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Show Guild Abuse in Arizona and Utah Polygamous Families: An Argument in Favor of Strict and Broad Enforcement of Punishment for Polygamy-related Grimes Against Children Carly Castle Suggested Policy Implementation Because FLDS Church leaders use the control that they have over the property in Hildale and Colorado City as a way to coerce marriages, threaten members who might leak information to law enforcement, and silence victims of abuse and neglect from coming forward, it would be extremely effective to remove the control of the UEP from the FLDS Church leaders. To take away the economic control that the church has over the members would be to take away their ability to orchestrate and conceal abuses occurring within the community. In the spirit of diminishing the power of the church leaders, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has started to take steps to decertify any Hildale City police officer who answers to the leaders of the Church, who has plural wives, or who refuses to enforce polygamy-related laws. Shurtleff cites the fact that the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has voted "unanimously that bigamy is an offense that could end an officer's career" (Llewellyn 2004, 125). A March 24, 2005, Salt Lake Tribune article reports that the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) voted to decertify Sam Roundy and Vance Barlow, two police officers practicing polygamy in southern Utah. Because the two officers serve a community that spans both Utah and Arizona, certification is required in both states, so POST officials of Arizona will review the Utah ruling and decide whether or not to decertify the officers in Arizona as well. While polygamy is prohibited in Utah, it is not technically illegal in Arizona, and for the time being, the officers "are still employed in Colorado City" (Westley, 2005). This action is supported by Ben Bistline, a historian who was raised in Colorado City and has many friends in both the FLDS Church and Centennial Park. He reports that "The police are priesthood police and continually harass the kids who are not FLDS.... The priesthood police cannot be relied upon to enforce the law fairly" (Llewellyn 2004,126). Historian Ben Bistline suggests that a court house should be built near Hildale and Colorado City on the property of the Bureau of Land Management, not on United Effort Plan property, to assure that it is outside of the power of the FLDS church. He contends it should be manned by three peace officers, one of whom should be a state officer to balance the "lethargy" of the Washington County Sheriff; and another who should be a woman police officer because girls leaving the isolated communities have been known to become enamored with their rescuers (Llewellyn 2004, 127). In order to aid members fleeing from the communities, Senator Allen suggests a "pro-active hotline that is well manned" for women and children to have easy access to. He also believes that the state needs to build safe houses in Southern Utah that are within walking distance of the communities, and which could accommodate polygamous-sized families. Most shelters are only equipped to deal with women who have only one or two children, but these safe-houses need to be able to house women with a large number of children (Allen 2004). Law enforcement officials throughout the state need to be educated about abuses in polygamy. The officers in the Hildale and Colorado City areas should be taught how to deal with the already established communities, and officers throughout the rest of the state should be trained in identifying the warning signs of any emerging polygamous communities (Allen 2004). More money should be appropriated to law enforcement so that they are able to hire more officers, and have more resources at their disposal to deal with polygamy-related crimes. In order to guarantee the effectiveness of policies put into place to protect the children in Hildale and Colorado City, the public must become invested in the success of the policies. Raising public awareness of the situation of children in the communities would create interest and support for the implementation of enforcement. This awareness can be created by running ads on television or in newspapers and posting of billboards around the state that can not only inform victims of polygamy-related abuses of help that is available to them, but also inform the public about the problems that exist in the isolated communities (Allen 2004). Conclusion The goal of protecting the children who live in Colorado City and Hildale against polygamy-related abuses can be accomplished if state officials realize their authority and responsibility to do so. The Legislature and public officials need to enact policies that would curtail the power that the FLDS Church wields, appropriate money for the investigation and prosecution of polygamy-related crimes, appropriate money for child welfare agencies to accommodate children who have been abused, and raise awareness of polygamy abuses so that the public becomes actively invested and interested in the cause. References "Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses." 2002. Cultic Studies Review. <http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_news/polygamy_ 2002_02_28.htm> (5 February 2004). Adams, Brooke. 2004. "Two Views of Runaway 'Fawns.'" Salt Lake Tribune, 26 February, Dl. Allen, Ron. 2004. Utah State Senator. Telephone interview by author, 20 April. Altman, Irwin, and Joseph Ginat. 1996. Polygamist Families in Contemporary Society. New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Appropriations for Investigation and Prosecution and Women's Shelters. See Utah State Senate. 1999. Barton, Ron. 2004- Utah Special Prosecutor for Polygamy-related Crimes, Attorney General's Office. Personal interview, 12 April. Berrett, William E., and Alma P. Burton. 1958. Readings in LDS Church History. Vol. 3. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company. 40 |
