Local police to boost domestic violence training in new year

By Rayma Silvers

The Fort Scott Tribune

Law enforcement officers from both the Fort Scott Police Department and the Bourbon County Sheriff's Department will begin the new year brushing up on their domestic violence training.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, local officers will travel to Pittsburg, Kan., to attend a domestic violence training session conducted by Sgt. Tim Tompkins from the Pittsburg Police Department. In addition to Tompkins, domestic violence advocates will also contribute to the domestic violence instructional time.

According to an e-mail from the Crisis Resource Center of Southeast Kansas, the training, which is based on the new Kansas domestic violence curriculum, will include information about protection orders; the protection order process; follow-up steps after a protection order has been placed; reasons why arrests are made and why they are not made; and detailed information about stalking and the new stalking laws.

According to Bourbon County Sheriff Ron Gray, the domestic violence training will be a definite asset to his officers.

"Domestic Violence is a serious situation," Gray said.

Fort Scott Police Lt. Travis Shelton said he too thinks the training will be a good resource for the city's officers. Shelton said the City of Fort Scott responded to various battery calls throughout 2008. However, there were 92 domestic battery calls during the year, which is a higher number than in any of the other battery categories. Shelton said domestic battery cases are often more difficult to work through than other cases as they can become quite complicated. The domestic violence training will help enhance information the officers already know, according to Tompkins.

Tompkins said the training he will conduct on Jan. 20 is the same training that will be used for instruction at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. In addition, the same curriculum will be used in the training of domestic violence advocates. Because everyone involved in the fight against domestic violence will be receiving the same training, Tompkins said it will help every member of the team work more efficiently together.

"We all have to work together to make it work right," Tompkins said. "If any one piece falls, the rest can collapse. We do a good job. This (training) will give us the ability to take a good skill that we already have and make it better."

Tompkins stressed the importance of law enforcement officers handling domestic violence situations correctly from the beginning of the call. If a domestic violence case is handled incorrectly, the likelihood of the victim phoning the police for help the next time an act of violence occurs will be diminished. In addition, proper handling of the case could positively affect the victim's acceptance of help from an advocate.

A Crisis Resource Center pamphlet defines domestic violence as abuse, which is about power and control over another person within a relationship. The abusive attacks usually begin as verbal abuse or threats that can escalate into battery, rape and sometimes murder.

"A lot of folks don't understand domestic violence is not about violence. Its about power and control," Tompkins said.

Tompkins added that quite often victims of domestic violence stay in abusive relationships because of fear. Victims are sometimes afraid the abuser will take their children away from them or that they will not be able to financially support their children on their own.

According to the Crisis Resource Center Web site, www.crisisresourcecenter.com, anyone who knows a victim of domestic violence should listen and offer support to the victim, making sure not to exhibit a judgmental attitude. It is important for friends and family members to believe the violence happened, understanding the victim's pain and embarrassment due to the situation. In addition, friends and family members of the victim should encourage him or her to call the Crisis Resource Center at (800) 794-9148 in order to receive help.