Quantifying Domestic Violence

In Newtown Is Not An Easy Task

By John Voket

(This is the first of a two-part story on domestic violence in The Bee’s continuing coverage of the subject.).

There is a statistic in the latest Newtown Police Department calls-for-service report, which is available on the town’s website, that suggests the serene image of Newtown as a place of peaceful neighborhoods and happing endings is not entirely accurate.

In 2010, local officers logged 83 offenses under the category of “domestic dispute,” or between one and two per week, and 17 family dispute calls tied to court actions, including restraining orders.

In a town of more than 27,000, 83 domestic dispute cases and 17 family dispute calls may seem miniscule by comparison to larger or more urban communities in Connecticut. But the number of Newtown residents served by Newtown’s primary regional family, domestic, and sexual violence referral agency — The Women’s Center — for the fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, suggests a larger problem. That number is supplied to local officials each year during the lead-up to local budget deliberations because the town is asked to provide supplemental funding to the agency in proportion to the number of residents served.

In the 2010-2011 reporting period, according to Women’s Center Executive Director Patricia Zachman, the center served 1,562 Newtown residents.

Ms Zachman is quick to clarify, however, that the number includes anyone who has been touched by agency services — whether it was for immediate help due to a dangerous domestic situation, the students in local schools who receive instruction from one of the Women’s Center’s outreach programs, or those who call to reserve a spot in one of the center’s many support groups or workshops.

When Ms Zachman breaks out the statistic on calls or referrals to the agency that she said required immediate, crisis-level intervention, the number of Newtowners served in that capacity is 254, more than three times the number in the local police report. Those individuals received support including emergency shelter for period of one night to several months, and were developed through a combination of crisis hotline calls, walk-ins and referrals from police, social service, child protection or judicial agencies.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe told The Bee that his officers have myriad ways to identify an incident in their reporting criteria, which is evidenced by the 79 categories identified in the latest calls-for-service document. But while “domestic dispute” has its own set of criteria to warrant classifying an incident as such, more than a dozen offense categories within the calls for service can be attributed to a domestic, family, or sexual violence incident response.

The only murder that was logged in town that year — that of the formerly missing person Elizabeth Gough Heath — was reclassified after the victim’s skeleton was unearthed from a crawlspace in a former barn where she was known to reside. The chief state’s medical examiner determined that Elizabeth Gough Heath’s death was a homicide, and caused by a “blunt traumatic head injury,” or a forceful blow to the head.

While not stating specifically that investigators are looking at this case as being rooted in domestic violence, Chief Kehoe said that Connecticut has seen a rash of murders in recent years resulting from family, domestic, or sexual violence.

Among some of the other local calls for service in 2010 that may have been tied to or rooted in domestic violence situations were harassment (82), assault (63), threatening (20), disorderly conduct (18), breach of peace (30), vandalism (347), trespassing (44), violation of a restraining order (4) and risk of injury to a minor (4).

Moment Of Frustration

In an interview January 25, Ms Zachman outlined the anatomy of how an otherwise private moment of frustration among family members likely turned into a call to The Women’s Center.

“The huge thing in Newtown is the increase in violence and tension related to high-earning breadwinners losing their jobs, yet continuing to try and sustain the kind of lifestyle they had when they were employed,” Ms Zachman said. “These are households where spouses and children haven’t had to hear the word ‘no’ very often because money wasn’t an issue.”

The Women’s Center director said the self-esteem exhibited by families that are financially well off may quickly drain away once money for discretionary spending is no longer available, prompting arguments that can turn violent in the space of a few moments. And when depression that can accompany serious financial concerns is self-medicated with alcohol or drugs, the potential for violence can quickly escalate.

“We saw a situation where there was an escalating financial issue, and in the heat of the moment, someone picked up a chair and tossed it across the room,” Ms Zachman said. “Nobody was injured, but that argument was witnessed by a child in the house.

“Now this wasn’t a situation where arguing was the norm, but the child mentioned the incident to someone at school. Once the information made its way to an adult there, the mandatory reporting policies created a situation where the incident had to be reported,” Ms Zachman said. “Pretty soon DCF was involved because the incident was interpreted as family violence.”

In other cases, Chief Kehoe said, the incident can begin with a push, a slap, or a threat. And this is where, he said, the definition of the incident may either diverge from being classified as a domestic dispute, or be reported in one of the dozen or more overlapping categories on the annual calls-for-service report.

“If there is an arrest, there may very well be overlap,” Chief Kehoe said. “In a case where a husband and wife, or boyfriend and girlfriend start to fight and there is a slap or a push, we will note it as domestic violence on the initial report, but when it goes into our statistical reporting it may be listed as an assault.”

In regard to the situation described by Ms Zachman, Chief Kehoe said his officers always have to take into account if there are children or others living within the household where a domestic dispute occurs.

“Certainly we have to report anyone that is present, whether they witnessed the incident or they were not exposed,” Chief Kehoe said. “And sometimes we have no options. We have to make an arrest.”

New Position Planned

Chief Kehoe spoke to The Bee with a lot of information fresh in his mind from a national conference on violence against women he attended late last summer. And as a result of working to keep his department at the forefront when it comes to the potentially deadly side of domestic violence, the Newtown chief announced that he will be appointing a new domestic violence liaison within the department.

“At the National Law Enforcement Leadership Institute program I attended, there was a lot of training on how to be more proactive, and on developing protocols for handling domestic and family violence situations,” Chief Kehoe said. “As a result we took a look at policies, and at responses and we will be initiating a domestic violence liaison, Lieutenant Christopher Vanghele.”

The chief said Lt Vanghele will be positioned to build on regional connections with partner agencies, to assist the Newtown department when necessary, in its handling and disposition of domestic violence cases. The department will also step up its review of responses to calls involving family or domestic violence, and the department will audit both the call and handling of each incident with an eye on making the situation safer for both the officers and parties involved.

“I don’t know if there will ever be a perfect solution,” Chief Kehoe said. “Handling the dynamics of a domestic violence situation requires an intense amount of skill sets. Our officers are not psychologists, and we’re not mediators.”

The Newtown chief said while first-responding officers to a domestic call have limited resources to try and deal with the effects of such incidents on families, he hopes that with the department’s stepped-up initiative, his officers will be able to connect those involved with the trained specialists that can help bring these cases to a safe and peaceful resolution.

Chief Kehoe said the International Association of Chiefs of Police is working to get members to work together pushing for and developing regional coalitions, and that Newtown is in contact with the Brookfield Police Department, which also sent its chief to the recent national training institute.

In the meantime, anyone who believes they are a witness to or a victim of domestic or family violence is encouraged to contact the local police department in person or at 203-426-5841, to call 211-Infoline or the Women’s Center at 203-731-5206. The center also maintains a 24-hour sexual assault hotline at 203-731-5204.

(Next week: Police protocols for domestic violence.)