Rep. Chris Van Hollen on Animal Cruelty and the FBI

All too often, animal cruelty is a precursor to other forms of violence. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognized the significance of this connection as early as the 1970s when developing profiles of serial killers. The agency discovered that all serial killers have a history of serious, recurrent cruelty to animals. In addition, when assessing the level of danger in hostage taking situations, one of the factors the FBI considers is whether the hostage-taker has a history of animal cruelty.

The FBI’s experience with this link laid the groundwork for state and local law enforcement agencies and legislative bodies to take action as well. For example, in 1990, only seven states had felony-level provisions in their animal cruelty statutes. Today, 41 states and the District of Columbia do. These new laws reflect the growing realization that animal cruelty is linked to family violence, as well as other types of criminal activity, and that animal abuse by a child is an important warning sign of future violent behavior.

Increasingly, prosecutors are using this important tool to bring criminals to justice. In the 8th Congressional district of Maryland that I represent, the State’s Attorney’s Office of Montgomery County has successfully prosecuted three felony-level animal cruelty cases since the upgrading of the animal cruelty statute in 2001. A Maryland State Senator at the time of that bill’s introduction, I am proud to have been one of the first cosponsors of this new law.

However, the FBI has not as yet taken what we think will be a crucial next step: assigning the crime of animal cruelty, defined as the violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting cruelty to animals, its own classification in the agency’s crime reporting data collection system. The current versions of the FBI’s crime reporting data collection system (the Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the National Incident-Based Reporting System) establish categories used by local and state law enforcement agencies to report crime statistics. Current categories include the most violent crimes of murder, rape and aggravated assault, as well as crimes such as vandalism, shoplifting, writing bad checks and curfew violations. Animal cruelty is a crime in every state and, as noted, serious acts of animal cruelty are a felony in 41 states. However, without its own category in the FBI’s reporting system, vital information is lost. Law enforcement and social service agencies, legislators and researchers do not have the data they need to better understand the factors associated with animal abuse, track trends at the state and national level, and determine demographic characteristics associated with animal abuse. This information could assist in promoting more effective intervention and prevention strategies to interrupt the cycle of violence and protect families and communities.

I recently initiated a dialogue with the FBI on this issue. After an informative exchange of letters, we are now requesting a meeting with FBI staff from the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which compiles crime statistics. I hope that in the next issue of the Animal Guardian, we will be able to report that the FBI has agreed to add animal cruelty as a separate category to its data collection system. Information is a vital law enforcement tool, and breaking the cycle of violence is a vital law enforcement goal.

Published in the Spring 2004 Animal Guardian.

Prior to his election to the U. S. House of Representatives in 2002, Congressman Van Hollen served in the Maryland General Assembly from 1991 to 2002.