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Domestic Violence Part ThreeLaw enforcement's first role: Protect victims |
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By Linda Sutton and Matt Helton Jackson County Sheriff's Department |
A domestic violence incident is considered any assault, communication of threats, malicious to real or personal property, domestic criminal trespass, or stalking when the abuser and victim have had a relationship. It does not include force used in justified self-defense of person or property.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has developed a Domestic Violence Enforcement Unit. Law enforcement agencies participating in Jackson County have collectively agreed to pursue domestic violence through this or a similar approach. |
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Domestic violence is a crime that requires direct law enforcement intervention and a coordinated community response. A multi-disciplinary task force has been developed to support this law enforcement effort.
The first objective of this unit is to protect victims from acts of violence. This is best served by the arrest of any person subject to lawful arrest because of a domestic violence crime. Arrest and successful prosecution of domestic violence abusers is the responsibility of law enforcement, even if the victim does not wish to testify or wants to drop the charges. Officers must arrest the abuser, with or without a warrant as the law allows, for any crime committed during a domestic violence incident. The second objective of this unit is to help victims during and after a domestic violence incident. Effective victim assistance requires a cooperative effort with other community resources for maximum effect. These support services are being coordinated by REACH and members of the Jackson County Domestic Violence Task Force. In the past law enforcement treated domestic violence as a private matter that should be kept in the family. Domestic violence calls are traditionally viewed as the most frustrating, dangerous and time consuming calls to which law enforcement must respond. Law enforcement can make a difference by treating domestic violence as a serious crime. For officers, dealing with domestic violence incidents can be frustrating. It takes an understanding individual to deal with the ever-changing mind of the domestic violence victim. However, just like any other victim, this victim has been through traumatic experiences and is likely confused about what has happened in his/her life. The statistics are staggering - In one out of every six marriages the wife is physically abused; every 15 seconds a woman is battered In the United States; four American women lose their lives daily at the hands of their husbands or boyfriends, equaling more than one-third of all female homicide victims. While national statistics show that more than 90 percent of domestic violence victims are females, it is not unheard of for the male to be the victim. Due to public opinion regarding the role of the male in the home it is often more difficult to get a male victim to cooperate. "We are committed to the enforcement of the law and the arrest of the abuser regardless of their sex," said Sutton and Helton. Children who are raised in homes where abuse is present are five times more likely to become batterers or victims in their adulthood. They learn to accept violence as a way of life and do not see a way to change the pattern. The cycle of violence can be stopped through teaching people new ways to think such as anger management, social awareness and working to ensure that all of our children have a healthy self-esteem. By making the end of this vicious cycle our top priority, together we may be able to save our children from having to live with domestic violence. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office Domestic Violence Unit has been operational since July 1. Linda Sutton and Matt Helton are the detectives assigned to the unit. The duties of these officers while investigating domestic violence incidents are the same as any other criminal offense. Their follow-up investigations are to ensure the district attorney has the best possible evidence to present to the court for convictions. Domestic Violence Part1 |
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