Why police often get it wrong in abuse cases.

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]This creates a blind spot easily exploited by a recognized psychological tactic called DARVO.

[00:00:06]DARVO stands for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender.

[00:00:11]A practiced abuser executing DARVO knows exactly how to play to law enforcement biases. By the time officers arrive, the perpetrator presents as exceptionally calm, highly rational, and entirely cooperative with police instructions.

[00:00:26]This matrix charts police evaluations.

[00:00:29]The X-axis tracks actual threat. The Y-axis tracks perceived threat based on demeanor.

[00:00:35]Here is the inversion zone. Officers see the panicked injured victim as a threat and the calm compliant abuser as a credible witness.

[00:00:44]This is from my book Three Times a Victim about injustice and virtual prison life. Watch the full audiobook from the beginning at bwlinks.me/va.