This is a personal hot button for me. My mother was a victim. I was a victim of child abuse.
Almost daily we get calls from women, and occasionally men (more and more) about valid complaints of domestic violence, ranging from pushing to assault with a weapon.
Very recently took a call from a grown son calling for Mom. Mom couldn't call us because Dad ripped the phone out of the wall, making it impossible for Mom to call for help. Mom uses a walker to get around due to physical damage done to her body from multiple beatings and abuse over the years by Dad.
I'm not going to go over the whole psychological issue of why women stay in such an abusive relationship. My mother did. This Mom continues to.
But what angers me is the lack of prosecution done to this "man" (and I hate to use this word for such an adlebrained/dimwitted member of the homosapian animal race) by our County District Attorney. And not just one DA either. According to premise history, this man has been arrested numerous times for domestic violence. Through at least three different DA terms.
In our state a victim (not all DV vics are women) does not have to "file a complaint" like they did during my mother's era. If an Officer sees physical evidence of assault, the suspect is arrested. The suspect can be prosecuted without the victim ever having to testify. When this law was created a lot of law enforcement and victim advocates danced happily in the streets.
But for some reason our County DA has a problem following through on prosecuting domestic violence suspects. A quick online search of the County Criminal Courts shows a very high percentage seem to be pled down. This "man" that created this angry blog entry has been arrested numerous times but seems to spend a little county jail time and goes home to repeat the cycle.
I wonder how many domestic violence convicted persons are actually in our prison system. Because this "man" should be one of those enjoying the rent free/first run movie viewing/better medical and dental coverage than I got/free gym equipment access residence provided by our state and my tax dollars. But for some reason our County DA's just let him go home again and again with a slap on his hand.
Showing posts with label domestic violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label domestic violence. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Super Power Hearing
If you dispatch for any length of time, you develop a very special super power. Your hearing and ability to "read into" the verbal messages and speech is a very superior skill that builds over experience and time. Since we don't have the opportunity to read the other person's body language like an officer responding to an event, we "hear" differently.
Recently took a 9-1-1 hang up. When I called back to confirm everything was okay, following policy of having the person on the other side of the call confirm address and telephone number, got a male on the phone who was sniffing and muttering child made a mistake (but child was already gone when asked about the child) and he didn't know the address and phone number.
His demeanor, his avoidance, his repetitiveness of "it's a mistake" set off an internal alarm that was forged over years of experience. It told me that something was off center and needed attention. So a call for service was created and officers were sent. Sent a note to the officers that something sounded hinky and they were like, "okay, we'll check it out."
Well, lo and behold, what did officers find? A domestic violence situation with the suspect male trying to hide from officers. After all, he was in violation of a restraining order and on probation. So this visit by officers meant a pair of silver bracelets were gifted to his wrists and a drive down to the county jail for booking with a future return to the state funded country club to finish his original sentence due to,, domestic violence and assault.
The officers were very good about not shrugging off my gut reaction to the call. They took me serious and it paid off. Now, the only problem is, how does a dispatcher explain this super power and ability in an articulate and accurate manner in an easy to understand format for court?
Recently took a 9-1-1 hang up. When I called back to confirm everything was okay, following policy of having the person on the other side of the call confirm address and telephone number, got a male on the phone who was sniffing and muttering child made a mistake (but child was already gone when asked about the child) and he didn't know the address and phone number.
His demeanor, his avoidance, his repetitiveness of "it's a mistake" set off an internal alarm that was forged over years of experience. It told me that something was off center and needed attention. So a call for service was created and officers were sent. Sent a note to the officers that something sounded hinky and they were like, "okay, we'll check it out."
Well, lo and behold, what did officers find? A domestic violence situation with the suspect male trying to hide from officers. After all, he was in violation of a restraining order and on probation. So this visit by officers meant a pair of silver bracelets were gifted to his wrists and a drive down to the county jail for booking with a future return to the state funded country club to finish his original sentence due to,
The officers were very good about not shrugging off my gut reaction to the call. They took me serious and it paid off. Now, the only problem is, how does a dispatcher explain this super power and ability in an articulate and accurate manner in an easy to understand format for court?
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