Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Linn County District Attorney’s Office has received a grant of $499,967 from the Violence Against Women Office, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, to develop and implement a specialized domestic violence court.
The proposal was to create a coordinated community response to domestic violence with partners from Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Sweet Home Police Department, Linn County Circuit Court, Probation and Parole, the Division of Human Services Child Welfare Program, ABC House and the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV).
These agencies will all be participants in the development of this specialist court.
Initially, the new court is expected to be a drain on the department in terms of manpower and resources, Sweet Home Police Chief Bob Burford said.
“However, we hope in the long term, it’s going to reduce the number of domestic violence incidents we need to respond to and be an overall benefit to the community.”
Right now, when police arrest a person for misdemeanor domestic assaults, they hold them for four hours in the local jail then release the suspect, Burford said. Beginning with this grant, police will transport the suspect to Linn County Jail, where the suspect will stay until seeing a judge or posts bail.
The prevalence and incidence of domestic violence makes it a major concern for the community and a public health problem for many women, according to county officials. Intimate partners have injured over one-third of the women treated in emergency rooms.
With half of all battered women living in households with children, these children are at risk for the development of both physical and emotional problems.
Domestic violence cases, especially low-injury cases, compete with other serious crimes for scarce criminal justice resources.
Domestic violence cases that are upstaged by “more serious crimes” can and often do escalate into high-injury or homicide cases. The unique characteristics of domestic violence warrant separate handling by a specialized court and personnel because of their complicated and often dangerous character.
One of the founding principles of the new court will be to bring all domestic violence cases to resolution within 45 days of arrest and arraignment.
Due to the court’s heavy caseload, it may now take months to be heard and addressed by the criminal justice system.
This joint effort between the community and the judiciary will result in one judge in a position to exercise leadership and commitment to change and the input and support of key stakeholders from various community agencies that include legal actors, treatment providers, victim advocates and post-conviction resources.
Sweet Home police will receive training on Dec. 15 and then implement the requirements of the program on Dec. 16, Burford said.
On Jan. 12, police will receive a three-hour training session from district attorney’s office and the Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence.
It will require changes in record keeping as well as the process for getting through an investigation and sending a report to the district attorney quickly, Burford said. The entire process is supposed to take 45 days or less.
“Domestic violence has huge impacts on the family and the children,” Burford said.
“Statistics show that children growing up in homes with domestic violence are more prone to become offenders or victims of domestic violence themselves.”