Irvin, Leone on Domestic Violence

DA and Hopkinton Chief of Police Announce New Initiatives

To Combat Domestic Violence And Serve Victims

HOPKINTON – October 30, 2008 — Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Hopkinton Police Chief Thomas Irvin announced a comprehensive set of new initiatives aimed at combating instances of domestic violence and serving victims in Hopkinton.

The new initiatives include increased trainings of police officers to more effectively investigate DV crimes as well as support victims, the designation of one specific DV officer who will receive specialized training and serve as a liaison to the District Attorney's Domestic Violence Unit and DV service agencies, and increased trainings of dispatchers to better respond to DV emergency calls.

“We have seen first-hand the number of families tragically impacted by domestic violence,” District Attorney Leone said. “That is why we are doing all that we can to not only better investigate and prosecute those who abuse others, but also to help victims proactively get out of dangerous situations before they escalate. The Hopkinton Police Department has been an instrumental partner with our office in investigating, prosecuting, and helping to prevent cases of domestic violence.”

“You are at greater risk of an assault in your home by a household member than by anyone else, anywhere else, in Hopkinton,” Chief Thomas Irvin said. “Our community has experienced the tragedy of domestic violence at its most extreme. The work being done by District Attorney Leone and his Domestic Violence Unit will help make our homes safer. We are proud to be a partner in those efforts.”

The following initiatives are now being implemented by the Hopkinton Police Department in partnership with the Middlesex District Attorney's Office:

A specific Hopkinton officer has been designated to focus on DV matters. That officer will receive increased training, work to educate and train other officers in the department, and serve as a liaison with the District Attorney's DV Unit and DV service agencies in the community.

Increased training of all officers in order to better identify and investigate cases of domestic violence as well as support victims. In addition to on-site trainings, members of the DA's office will also provide Hopkinton Police Department with:
- A roll call training video
- Risk Factor cards to help better identify high risk instances of domestic violence
- Dispatcher checklists and trainings to help better respond to DV victim call

The department's dispatchers will be provided with checklists and trainings to help better respond to DV victim calls.

Hopkinton PD and the DA's office will continue to partner together to get the message out about these new initiatives, as well as other services for domestic violence victims, into the individual communities.

Additionally, and at the core of these new initiatives, is a new program in which the DA’s office will match high-risk DV victims with pro-bono attorneys to represent them at civil restraining order hearings.

Leone and the law firms Proskauer Rose and Cooley Manion Jones have formed a first-of-its-kind partnership to address a significant gap in the way that DV victims are served during the restraining order process. Specifically, because a restraining order is a civil document, Assistant District Attorneys are unable to represent domestic violence victims during that process. Many of those victims are unable to afford an attorney as, oftentimes, it is the abuser who controls the household finances. To address this problem, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office has partnered with the firms to identify victims who need legal assistance and then assign a private attorney to provide representation free of charge. The District Attorney's office is continuing to seek other law firms to participate in the program.

These restraining order hearings are critical, as they not only work to assure that the abuser cannot come in contact with the victim, but also frequently address other important issues such as assuring continued child support, utility payments, and healthcare payments.

In 2007, there were more than 27,000 restraining orders filed by victims of domestic violence in the Commonwealth. In Middlesex County alone, there were more than 4,900 restraining orders filed by victims. Of that number, the DA’s office and community-based victims advocates estimate that approximately half of the victims did not return for a 10-day hearing to extend the restraining order for the full year. A significant reason for that is that many of them did not have legal representation.

File photo, 2007

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