INITIATIVE BOOSTS FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

It’s great to see this model being used in Minnesota now!  I’ve heard some good outcomes when using the LAP, and I pray that it helps Minnesota victims and that much success comes out of it and lower DV homicide rates and more help for the victims is a result.

From Chisago County Attorney Janet Reiter—

Fifteen women from Minnesota lost their lives to domestic violence in 2010, according to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.

Over the past decade, 194 women were killed by a current or former husband, boyfriend, intimate partner, household member or family member.

Last week, officers from Wyoming, North Branch and Lakes Area Police Departments attended training to implement an innovative program designed to address the level of domestic violence in their communities.

More than 30 officers from the three departments are now ready to use a scientifically-based tool, called a “Lethality Assessment,” to direct their response to domestic violence calls and assist victims seek help from battered women’s shelters like The Refuge Network.

The program is the Lethality Assessment Program — Maryland Model (LAP). It’s based on 25 years of research at The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. The research revealed:

• Only 4 percent of domestic violence murder victims nationwide had ever availed themselves of domestic violence program services.

• In 50 percent of domestic violence-related homicides, officers had previously responded to a call on the scene.

• The re-assault of domestic violence victims in high-danger situations was reduced by 60 percent if they went to a shelter for help.

The goal of the LAP: to prevent domestic violence homicides, serious injury and re-assault by encouraging more victims to use the support and shelter services of domestic violence programs.

How it works

A specific series of questions are used by officers to determine a level of risk associated with an abuser and the victim. When victims’ responses rate as high-risk on the Lethality Assessment, an immediate call is made to The Refuge Network’s hotline.

The immediate connection has been found to be much more effective than simply leaving a business card for the victim who often does not follow through once the abuser has been arrested and removed from the home.

“The Lakes Area Police Department is excited to take part in the Lethality Assessment process,” said Police Chief Stenson. “Ours is but the initial step in several elements working together to make sure the needs of domestic violence victims are being met to the best of our ability. A few minutes to assess and get a few questions answered is well worth the time to improve services.”

Later, the information gathered from the Lethality Assessment may be used by prosecutors to charge and prosecute the cases and by probation officers to determine levels of intervention — with the ultimate goal of keeping victims safe and reducing recidivism.

Chisago County probation officer Bruce Hagstrom supervises misdemeanor offenders. “We look forward to this new tool providing greater victim safety, and increased offender accountability by identifying higher risk domestic offenders,” he said.

Lethality Assessments will also be made available to judges making bail and pre-trial release determinations to assist the court in determining appropriate bail and pre-trial release conditions. Chisago County is already prioritizing domestic abuse cases by placing them on the fast track, allowing cases to reach jury trial on a priority basis.

Sgt. Randy McAlister, from the Cottage Grove Police Department, assisted with the training sessions in Chisago County. He has been an outspoken proponent of the LAP after its implementation in Washington County.

McAlister has seen the LAP assessment tool serve as the objective evidence that is sometimes needed to convince reluctant victims to get the help from the available domestic abuse programs and shelters.

Group effort

The implementation of the LAP in Chisago County is the result of positive collaboration between the Chisago County Attorney’s Office, Chisago County Court Services, The Refuge Network and law enforcement.

The adopted two-pronged intervention process features the law enforcement administered lethality screening tool and an accompanying referral protocol that provides direction for law enforcement, victims’ advocates, court services and prosecutors.

Assistant County Attorney Jennifer Bovitz, probation officer Bruce Hagstrom and advocates from The Refuge were instrumental in initiating the LAP in Chisago County.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence in their relationship, help is available at The Refuge Network. In Chisago County, call 651-247-2890.

Original Article

Women to protest mayor’s stance following domestic violence arrest

“We as a city, we need to look at what’s best for the city at this point.”

“The citizens need to realize will we take the long course. We understand the allegations, but we’re going to do what’s best for the city,” he said.

These two statements really stand out and smack me in the face, and the face of every other Domestic Violence Survivor or Victim out there today.  How dare someone put the needs of a city before the safety of a Victim??  Because the abuser is needed for his job for the city, leniency will be taken??  How absurd!  This just shows one reason why women don’t stand up and come out about the domestic violence and abuse that is going on within their homes, because just like this is showing, too often the abuse is minimized…

I pray that the silent protest went well and that many were reached on this matter!

Posted on: 2:26 pm, February 27, 2012, by Scott Wise

PETERSBURG, Va. (WTVR) – A silent protest is scheduled to take place Tuesday before the city council meeting in Petersburg.

Protesters are upset with comments Petersburg MayorBrian Moore made following the arrest of Petersburg City Manager William Johnson III on domestic abuse related charges.

In a closed-door meeting Friday, Moore and Petersburg City Council decided to keep Johnson on the job pending the outcome in court.

“We understand that they [some citizens] are upset but we also need to realize that things happen in a domestic relationship,” said Mayor Moore following Friday’s closed-door meeting.

Johnson and his wife attended Friday’s meeting. Less than a week had passed since police arrested Johnson on charges of misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from a fight with his wife, according to a criminal complaint filed in Petersburg Juvenile and Domestic Court.[Read More]

“It’s a personal issue. You’ve seen he and his family. They’re here in support,” Mayor Moore said. “We as a city, we need to look at what’s best for the city at this point.”

In an email to CBS 6 News, protester Marion Werkheiser wrote the Mayor’s comments minimize the “seriousness of domestic violence.”

She added, “the Mayor seems to think that domestic violence is no big deal. For far too many women in Virginia, domestic violence is happening and it is a very big deal.”

On Friday Mayor Moore said council would not make a  snap judgment following the city manager’s arrest.

“The citizens need to realize will we take the long course. We understand the allegations, but we’re going to do what’s best for the city,” he said.

When he attempted to reach the Mayor today,  CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil was told by a city spokesman that Mayor Moore was out of town.

The silent protest is scheduled to take place Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 6:45 p.m. at the Union Train Station on River Street in Petersburg.

Original Article

Yarmouth police seek domestic violence charge against Christy Mihos; former gubernatorial candidate allegedly pushed wife

I have to wonder, after reading this article, if they would have taken as seriously a woman with the same issues coming in who’s husband/abuser was not so prominent a figure?  I know of DV Cases where women have been beat yet fire arms aren’t taken away, where so much isn’t done, and have to wonder….why???  If only as much as this is done for all women who encounter domestic violence issues…

02/27/2012 6:48 PM

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff

Yarmouth police are seeking a charge of domestic assault and battery against former gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos following what they called a “complete and thorough investigation” into allegations made by his long-time wife, Andrea.

A hearing before a Barnstable District Court magistrate will be held sometime in March to consider whether Mihos, 62, should be charged with the misdemeanor. If the magistrate decides a charge is warranted, the case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office.

Mihos is alleged to have pushed his wife of 38 years on July 7 at their exclusive West Yarmouth home on Great Island, according to a person who has been briefed on the case.

Andrea Mihos, 60, spoke with Yarmouth police at the station last Tuesday night, one day after her husband allegedly shoved a cellphone in her face while the two were driving in Florida, according to the person with knowledge of the case. The Mihoses own a condominium home in Stuart, near West Palm Beach.

The couple had allegedly been quarreling about money, with Andrea Mihos accusing her husband of squandering the family’s resources. When she began taking pictures of Christy Mihos with her cellphone, he allegedly pushed it in her face, the source said.

Andrea Mihos has since asked police not to pursue charges, according to two people who have been briefed on the matter.

Yarmouth police, who would not release their findings to the media, have suspended Mihos’s license to carry a firearm and seized a gun that he owns. Neither Christy nor Andrea Mihos could be reached for comment today.

Yarmouth authorities said they have been communicating with the Martin County Sheriff’s Department in Florida. A Martin County sheriff’s spokeswoman said yesterday that a police report from Yarmouth has been forwarded to the county’s Criminal Investigations Division, whose probe is in its preliminary stages.

Christy Mihos spent more than $4 million of his own money in two unsuccessful campaigns for governor, as an independent in 2006 and as a Republican in 2010. He made a fortune through his chain of Christy’s convenience stores and served on the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, where he forged a reputation as an outspoken critic of the Big Dig and its ballooning costs.

In his 2010 bid for governor, the Globe reported, his campaign bounced checks. At the Republican convention that year, he failed to win the 15 percent needed to qualify for the primary election.

The Office of Campaign and Political Finance fined Mihos $70,000 for several violations -- the largest penalty ever imposed on a candidate in Massachusetts. He made two installment payments but failed to pay the final amount of $25,000, due last February.

In an effort to recover the money, Attorney General Martha Coakley has asked a judge to place a lien on his $80,000 speedboat.

Mihos has also told a number of associates that he is writing a tell-all book that will shake Beacon Hill with its disclosures about the Big Dig.

Frank Phillips of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at macquarrie@globe.com.

Original Article