Speedway PD Outlines Domestic Violence Stats at Prevention Group Meeting

(posted June 26)

A dream is evolving into a fact finding mission for Terry Moore, Charlene Burkett, Ann Englehardt and The Speedway Navigator since they held their initial meeting on forming a domestic violence shelter in Speedway. The May 18 meeting involved a discussion with Larry Bellville of Danville based Sheltering Wings, a domestic violence shelter started by the Cornerstone Christian Church

Since then, more people have climbed aboard to pursue this common goal. As part of the group's June 22 fact finding mission, eleven individuals listened to Speedway Police Detective Jim Thiele as he shared the department's procedures when handling domestic violence calls.

The cause also grabbed the attention of Marshawn Wolley, crime watch liaison to the Mayor's office, since he is involved with neighborhood quality of life issues as well as neighborhood crime watch and prevention.

"Domestic violence is the most difficult case to investigate," Thiele said. It is an emotionally charged situation because "you have couples hurting each other when in fact they also love each other." Thiele said there are several reasons why women refuse to pursue domestic violence charges. It is often humiliating and embarrassing for women to admit they are in abusive relationships. The victim is often depended upon the male for financial support. She doesn't want to break up the family if kids are involved. The woman often forgives her abuser when he demonstrates remorse. The woman wants to believe that he really means it and she trusts him.

Thiele explained the police often go on repeated calls because the remorse and makeup phase don't last.

Often times women minimize the situation when it comes to prosecuting. He noted the police department now has a more comprehensive form that identifies the victim's demeanor as well as bodily injuries at the time of the initial run. The detailed report helps the victim to remember the initial statement to prevent her from backing away from prosecution. The victims are also given a victim's rights notice to sign that says they are aware of the problem and there are resources available if they want help. He said the victim is not obligated to sign the notice. The department also provides domestic violence victim's rights information. The information provides a brief overview of what to expect as the victim goes through the judicial system.

He noted that domestic violence is an exception that allows the prosecutor to file charges regardless of the victim's consent. The prosecutor will initiate the charges if the prosecutor feels that it is a dangerous situation. He noted that new domestic violence laws have upgraded some offenses to a class D felony. Strangulation or a choke hold has been raised to a class D felony as well as committing an assault in the presence of children.

He said the legislators stiffened the penalty when it involves children to help to break the cycle of violence. Statistics indicate a strong likely hood that young boys will grow up to be abusers if they witness abuse while growing up in their family. The abuse becomes part of their belief system in regards to women and behaving in relationships.

Indianapolis Church of Christ Minister Steven Cannon, who also volunteers at the Julian Center, said he has counseled men that have been sent to anger management as part of their sentencing for committing domestic violence acts. "They don't get it that their behavior is wrong because many of them grew up in abusive environment," he said.

He said he heard stories from clients that have hit their wives in the mouth because dinner was not done. Cannon also noted that it is difficult for women to understand they are not to tolerate the abusive behavior. "The rule of thumb is if he hits you the first time, it is his fault. The second time he hits you, it is your fault," Cannon said.

He agreed that domestic violence becomes a cycle of abuse phase, remorse phase and honeymoon phase. When a woman stays in an abusive relationship, she yearns for the honeymoon phase so she often starts pushing his buttons to create the violence to get back to the honeymoon phase. "It becomes a mental sickness," he said.

Counseling involves more than just recognizing the problem. Rehabilitation is needed to break the cycle. It is difficult to change the behavior when it has crossed over the line to mental illness. Cannon has written a book called Checklist for Change to help individuals change the negative behavior.

David Bowden of Speedway said he is involved with the ministry called Celebrated Recovery that helps people break any addictive behavior patterns that plague them. Celebrated Recovery is a Christian Ministry that is used in prison, but Bowden thinks it could be applied to domestic violence rehabilitation.

In 2006, the Speedway Police Department had 80 reported cases of domestic violence. This does not include all domestic violence runs that were just verbal exchanges. In those times, the officer acts as a mediator to calm the situation down before it does escalate into an assault. Often the officer recommends one party leave for awhile to have a cooling off period.

Thiele said out of the 80 reported cases, 57 cases deal with a male and female involved an intimate relationship. It is usually the woman being abused. He noted that 50 of those 80 cases occurred in apartments or hotels, the remainder occurred in a single family resident or open public place. In 2007, the police have 33 reported cases of domestic violence with 16 arrests.

The group will continue to spearhead in gathering information before the next meeting, 7 p.m. July 13 at Grindstone Charley's in Speedway.
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