Domestic abuse victims don’t need to be alone

Chief of Police Steve Stahl told attendees during his monthly Coffee with the Chief he hopes the city will hire a victim advocate for domestic violence situations to work at the courthouse to help make the process more “seamless.”

Saturday’s Coffee was the first in the police department’s new headquarters. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month.

Stahl told a sparse crowd the police department has a victim advocate to help domestic abuse victims during police investigations and subsequent court hearings. However, having someone solely in the courthouse would help victims more and ensure the process is easier for them.

Stahl estimated it would cost $50,000 to $60,000 to hire someone with counseling experience and knowledge of the criminal justice system and someone to fill in when that employee is off work.

“Are we going to let someone suffer because someone wanted to take a day off or because someone got sick?” Stahl asked.

The chief said he recognizes the cost isn’t cheap, but helping domestic violence victims is worth it.

The department handles cases differently than it used to, and that new approach is helping victims learn more about the many resources available to them, Stahl said.

During the 1980s, domestic violence was very much a private matter, he pointed out. The police would show up to reports of assault within a home, tell the husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend to part ways for the night, and leave.

A lot of procedures changed after the death of Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife who was murdered in 1994.

Now, if there’s probable cause a husband, wife, boyfriend, father or mother committed a crime, the police will make an arrest, Stahl said.

Then, officers will sit down with the victim and give them a list of resources.