[Pages S12336-S12338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

<bullet> Mr. Cohen. Mr. President, I am submitting for the Record a
Washington Post article about two young boys here on Capitol Hill, who
recently deliberately inflicted pain upon someone's pet dog just for
the fun of it. The Post article states that the dog was a friendly
animal toward people. Witnesses state they saw the dog wagging its tail
and going up to the two youths, expecting to be petted. Instead, one of
the boys slapped the dog, took it to the top of an apartment building
and hurled it to the ground.
Research suggests that people who abuse animals require immediate
attention. They are involved in a cycle of violence, either as a
victim, perpetrator, or both. These violent symptoms manifested by a
troubled youth appear to be a particularly important and accurate early
indicator of future violent behavior. Numerous experts cite the link
between animal abuse and human violence as one early warning signal
that the people involved in such acts of violence may either be a
victim, or a perpetrator in some violent incidents. Experts state that
those who are abusive to animals lack empathy, compassion, and respect
for life. However, researchers agree that these personality attributes
can be taught. A successful example of such, is the country of Israel,
where a national humane education program to reduce violent crime in
their country has been implemented.
Research on this issue also compels us to take action to detect,
treat, and prevent perpetrators of animal violence before they turn
their violent impulses toward humans. Many experts agree that animal
abuse is not just a personality flaw of the abuser, but may be an
indication of a deeply disturbed family. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation has conducted research on the correlation between people
who are abusers of animals to their committing future violent acts. In
numerous interviews with prison inmates convicted of violent crimes,
the deliberate infliction of pain on animals was a common link.
Last May, I advised Attorney General Janet Reno that cruelty to
animals is a particularly troublesome

[[Page S12337]]

manifestation of youth violence. I encouraged the Attorney General to
review the Justice Department's plan of action in exposing the
correlation between animal and human violence, that prevention and
treatment may begin. Since that time, I have been working with the
Justice Department, law enforcement officials, and others in evaluating
this linkage and how this knowledge can be used to decrease crime among
juveniles.
Mr. President, today I wrote to Donna Shalala, the Department of
Health and Human Services Secretary, and encouraged her to begin a
program to educate the social services communities about the
correlation between animal and human violence. I also wrote to Richard
Riley, the Department of Education Secretary, encouraging him to
implement an educational program among school guidance counselors,
teachers, and school administrators in recognizing the signs of
violence. School officials and the social services communities are
among the first to recognize and work with troubled youth. Many see
first hand the early symptoms of abusive behavior toward animals.
However, most of these officials do not realize the correlation between
animal abusers and the cycle of violence.
It is necessary for us to look at ways to reduce violence in this
country. It makes good sense to evaluate further this correlation,
which the FBI has used for almost two decades now in profiling serial
killers and other violent offenders. Implementation of a humane
education program in the school systems throughout the United States of
America offers some hope for reduction of violence among our youth and
at this point, any sensible approach should not be dismissed.
Mr. President, I also submit for the Record an interview with an FBI
agent and professor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, with the Humane
Society of the United States. I believe it is time for Americans to
pursue seriously every avenue to address and eliminate the cycle of
violence.
I ask that these items be printed in the Record.
The material follows:

[From the Washington Post]

Coco the Spaniel Is Sent Plunging Three Stories

(By Linda Wheeler)

D.C. police are searching for two boys who walked a
neighbor's dog up three flights of stairs to the roof of a
Capitol Hill apartment building and then dropped her to the
hard earth below.
Coco, a liver-and-white Brittany spaniel, landed spread-
eagled, her right front leg shattered and the left limp from
nerve damage.
``The [right] leg is blasted, what we call a high-energy
fracture,'' said veterinarian Peter Glassman, of Friendship
Hospital for Animals in Northwest Washington, ``Thank God we
don't see these kind of injuries very often.''
According to Washington Humane Society officials, most
animal cruelty cases in the city involve pets that have been
starved or beaten by their owners. Rarely are they
deliberately hurt by strangers, said Rosemary Vozobule, the
society's law enforcement officer.
``This was a very sweet dog, and she just went up to these
kids,'' she said. ``We have reports that one boy yelled at
her and slapped her. Then he took her to the roof.''
The dogs owners, Nancy and Harold Smalley, live a block
from the Kentucky Court housing complex in Southeast
Washington, where the incident occurred Sept. 9. Nancy
Smalley said that Coco, adopted two years ago from the D.C.
Animal Shelter, was never allowed to roam. Coco must have
slipped out of the house, she said, when Harold Smalley left
for work early that morning.
``He took the trash out. He was half asleep,'' she said.
When Nancy Smalley couldn't find Coco to join their other
dog--a black Labrador retriever named Mr. B--and five cats
for breakfast, she called her husband. Had he taken Coco with
him? No, he said. She then called the shelter to report Coco
missing. The dog had a collar and name tag, she told them.
About the same time, someone called the shelter to report
an injured dog. It was Coco, belly-down on the packed earth,
which is so hard that no grass grows there. Someone had
covered her with a tattered blanket. Humane officers took the
dog back to the shelter for evaluation and called Nancy
Smalley.
When she saw Coco a few minutes later, she said, ``my mind
went blank. It was impossible for me to believe anyone would
do this to a dog. I just couldn't understand it. I can't
understand it. These things aren't supposed to happen.''
Despite her trauma, Coco struggles to balance on three feet
and leans against a visitor's leg to have her head patted.
Her right leg is in a cast, and the left dangles almost
daintily. If she doesn't recover feeling in that leg,
Glassman said, it will have to be amputated, because she will
drag it and scrape it, leaving her vulnerable to constant
infection.
``She's a very sweet dog,'' Glassman said, adding that she
would be able to get along fine on three legs.
Vozobule said she has received several calls from neighbors
who saw the incident or heard the boys talking about it.
There is a $1,500 award for information leading to the arrest
of the suspects, she said.
Vozobule said although what happened to Coco is ``tragic,''
she is pleased that residents were willing to call in tips.
``I think people are starting to realize treating animals
this way just isn't right,'' she said.
____

Deadly Serious

an fbi perspective on animal cruelty

(By Randall Lockwood and Ann Church)

The HSUS has a long history of working closely with local,
state, and federal law enforcement agencies to combat cruelty
to animals. Many of these agencies have become acutely
interested in the connection between animal cruelty and other
forms of violent, antisocial behavior. They have found that
the investigation and prosecution of crimes against animals
is an important tool for identifying people who are, or may
become, perpetrators of violent crimes against people.
Earlier this year Sen. William Cohen of Maine formally
asked U.S. attorney general Janet Reno to accelerate the U.S.
Department of Justice's research in this area. On June 6 The
HSUS met with the staff of Senator Cohen and Sen. Robert
Smith of New Hampshire and with representatives of the FBI
and the Justice Department. One participant was Supervisory
Special Agent Alan Brantley of the FBI's Investigative
Support Unit (ISU), also known as the Behavioral Science
Unit. The ISU is responsible for providing information on the
behavior of violent criminals to FBI field offices and law
enforcement agencies worldwide. Special Agent Brantley served
as a psychologist at a maximum-security prison in North
Carolina before joining the FBI. He has interviewed and
profiled numerous violent criminals and has direct knowledge
of their animal-abuse histories. In his role as an ISU
special agent, he shares that information with agents at the
FBI Academy and law enforcement officers selected to attend
the FBI's National Academy Program. When we asked Special
Agent Brantley how many serial killers had a history of
abusing animals, his response was, ``The real question should
be, how many have not?''
As law enforcement officials become more aware of the
connection between animal abuse and human-directed violence,
they become more supportive of strong anticruelty laws and
their enforcement. We are encouraged by this development. We
were granted permission to visit the FBI Academy, in
Quantico, Virginia, to continue our discussion with Special
Agent Brantley.
HSUS: What is the history of the Behavioral Science Unit/
ISU?
Brantley: The Behavioral Science Unit originated in the
1970s and is located at the FBI Academy. Its purpose is to
teach behavioral sciences to FBI trainees and National
Academy students. The instructors were often asked questions
about violent criminals, such as, ``What do you think causes
a person to do something like this?'' The instructors offered
some ideas, and as the students went out and applied some of
these ideas, it was seen that there might be some merit to
using this knowledge in field operations. In the mid-1980s,
the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime was
founded with the primary mission of identifying and tracking
serial killers, but it also was given the task of looking at
any violent crime that was particularly vicious, unusual, or
repetitive, including serial rape and child molestation. We
now look at and provide operational assistance to law
enforcement agencies and prosecutors worldwide who are
confronted with any type of violent crime.
HSUS: You have said that the FBI takes the connection
between animal cruelty and violent crime very seriously. How
is this awareness applied on a daily basis?
Brantley: A lot of what we do is called threat assessment.
If we have a known subject, we want as much information as we
can obtain from family members, co-workers, local police, and
others, before we offer an opinion about this person's threat
level and dangerousness. Something we believe is prominently
displayed in the histories of people who are habitually
violent is animal abuse. We look not only for a history of
animal abuse, torment, or torture, but also for childhood or
adolescent acts of violence toward other children and
possibly adults and for a history of destructiveness to
property.
Sometimes this violence against animals is symbolic. We
have had cases where individuals had an early history of
taking stuffed animals or even pictures of animals and
carving them up. That is a risk indicator.
You can look at cruelty to animals and cruelty to humans as
a continuum. We first see people begin to fantasize about
these violent actions. If there is escalation along this
continuum, we may see acting out against inanimate objects.
This may also be manifest in the writings or drawings of the
individual affected. The next phase is usually acting out
against animals.
HSUS: When did the FBI first begin to see this connection?

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Brantley: We first quantified it when we did research in
the late 1970s, interviewing thirty-six multiple murderers in
prison. This kind of theme had already emerged in our work
with violent criminals. We all believed this was an important
factor, so we said, ``Let's go and ask the offenders
themselves and see what they have to say about it.'' By self
report, 36 percent described killing and torturing animals as
children and 46 percent said they did this as adolescents. We
believe that the real figure was much higher, but that people
might not have been willing to admit to it.
HSUS: You mean that people who commit multiple, brutal
murders might be reluctant to admit to killing animals?
Brantley: I believe that to be true in some cases. In the
inmate population, it's one thing to be a big-time criminal
and kill people--many inmates have no empathy or concern for
human victims--but they might identify with animals. I've
worked with prisoners who kept pets even though they weren't
supposed to. They would consider someone else hurting their
pet as reason enough to commit homicide. Also, within
prisons, criminals usually don't want to talk about what they
have done to animals or children for fear that other inmates
may retaliate against them or that they may lose status among
their peers.
HSUS: Where is violence against animals coming from? Are
criminals witnessing it in others? Convicted serial killer
Ted Bundy recounted being forced to watch his grandfather's
animal abuse.
Brantley: For the most part, in my experience, offenders
who harm animals as children pretty much come up with this on
their own. Quite often they will do this in the presence of
others and teach it to others, but the ones with a rich
history of violence are usually the instigators. Some
children might follow along to be accepted, but the ones we
need to worry about are the one or two dominant, influential
children who initiate the cruelty.
HSUS: What components need to be present for you to think a
child or adolescent is really in trouble?
Brantley: You have to look at the quality of the act and at
the frequency and severity. If a child kicks the dog when
somebody's been aggressive toward him, that's one issue, but
if it's a daily thing or if he has a pattern of tormenting
and physically torturing the family dog or cat, that's
another. I would look to see if the pattern is escalating. I
look at any type of abuse of an animal as serious to begin
with, unless I have other information that might explain it.
It should not be dismissed. I've seen it too often develop
into something more severe.
Some types of abuse, for example, against insects, seem to
be fundamentally different. Our society doesn't consider
insects attractive or worthy of affection. But our pets are
friendly and affectionate and they often symbolically
represent the qualities and characteristics of human beings.
Violence against them indicates violence that may well
escalate into violence against humans.
You also need to look at the bigger picture. What's going
on at home? What other supports, if any, are in place? How is
the child doing in school? Is he drinking or doing drugs?
HSUS: We are familiar with the ``classic'' cases of serial
killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer, who had early histories of
animal abuse (see the Summer 1986 HSUS News). Are there any
recent cases you have worked on?
Brantley: The Jason Massey case jumps out as being a
prominent one. This was a case from 1993 in Texas. This
individual, from an early age, started his career killing
many dogs and cats. He finally graduated, at the age of 20,
to beheading a thirteen-year-old girl and shooting her
fourteen-year-old stepbrother to death.
He was convicted of murder. I was brought in for the
sentencing phase to testify as to his dangerousness and
future threat to the community. The prosecutors knew that he
was a prolific killer of animals, and that he was saving the
body parts of these animals. The prosecutor discovered a
cooler full of animal remains that belonged to Massey and
brought it to the courtroom for the sentencing hearing. It
caused the jurors to react strongly, and ultimately the
sentence was death.
HSUS: Mr. Massey had been institutionalized at his mother's
request two years before the murders since she was aware of
his diaries, which recorded his violent fantasies, and his
animal killings, yet he was released. Do you think that
mental health officials have been slower than law enforcement
agencies in taking animal abuse seriously?
Brantley: We've made this a part of a lot of our training
for local police, and I think most police recognize that when
they see animal mutilation or torture that they need to check
it out; but police have to triage and prioritize their cases.
We try to tell people that investigating animal cruelty and
investigating homicides may not be mutually exclusive.
We are trying to do the same for mental health
professionals. We offer training to forensic psychiatrists
through a fellowship program and provide other training to
the mental health community. I think psychiatrists are
receptive to our message when we can give them examples and
case studies demonstrating this connection. The word is
getting out.
HSUS: Do you think more aggressive prosecution of animal-
cruelty cases can help get some people into the legal system
who might otherwise slip through?
Brantley: I think that it is a legitimate way to deal with
someone who poses a threat. Remember, Al Capone was finally
imprisoned for income-tax evasion rather than for murder or
racketeering-charges which could never be proven.
HSUS: Have you ever encountered a situation where extreme
or repeated animal cruelty is the only warning sign you see
in an individual, where there is no other violent behavior?
Or does such abuse not occur in a vacuum?
Brantley: I would agree with that last concept. But let's
say that you do have a case of an individual who seems not to
have had any other adjustment problems but is harming
animals. What that says is that while, up to that point,
there is no documented history of adjustment problems, there
are adjustment problems now and there could be greater
problems down the road. We have some kids who start early and
move toward greater and greater levels of violence, some who
get into it starting in adolescence, and some who are adults
before they start to blossom into violent offenders.
HSUS: Do you find animal cruelty developing in those who
have already begun killing people?
Brantley: We know that certain types of offenders who have
escalated to human victims will, at times, regress back to
earlier offenses such as making obscene phone calls, stalking
people, or killing animals. Rarely, if ever, do we see humans
being killed as a precursor to the killing of animals.
HSUS: How would you respond to the argument that animal
cruelty provides an outlet that prevents violent individuals
from acting against people?
Brantley: I would disagree with that. Animal cruelty is not
as serious as killing human beings, we have to agree to that,
but certainly it's moving in a very ominous direction. This
is not a harmless venting of emotion in a healthy individual;
this is a warning sign that this individual is not mentally
healthy and needs some sort of intervention. Abusing animals
does not dissipate those violent emotions; instead, it may
fuel them.
HSUS: What problems do you have in trying to assess the
dangerousness of suspect or a known offender?
Brantley: Getting background information is the main
problem. People know this person has done these things, but
there may be no record or we haven't found the right people
to interview.
HSUS: That's one of the reasons why we have put an emphasis
on stronger anticruelty laws and more aggressive
encorcement--to get such information in the record.
Brantley: A lot of time people who encounter this kind of
behavior are looking for the best in people. We also see
cases where people are quite frankly afraid to get involved,
because it they are dealing with a child or adult who seems
to be bizarre or threatening, they are afraid that he or she
may no longer kill animals but instead come after them. I've
seen a lot of mental health professionals, law enforcement
officers, and private citizens who don't want to get involved
because they are afraid . . . and for good reason. There are
very scary people out there doing scary things. That's
largely why they are doing it and talking about it: they want
to intimidate and shock and offend, sometimes regardless of
the consequences.
HSUS: Is there hope for such an individual?
Brantley: The earlier you can intervene, the better off
you'll be. I like to be optimistic. I think in the vast
majority of cases, especially if you get to them as children,
you can intervene. People shouldn't discount animal abuse as
a childish prank or childish experimentation.
HSUS: Have you ever seen any serial killers who have been
rehabilitated?
Brantley: I've seen no examples of it and no real efforts
to even attempt it! Even if you had a program that might
work, the potential consequences of being wrong and releasing
someone like that greatly outweigh the benefits of attempting
it, in my opinion.
HSUS: There is also a problem in trying to understand which
acts against animals and others are associated with the
escalation of violence, since police records, if they exist,
are often unavailable or juvenile offenses are expunged.
Sometimes only local humane societies or animal-control
agencies have any record. The HSUS hopes to facilitate
consolidating some of these records.
Brantley: That would be great. If animal-cruelty
investigators are aware of a case such as a sexual homicide
in their community and they are also aware of any animal
mutilation going on in the same area, I would encourage them
to reach out to us.<bullet>

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