A recent study conducted by the Columbus Police Department will be used to combat domestic violence. The research project, created through the office of Chief Selvain McQueen, shows more than 100 domestic violence cases have been reported in Columbus between January and July.
“I’m not surprised by the numbers,” McQueen said. “I’m certified though the Attorney General’s office to instruct classes on how to deal with domestic violence cases. I’ve worked a lot of domestic violence cases in my day and it has had a profound impact on me. I want to do what we can to fight it here in Columbus.”
According to CPD Administrative Assistant Sheila Elder, who supervised the study, females are far more likely to be the victims of domestic violence than men. Of the 100 cases documented in the case study, more than 80 of the victims were female.
“This data was created by an intern at Mississippi State University,” Elder said. “She created charts and statistics for us based on domestic violence reports. The data showed that not only the number of female victims, but it also showed that domestic violence has been more prevalent on the North side of town and we received more calls as the temperatures began to increase.”
Elder said domestic violence often starts as an argument that escalates to the point of violence.
“A lot of times, these women feel trapped and sometimes they go back to the person that abused them,” Elder said. “This study will allow us to better meet the needs of victims of domestic violence by showing what we can do to best help the victim after they make the report. Our officers have talk to them on the scene and give them some literature. We are now making calls to these victims to try and encourage them to follow through with prosecution and to help them find other services such as Safe Haven if need be.”
By implementing a follow-up survey, McQueen said it gives him and his department a better idea of how the victim’s needs are being served.
“The study has given us a lot of information about domestic violence, the victims and what we can do to stop the violence and help the victims,” McQueen said. “We were able to take a woman to Safe Haven (Monday) and that’s what we want to have happen. A lot of people feel trapped or they feel embarrassed about their personal lives and they don’t always see these things through to the end. We want everyone to get past all of that — you don’t have to live like that. By calling these victims, we can make sure they are safe and we can offer further assistance if necessary. We are just trying to improve the quality of life for the people of Columbus. There is more work we would like to do with victims of domestic violence but we need some volunteers to help us do this.”
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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