Local law enforcement 'progressive'

Staff

Published Thursday, July 29, 2004

By Ann Austin, Tribune staff writer

The results of a domestic violence audit, covering approximately two years by the Battered Women's Justice Project, says local law enforcement is progressive in their treatment of domestic violence cases.

"It was the first time we've been audited on something like this," said Albert Lea Assistant Police Chief Dwaine Winkels.

The audits have been performed in larger cities like Minneapolis, but are just being done in rural areas.

"We are one of the first rural agencies in the nation to undergo such an audit," Winkels said.

The audit was conducted by nine people involved with local agencies being assessed, such as dispatch, law enforcement, jail, prosecution and probation, along with battered women's advocates. They researched the way domestic violence cases were treated in the justice system.

The research involved analysis of policies, procedures and statutes. The audit also involved analysis of text from actual cases of domestic violence, including dispatch transcripts and intimate partner violence reports.

Two classes were offered this year to law enforcement, prosecutors, health practitioners, and others, to educate professionals on documenting potential domestic violence situations and identifying if there is cause for concern, as well as recognizing cases of strangulation or other kinds of abuse which may not always be physically noticeable.

"The training was geared toward review of basic concepts," said Winkels.

Both Winkels and Freeborn County Sheriff Mark Harig said the training was beneficial to new officers, who may not have as much knowledge about what to look for in domestic violence cases as veteran officers.

The audit concluded that law enforcement practices were generally on-target regarding domestic violence issues and had improved in the years of the audit due to increased education and the use of "cheat sheets," which outline what to look for in domestic violence situations, to better document the situation.

Both Harig and Winkels were pleased with the outcome of the audit.

"Overall, it says we have been doing what we've claimed to be doing," Winkels said.

He noted that there has been an improvement in evidence collection. Law enforcement officers were issued tape recorders by the BWJP, to assist in evidence collection.

As a result, Harig has seen more complete crime reports and of a higher quality and the investigations are more focused.

It is important to get detailed information for use when prosecuting a case, said Winkels?? adding there are a good number of domestic violence cases in the county.

"Domestic violence is an issue here, it is a problem," he said.

"There's a lot more of it than is being reported," Harig said, adding that money problems are often the cause of abuse and it is difficult to predict how violent a case of domestic violence will get.

"It can accelerate fast," he said.

Though few, most of the homicides in Freeborn County have been the result of domestic violence, said Winkels.

Law enforcement officers will continue to train on domestic violence issues, Winkels and Harig, and will stay aware when dealing with report content. The officers will also strive to work with prosecution and the Crime Victim's Crisis Center as much as possible, Winkels said.

A second audit, which would have analyzed the role of prosecution with domestic violence cases, received no funding and had to be canceled.

"We hoped to get that piece so we could better integrate our entire justice system, to have a unified approach to domestic violence," Winkels said.

But Harig said the education officers received and their improved documentation of domestic violence cases is beneficial to the victims. He said the victims would see that officials are concerned and thorough.

"They will notice better results because the prosecutor will have a more complete case," he said.

Overall, the audit will improve prosecution, reports and investigations, Harig said.

"We were lucky to get in on this first grant," he said.

(Contact Ann Austin at ann.austin@albertleatribune.com or 379-3435.)

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