Possibly, RSO should have been TRO, for Temporary Restraining Order.
Yeah, I was wondering what the S stood for… but I wouldn’t have gotten TRO either. Now I feel like I have a sheltered life where restraining orders aren’t common…
I encounter them pretty often- but there was a time when I wouldn’t have understood either because they are called “OOP” ( or TOP or FOP) in my state ( order of protection)
RSO is one of the terms used here in Washington state. I try to avoid using TRO because some restraining orders are not temporary.
Scotland and the UK managed to train police adequately. I’m guessing the training wasn’t onerous. I read somewhere that it’s a single day of training.
It’s quite the opposite for me: officers need more training because intuiting doesn’t work very well for any of us. Along with most people, I’ve done a fair amount of wistful if only thinking about the Moab stop, but I don’t blame the cops at all. They did the best they could with what training they’d had. I keep hoping this case will serve as an object lesson.
I have a friend who’s a social worker in Seattle. She strongly believes officers should be accompanied by social workers in domestic abuse cases. I don’t know how practical/expensive that would be. I think training like the SafeLives training LE officers get in the UK would be a huge step.
Identifying coercive control is not as difficult as you may be assuming it is. And yes, it could change who gets arrested. That’s a good thing.
Not to nitpick, but from a bit of Googling, it appears that the most common use of “RSO” in Washington state in a law enforcement context is “Registered Sex Offender”. From here. What does the acronym stand for in reference to a restraining order?
“RSO” is an initialism, not an acronym.
In my opinion, it makes no sense to use “RSO” for Restraining Order, but I am not in a position to make anyone listen to me. It would be nice if people on this message board would explain what uncommon initialisms stand for, though.
I agree- the problem is that people who use uncommon initialisms, acronyms, abbreviations, etc, often don’t realize they are uncommon. I remember a coworker who started all of her emails with “ALCON” - finally someone asked her what it (and some other abbreviations) meant. Apparently, it was a standard military abbreviation for “all concerned” and she was surprised to be asked it - apparently she had never noticed that no one else at our non-military employer used it.
That’s needlessly pedantic, and wrong on at least one count, maybe two.
First, if you check Merriam Webster, or Dictionary.com, you’ll find that that the term “acronym” has a widely accepted second meaning as a synonym for “initialism”.
Secondly, unless “RSO” is actually formed from the initial letters of three words (which I don’t think it is, or at least I can’t find such a term that fits) it’s not technically an initialism, but just an abbreviation.
You’re wrong again.
Whatever you say, pal. I provided links to two dictionaries – you know, those reference works that define what words mean? If you’d rather not click on them, that’s fine with me.
Moderator Note
This is turning into a hijack. If you want to continue discussing initialism vs acronym, RSO, etc., take it to a new thread.
Would you care to walk me through the process in this specific case?
How? The law says arrest the predominant physical aggressor (if there is one, otherwise arrest both). What difference does the presence of coercive control make in determining who is the predominant physical aggressor? I’m not connecting the dots here.
~Max
Right. It’s not illegal for a guy to be a controlling prick who yells at his wife to cook him dinner and calls her a fat pig every time she eats. But the second she snaps and slaps him after being called a hog for the thousandth time, she has committed a battery and MUST be arrested under these laws.
I’m not sure what a police officer or anyone should do in a situation where you see that one person is the real asshole, but the second person committed a crime.
First, let me say again that I’m sorry if my use of the term RSO confused or annoyed people. I’ve already explained my use of the term and why TRO is, technically at least, not always accurate. Henceforth I shall spell out “restraining order” or “order of protectioin” every time.
Second, I’m not claiming to be an expert on coercive control recognition training, and I’m certainly no expert on UK law enforcement.
Before anyone decides to throw up roadblocks claiming it can’t work, it’s impossible for law enforcement to determine this, etc., I ask you–beg you, really–to read this short article from Police Professional, a monthly journal for UK law enforcement officers. It explains this far better than I can. It’ll take only a few minutes, I promise.
I think you need to correct your link. All I see is the “About Us” page for the journal.
The Mod issues a TRO about RSO! 
FBI releases the final report on the case. The two “final chapter” pieces
- Upon further search of the area, investigators found human remains later confirmed to be Mr. Laundrie, along with a backpack, notebook, and a revolver. A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death.
- On November 23, 2021, the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office in Sarasota, Florida, released its report on the manner and cause of death of Mr. Laundrie. The report concluded Mr. Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Doh! Sorry about that. Here’s the link to the article, which, as I said, isn’t too long and is well worth a read.
AP story here: