Agencies Have New Tools To Combat Violence
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Editor's Note: This is the third in a three-part series on domestic violence.
Pulpit advice from the Middle Ages (467-1453) said men should beat their wives and women should kiss the rod that beats them.
An old Russian proverb says, "A wife isn't a jug. She won't crack if you hit her 10 times."
With teachings like this, it is important to be very clear when dealing with domestic violence cases.
Sgt. Anne O'Dell, San Diego Police officer and director of specialized training on domestic violence, said earlier this month during a Kosciusko County Domestic Violence Task Force seminar that there are five important things a domestic violence victim should hear from the investigating police department:
• No one deserves to get hit.
• I am afraid for your safety.
• I am afraid for the safety of your children.
• It will get worse.
• The police department will be there for you when you are ready to leave.
One of the most recent changes in dealing with domestic violence is called "victimless prosecution," O'Dell said.
"A victim's refusal to testify is her attempt to stay alive," O'Dell said. "Seventy-five percent of homicides happen after the victim leaves, not when she stays."
There is a typical pattern in domestic violence cases, said Kosciusko County Prosecutor David Kolbe.
For example, a domestic violence incident occurs over the weekend and the police investigate it. They find someone beaten and put the perpetrator in custody. The justice system engages and then the complainant backs off and even denies the events took place.
At that point, Kolbe said, there are a lot of reasons to just dismiss the case.
"Dismissals make a statement," said Kolbe. "They make a bad statement."
When a case is dismissed, he said, it tells the perpetrator that the system doesn't mean what it says.
Kolbe believes the prosecution should never bluff, because "I think it can incite more violence."
Dismissals teach the perpetrator that they can get away with battering their wives or girlfriends, he said.
Kolbe said the violence does tend to stop because there is "a hammer hanging over their head."
If there is resistance to prosecution from the victim, prosecution can still move forward, Kolbe said.
"If we can get anything out of it, even a diversion, I'll do it to avoid a dismissal," said Kolbe.
The prosecution can often reach some sort of deal with the perpetrator, who is usually agreeable because they don't want jail time, he said.
"It becomes very difficult to go to trial when the victim doesn't want to," he said, "and that's where it takes a lot of diplomacy and it takes a lot of advocacy ... to get some sort of outcome, if not a conviction, something to hold the abuser accountable and continue to break the cycle (of abusive behavior)."
"We'd like to continue to have the hammer over their head," he said, which he can do through probation and anger management, a Bowen Center program.
According to the program's director, Scott Kruse, the program appears to be successful. He said that evaluating the success of the program was difficult, though.
"They could be doing stuff at home and are just being better at hiding it," he said.
In Kosciusko and Whitley counties, 450 men have been through the program, and Kruse said he knew of only five men who had re-offended.
Of those five men, all went back to Kruse and voluntarily rejoined the program before being ordered to by the court or probation department.
Topics the program focuses on are: dysfunctional family roles and how that promotes violence, resentment, trust, self-esteem, unresolved issues in their lives, defense mechanisms, relationship patterns that show negativity, emotional energy, life priorities, control vs. equality and intimacy issues.
The 10-session group program also includes some individual sessions.
Kruse said he tries to tailor the program for each individual as much as possible to better serve their independent needs.
For victims of domestic violence, Bowen Center has a program that focuses on keeping the victims safe, making sure they have safety plans, teaching them how to access community support and helping them learn to set legal limits with their former "significant other."
The success of the victims' program is very hard to judge, Kruse said. He told of one woman whom he had worked with for a year. She got into her own house with her children, obtained a good job and was doing very well.
"A month after she got her own job," said Kruse, "she was back with the guy."
He said the typical cases involve relationship matters.
"We're judging them much faster now," said Kruse. "We're not at the Swearingen or O.J. Simpson level."
The Beaman Home, in Warsaw, has a 24-hour crisis line available for victims of spouse abuse.
The Beaman Home spouse abuse shelter serves Kosciusko and Marshall counties. It offers protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as care to victims and their minor children.
The home provides food, clothing, counseling, trasportation, social service and community referrals, and a child enhancement program.
All services are free and the home is funded through grants and donations.
O'Dell said the single most important thing in dealing with domestic violence cases is to recognize the problem for what it is.
Domestic violence is often an invisible crime, she said. Regardless of what the police, prosecutors, Bowen Center and other support organizations can do, until the victim or potential victim steps forward, the crime will continue and become worse.
By the time the police are involved, the women are already victims, said O'Dell.
"Domestic violence is a community problem and requires a community response," reads a brochure from the Warsaw Police Department.
There are warning signs to a potential perpetrator of domestic violence. All that is required is a voice.
O'Dell said it this way: "Bad things happen when good people are silent."
Several Social Service agencies offer help to victims of domestic violence.
• Beaman Home (women's shelter) - 267-7701
• Bowen Center - 800-342-5653
• Center of Hope (victims of rape and sexual abuse) 888-241-2543
• Division of Family and Children - 267-8108
• Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence - 800-332-7385
• Kosciusko County Juvenile Shelter - 269-9660
• MedPark Center - 800-746-4673 [[In-content Ad]]
Editor's Note: This is the third in a three-part series on domestic violence.
Pulpit advice from the Middle Ages (467-1453) said men should beat their wives and women should kiss the rod that beats them.
An old Russian proverb says, "A wife isn't a jug. She won't crack if you hit her 10 times."
With teachings like this, it is important to be very clear when dealing with domestic violence cases.
Sgt. Anne O'Dell, San Diego Police officer and director of specialized training on domestic violence, said earlier this month during a Kosciusko County Domestic Violence Task Force seminar that there are five important things a domestic violence victim should hear from the investigating police department:
• No one deserves to get hit.
• I am afraid for your safety.
• I am afraid for the safety of your children.
• It will get worse.
• The police department will be there for you when you are ready to leave.
One of the most recent changes in dealing with domestic violence is called "victimless prosecution," O'Dell said.
"A victim's refusal to testify is her attempt to stay alive," O'Dell said. "Seventy-five percent of homicides happen after the victim leaves, not when she stays."
There is a typical pattern in domestic violence cases, said Kosciusko County Prosecutor David Kolbe.
For example, a domestic violence incident occurs over the weekend and the police investigate it. They find someone beaten and put the perpetrator in custody. The justice system engages and then the complainant backs off and even denies the events took place.
At that point, Kolbe said, there are a lot of reasons to just dismiss the case.
"Dismissals make a statement," said Kolbe. "They make a bad statement."
When a case is dismissed, he said, it tells the perpetrator that the system doesn't mean what it says.
Kolbe believes the prosecution should never bluff, because "I think it can incite more violence."
Dismissals teach the perpetrator that they can get away with battering their wives or girlfriends, he said.
Kolbe said the violence does tend to stop because there is "a hammer hanging over their head."
If there is resistance to prosecution from the victim, prosecution can still move forward, Kolbe said.
"If we can get anything out of it, even a diversion, I'll do it to avoid a dismissal," said Kolbe.
The prosecution can often reach some sort of deal with the perpetrator, who is usually agreeable because they don't want jail time, he said.
"It becomes very difficult to go to trial when the victim doesn't want to," he said, "and that's where it takes a lot of diplomacy and it takes a lot of advocacy ... to get some sort of outcome, if not a conviction, something to hold the abuser accountable and continue to break the cycle (of abusive behavior)."
"We'd like to continue to have the hammer over their head," he said, which he can do through probation and anger management, a Bowen Center program.
According to the program's director, Scott Kruse, the program appears to be successful. He said that evaluating the success of the program was difficult, though.
"They could be doing stuff at home and are just being better at hiding it," he said.
In Kosciusko and Whitley counties, 450 men have been through the program, and Kruse said he knew of only five men who had re-offended.
Of those five men, all went back to Kruse and voluntarily rejoined the program before being ordered to by the court or probation department.
Topics the program focuses on are: dysfunctional family roles and how that promotes violence, resentment, trust, self-esteem, unresolved issues in their lives, defense mechanisms, relationship patterns that show negativity, emotional energy, life priorities, control vs. equality and intimacy issues.
The 10-session group program also includes some individual sessions.
Kruse said he tries to tailor the program for each individual as much as possible to better serve their independent needs.
For victims of domestic violence, Bowen Center has a program that focuses on keeping the victims safe, making sure they have safety plans, teaching them how to access community support and helping them learn to set legal limits with their former "significant other."
The success of the victims' program is very hard to judge, Kruse said. He told of one woman whom he had worked with for a year. She got into her own house with her children, obtained a good job and was doing very well.
"A month after she got her own job," said Kruse, "she was back with the guy."
He said the typical cases involve relationship matters.
"We're judging them much faster now," said Kruse. "We're not at the Swearingen or O.J. Simpson level."
The Beaman Home, in Warsaw, has a 24-hour crisis line available for victims of spouse abuse.
The Beaman Home spouse abuse shelter serves Kosciusko and Marshall counties. It offers protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as care to victims and their minor children.
The home provides food, clothing, counseling, trasportation, social service and community referrals, and a child enhancement program.
All services are free and the home is funded through grants and donations.
O'Dell said the single most important thing in dealing with domestic violence cases is to recognize the problem for what it is.
Domestic violence is often an invisible crime, she said. Regardless of what the police, prosecutors, Bowen Center and other support organizations can do, until the victim or potential victim steps forward, the crime will continue and become worse.
By the time the police are involved, the women are already victims, said O'Dell.
"Domestic violence is a community problem and requires a community response," reads a brochure from the Warsaw Police Department.
There are warning signs to a potential perpetrator of domestic violence. All that is required is a voice.
O'Dell said it this way: "Bad things happen when good people are silent."
Several Social Service agencies offer help to victims of domestic violence.
• Beaman Home (women's shelter) - 267-7701
• Bowen Center - 800-342-5653
• Center of Hope (victims of rape and sexual abuse) 888-241-2543
• Division of Family and Children - 267-8108
• Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence - 800-332-7385
• Kosciusko County Juvenile Shelter - 269-9660
• MedPark Center - 800-746-4673 [[In-content Ad]]