse, serial killings and to the recent rash of killings by school age children", says Dr. Randall Lockwood (vice president of training and initiatives for the Humane Society of the United States.

Some children are cruel to and torture animals to impress their peers, but future serial killers usually torture animals purely for their own enjoyment. Animal abuse is a recognized sign of a mental disorder. If a child hurts animals it should be a red flag and immediate action should be taken. While there are many factors that contribute to someone becoming a serial killer, the one constant they share is animal abuse.

http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/reprint/30/2/257.pdf

The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 30:257–65, 2002

"A history of animal cruelty during childhood was significantly associated with APD [Antisocial Personality Disorder], antisocial personality traits, and polysubstance abuse. Mental retardation, psychotic disorders, and alcohol abuse showed no such association."

http://www.act-az.org/education.html

CHRONOLOGY OF IMPORTANT RESEARCH ON ANIMAL CRUELTY AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE

1966- Hellman & Blackman. Established that cruelty to animals is part of a triad of behaviors useful for predicting criminal behavior.
1971- Tapia.
1977- Rigdon & Tapia. Provided the first clear description and systematic study of children who commit animal cruelty. It established the typical animal abuser as being a male of average intelligence with an early history of antisocial behavior, with a childhood history that is likely to include gross neglect, brutality, rejection and hostility.
1980- Felthous. Studied two groups of male psychiatric patients, one with an assaultive history, and one with a history of animal cruelty. The second group was significantly more likely to have had an alcoholic father, set destructive fires, had enuresis past age five, been separated from the father, and cruelty was more severe towards cats than dogs.

1983- Deviney, Dickert & Lockwood. Studied fifty-three families in New Jersey suffering from domestic violence, and found that 60% reported that pets were also abused and/or neglected.

1985- Kellert & Felthous. Studied the relationship between cruelty to animals and aggression among criminals and noncriminals. They found significantly higher rates of cruelty toward animals among aggressive criminals.

1986- Kellert & Felthous. Follow-up study to predict future violence.

1991- Hickey. Found that in some cases killing animals was to relive the experience of killing human beings.

1993- Ascione. Cruelty to animals is a serious manifestation of psychopathology particularly when paired with other symptoms and a troubled family history.

1995- Schecter & Edleson.

1997- Edleson. Both the 1995 and 1997 studies found that children growing up in homes where there is domestic violence are at risk for psychological disturbance, with one sign being cruelty to animals.

1997- Ascione. This study surveyed thirty-eight women seeking shelter at a safehouse and found that 74% reported having a pet killed and 71% reported the pet(s) were threatened or harmed.
1997- Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Northwestern University. Examined criminal records of 153 animal abusers and 153 non-abusers over a twenty-year period. The study found that people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes than non-abusers.

RELEVANT STATISTICS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ANIMAL CRUELTY:


71% of abused women report that their batterers have threatened to hurt/kill their pets and have done so.
32% of battered women with children report that their children have hurt or killed pets.
25%-48% of battered women delay leaving an abusive situation for fear of what will happen to her pet if left behind.
40% of battered women report that they have been forced to participate in sexual acts with animals as part of their domestic terrorization.

http://www.change.org/actions/view/reintroduce_s2439_fbi_database_tracking_animal_cruelty_crimes_act

Sex Offenders:


48% of rapists have committed acts of animal cruelty as children or adolescents.
30% of child molesters have committed acts of animal cruelty as children or adolescents
15% of all active rapists also rape animals.


Child Abuse:
80% of homes in which animal control agencies found abused/neglected pets there had been previous investigations by child welfare agencies of physical abuse and neglect.




USEFUL REFERENCES ON ANIMAL CRUELTY AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE

~American Humane Association. (1991). Report on the summit on violence toward children and animals, Nov. 1-3, 1991. Englewood, CO: AHA.
~American Humane Association. (1992). Protecting children and animals: Agenda for a non-violent future. Englewood, CO: AHA.
~American Humane Association. (1995). A training guide for recognizing and reporting child abuse for animal control officers and humane investigators. Englewood, CO: AHA.
~American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed., Washington, D.C.: APA.
~American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., Washington, D.C.: APA.
~American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (1996). Should vets tell? Part of what veterinarians do is treat animal victims of violence. Should they also report violence? New York, NY: ASPCA.
~American Veterinary Medical Association. (1992). The veterinary service market for companion animals. Schaumburg, IL: AVMA.
~Arkow, P. (1994a). Animal abuse and domestic violence: Intake statistics tell a sad story. Latham Letter, XV (2), 17.
~Arkow, P. (1994b). Child abuse, animal abuse, and the veterinarian. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 204 (7), 1004-1007.
~Ascione, F.R. (1993). Children who are cruel to animals: A review of the research and implications for developmental psychopathology. Anthrozoos, VI (4), 226-247.
~Ascione, F.R. (1996). Domestic Violence and Cruelty to Animals. Latham Letter, XVII (1), 1-16.
~Ascione, F.R. and Weber, C. (1995). Battered partners shelter survey. Logan, UT: Utah State University.
~Beirne, Piers. (1997). Rethinking bestiality: Toward a concept of interspecies sexual assault. Journal of Theoretical Criminology, 1 (3), 317-340.
~Boat, B. (1995). The relationship between violence to children and violence to animals: An Ignored Link? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10 (4), 229-235.
~DeViney, E., Dickert, J., and Lockwood, R. (1983). The care of pets within child abusing families. International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems, 4, 321-329.

~Dutton, M.A. (1992). Empowering and healing the battered woman. New York, NY: Springer.

~Faller, K.C. (1990). Understanding child sexual maltreatment. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

~Felthous, A.R. (1980). Aggression against cats, dogs, and people. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 10 (3), 169-177.
~Felthous, A.R. and Kellert, S.R. (1986). Violence against animals and people: Is aggression against living creatures generalized? Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 14 (1), 5569.
~Finkelhor, D., Williams, L.M., and Burns, N. (1988). Nursery crimes: Sexual abuse in daycare. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
~Geddes, V.C. (1977). Enuresis, fire setting and animal cruelty, a follow-up study to review the hypothesis in reference to the prediction of violence. MS Thesis, Department of Criminal Justice, California State University, Long Beach, CA.

~Lockwood, R., and Ascione, F.R. (1998). Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research and Application. West Layfayette, IN: Purdue University Press.

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As the enormous body of research indicates-the FBI should include animal cruelty to their data base. Please reintroduce and/or help sponsor S2439-Database Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act, to safeguard society and as an efficient tool to track down violent criminals.