By Taylor MacPherson

Domestic violence calls increasing despite police initiatives

May 24, 2017 | 2:00 PM

The issue of domestic violence is a growing one in Prince Albert.

Use of safe shelters and domestic violence programming are both up in the city over previous years, and the police have also noticed the upward trend. Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rowden said the department’s domestic call volume dropped slightly in 2016, but since January the numbers have risen.

“We are actually seeing that domestic violence is trending up again,” Rowden told paNOW. “It’s something that we monitor very, very closely.”

Rowden said addictions are at the root of a high percentage of domestic violence cases in Prince Albert, and the city’s ongoing struggles with drugs and alcohol are likely behind the upward trend.

“Our calls for service around intoxicated people are also rising at a parallel with domestic violence,” he said. “Alcohol is no doubt a contributing factor in many of the cases we deal with.”

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Because domestic violence is difficult to police proactively, Rowden said Prince Albert Police have developed partnerships with community organizations such as Mobile Crisis, Addictions Services and the Community Alcohol Strategy to target the root cause issues. The police service also has an officer assigned to review every domestic complaint and employs an in-house victim services worker, Rowden said, to make sure victims feel at ease discussing the highly-personal issue of domestic violence.

“The person might not feel comfortable immediately talking to the police,” Rowden said. “This approach, it puts people in contact with not only police, but also support services that are there to assist.”

Rowden is working to address domestic violence at a provincial level as well. The Deputy Chief currently sits on a Saskatchewan Police Commission committee responsible for reviewing policies and making recommendations to ensure every Saskatchewan police officer is trained and prepared to deal with a domestic situation in an effective and sensitive way.

“I think the province as a whole has recognized that domestic violence is an issue,” Rowden said. “We all have a role to play.”

Dr. Chad Nilson, who designs and develops violence and anger management programming for Catholic Family Services, said Prince Albert police have shown a strong commitment to reducing domestic violence, particularly in the past few years. An increase in the number of calls for domestic disputes, Nilson said, could actually indicate a positive trend.

“If you have communities that are engaged in trying to encourage victims to seek out and ask for help, you’re going to have higher reports of violence,” he said. “Maybe we do have more violence, or maybe people have had enough and they’re actually reaching out for help.”

According to Nilson, domestic violence is a community issue and requires a wide-reaching response that extends beyond the police service. He works with various government agencies, such as probations and corrections, to help ensure they understand the various risk factors contributing to violence and are prepared to meet the needs of victims. If more agencies go the extra mile and ensure their staff are educated, Nilson said, rates of domestic violence will start to drop across the board.

“If everyone can pitch in and support the clients they have to reduce the risk factors to violence…then maybe we can have a negative influence on violence in Prince Albert,” he said. “Let’s have everybody play a part in reducing some of these risk factors.”

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews