In temporary quarters, files of domestic violence reports pile up because the filing cabinets are full. Annually, city police investigate about 25,000 domestic violence cases. Some are taken over by a unit thatÂs been operating for nearly a year. (Baltimore Sun photo by Peter Hermann / October 22, 2009) |
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It used to be that officers wrote off domestic killings as a given - unfortunate and often brutal crimes that added numbers to the city's death tally but couldn't be prevented in the traditional way, such as with more police, neighborhood sweeps and arrests.
And there wasn't much of a public outcry. People felt bad and were angry, but they didn't feel less safe because the man up the street killed his wife in an upstairs bedroom.
A new team of Baltimore police and prosecutors is turning those antiquated theories around.
Led by DeVera Gilden, Lt. Vernell Shaheed and Assistant State's Attorney Julie Drake, nine detectives and a team of social workers called victim's advocates, holed up in a makeshift office at the downtown Circuit Court building, review every domestic violence call and report taken in Baltimore - about 25,000 a year. They often respond to the scenes of serious cases to take over the investigation from patrol officers.
They videotape victims' stories, accompany them to hospitals, help them secure safe shelter and go after the abusers. Team members said dedicated detectives, instead of overwhelmed beat officers, build cases that are standing up in court, and their early intervention keeps many victims from recanting later and returning to their abusive partners.
"You want to prevent murders in Baltimore?" said Drake, who heads the felony family violence division in the city state's attorney's office and oversees some of the city's most disturbing and brutal crimes, including the deaths of children. "If you want the murder rate to go down, you have got to intervene in violence in the home."
Drake notes statistics to prove her point. There were 13 domestic-related killings in Baltimore in 2007, 14 in 2008, but just four so far this year.
The team has dedicated its full resources to 67 serious cases since it began work late in 2008 and has resolved 32, with 87 total years in prison time for defendants. A review of 31 serious cases handled by city patrol officers before the team was formed shows a total of just 15 years in prison for defendants.
The Family Crimes Unit started as a pilot program in two city police districts and is now a full-time, round-the-clock operation covering all of Baltimore. It's funded in large part through private grants but members will soon lose their office space at the courthouse and are searching for a new home. Drake is lobbying for a family violence center that would offer victims a single place to obtain protective orders, talk with authorities and receive counseling.
Officers must call the unit when they respond to serious domestic violence cases, typically defined by the severity of the injuries. Detectives then decide whether to respond to the scene or to the hospital, or monitor the case through reports. The unit reviews even minor cases, and intervenes after police have been called to the same address three times, even if only for an argument.
Videotaping victims shortly after they've called 911 helps secure their stories should they later recant or refuse to testify in court, Drake said. The idea is not only to help the victim, but children and others in households repeatedly exposed to violence. Drake said studies show that children of abused parents "have an incredibly high risk of repeating that violence."
The police team includes Officer Kate Wood, whose daughter was shot and killed by her boyfriend in 1997. Her daughter had called police when the boyfriend violated a temporary protective order by showing up at her house with a gun, but at the time police had no authority to seize the weapon. Her daughter was killed with the gun two days later.
Wood fought for years to tighten the law, which was finally done 12 years later in this year's legislative session, allowing officers as of Oct. 1 to seize weapons while enforcing temporary restraining orders. Wood now sorts through reports of misdemeanor domestic violence cases to see if any should be taken over by the Family Crimes Unit.
On Wednesday, she sat amid piles of police reports and yellow files stacked on chairs and cabinets, some awaiting review - 175 were from last weekend alone - and others were there simply because there was no room to store them. The police lieutenant, Shaheed, simply shook her head as she walked by.
"More and more come in every day," she said.
And there wasn't much of a public outcry. People felt bad and were angry, but they didn't feel less safe because the man up the street killed his wife in an upstairs bedroom.
A new team of Baltimore police and prosecutors is turning those antiquated theories around.
Led by DeVera Gilden, Lt. Vernell Shaheed and Assistant State's Attorney Julie Drake, nine detectives and a team of social workers called victim's advocates, holed up in a makeshift office at the downtown Circuit Court building, review every domestic violence call and report taken in Baltimore - about 25,000 a year. They often respond to the scenes of serious cases to take over the investigation from patrol officers.
They videotape victims' stories, accompany them to hospitals, help them secure safe shelter and go after the abusers. Team members said dedicated detectives, instead of overwhelmed beat officers, build cases that are standing up in court, and their early intervention keeps many victims from recanting later and returning to their abusive partners.
"You want to prevent murders in Baltimore?" said Drake, who heads the felony family violence division in the city state's attorney's office and oversees some of the city's most disturbing and brutal crimes, including the deaths of children. "If you want the murder rate to go down, you have got to intervene in violence in the home."
Drake notes statistics to prove her point. There were 13 domestic-related killings in Baltimore in 2007, 14 in 2008, but just four so far this year.
The team has dedicated its full resources to 67 serious cases since it began work late in 2008 and has resolved 32, with 87 total years in prison time for defendants. A review of 31 serious cases handled by city patrol officers before the team was formed shows a total of just 15 years in prison for defendants.
The Family Crimes Unit started as a pilot program in two city police districts and is now a full-time, round-the-clock operation covering all of Baltimore. It's funded in large part through private grants but members will soon lose their office space at the courthouse and are searching for a new home. Drake is lobbying for a family violence center that would offer victims a single place to obtain protective orders, talk with authorities and receive counseling.
Officers must call the unit when they respond to serious domestic violence cases, typically defined by the severity of the injuries. Detectives then decide whether to respond to the scene or to the hospital, or monitor the case through reports. The unit reviews even minor cases, and intervenes after police have been called to the same address three times, even if only for an argument.
Videotaping victims shortly after they've called 911 helps secure their stories should they later recant or refuse to testify in court, Drake said. The idea is not only to help the victim, but children and others in households repeatedly exposed to violence. Drake said studies show that children of abused parents "have an incredibly high risk of repeating that violence."
The police team includes Officer Kate Wood, whose daughter was shot and killed by her boyfriend in 1997. Her daughter had called police when the boyfriend violated a temporary protective order by showing up at her house with a gun, but at the time police had no authority to seize the weapon. Her daughter was killed with the gun two days later.
Wood fought for years to tighten the law, which was finally done 12 years later in this year's legislative session, allowing officers as of Oct. 1 to seize weapons while enforcing temporary restraining orders. Wood now sorts through reports of misdemeanor domestic violence cases to see if any should be taken over by the Family Crimes Unit.
On Wednesday, she sat amid piles of police reports and yellow files stacked on chairs and cabinets, some awaiting review - 175 were from last weekend alone - and others were there simply because there was no room to store them. The police lieutenant, Shaheed, simply shook her head as she walked by.
"More and more come in every day," she said.
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