Domestic Abuse Shelters Will Get $6.1 Million : Violence: Spurred by Simpson case, L.A. and county officials address lack of space for those seeking refuge.

Spurred to action by the intense publicity surrounding the O.J. Simpson case, Los Angeles city and county governments created panels Tuesday to grapple with the problem of domestic violence and agreed to spend $6.1 million on shelters for abuse victims.

Acknowledging a significant shortage of shelters for domestic violence victims, the City Council agreed to spend $5 million a year to develop such havens and the County Board of Supervisors approved spending $1.1 million on the 18 shelters already scattered throughout the county.

“We need to make clear to the community that we take the issue of domestic violence seriously,” said Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who proposed the city measures. “This household terrorism is wicked and horrifying--and sadly all too common.”

Those who have been working in the field of domestic violence welcomed the official attention but said they hoped the commitment would not fade when the Simpson case disappeared from the evening news.

“It’s about time,” said Patti Giggins, executive director of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women, which runs a 24-hour rape and battery hot line. “They’ve been cutting us back and now they’re going to spend money. Sometimes it takes a big case like this to shake people up.”

Tammy Bruce, president of the local chapter of the National Organization for Women, agreed.

“It’s almost human nature to notice things when there is a crisis,” she said. During the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, “There was a focus on sexual harassment that is still around. If this is what it takes, that’s fine, but we need to look at issues seriously even if they’re not on the news every night.”

The issue of domestic violence jumped to the top of the national agenda after Simpson was arrested in the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman earlier this month. The investigation has spotlighted Simpson’s stormy relationship with his ex-wife. He pleaded no contest in 1989 to misdemeanor spousal battery. Also, officials last week released a tape of a 911 telephone call that Nicole Simpson made in October. She could be heard pleading for help, saying that Simpson had broken into her house and was angrily shouting at her.

The city’s new Domestic Violence Task Force, designed to coordinate the city’s response to the problem, will include victim advocates, police officers and city officials.

The county plans an additional group that will draw members from numerous agencies, including the district attorney’s office, the Sheriff’s Department, Children’s Services and the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. The panel will review arrest procedures, prosecution of offenders, support and protection of victims, public education and early intervention among adolescents.

“The tragic events of the past 10 days surrounding O.J Simpson . . . have become an unfortunate catalyst for a heightened level of public awareness regarding domestic violence and spousal abuse in this country,” said Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who proposed the task force.

During the City Council’s discussion, members referred to “recent events” but avoided specific mention of the murder charges filed against the former Buffalo Bills running back.

The city also intends to use its cable television station to publicize domestic violence hot lines and to work with the Los Angeles Housing Authority to grant battered women priority status in applying for permanent subsidized housing.

In addition, the city will seek to make domestic violence a part of its community-based policing strategy by including experts in the field of domestic violence on the Community Police Advisory Boards being set up by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Even before Simpson’s arrest, the Los Angeles Police Department had attempted to deal more aggressively with the problem. In recent months, the department set up a special unit in each of its 18 police stations and it has specially trained more than 100 detectives in how to handle such cases.

“Our big push in the city has been focused on the law enforcement end,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, a former social worker. “We have to do catch-up to look at the problem in its entirety and go after all of the pieces.”

Officials acknowledged that the additional expenditures on shelters were minuscule compared with the scope of the problem. Last year alone, there were 67,732 domestic violence calls to law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County, resulting in 16,663 arrests, according to state statistics.

There are only three domestic violence shelters within the city and 18 countywide.

A tiny percentage of battered spouses contact shelters, officials said, and most of those who do are turned away because of a lack of space.

The Board of Supervisors, meanwhile, allocated $65,000 to the 18 shelters throughout the county. The grants come from a domestic violence trust fund financed through a surcharge on marriage license fees.

The county authorized use of the funds in April, before the Simpson case. The board asked shelters to apply for the funds, and on Tuesday approved the requests.

Citing studies that report an alarming increase in violence among teens, Commission for Women Vice President Olivia Rodriguez told the board that the county must also focus on stemming violent impulses among youngsters.

“We hear story after story of boys slapping girls and the girls seem to think they asked for it,” Rodriguez said. “There has to be more education done, getting them to know that violence is not the way to go. This is something that all of these agencies and the school system have got to get together to do.”

Domestic Violence

The Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles County supervisors have established special task forces to address the problem of domestic violence. Emergency calls to police agencies and arrests for spousal abuse have increased overall in the past five years, though the numbers decreased in Los Angeles County in 1993. The number of homicides has varied over the years in the county but decreased statewide.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CALLS TO POLICE AGENCIES

State of L.A. County California *1989 49,491 188,581 *1990 53,743 195,019 *1991 61,089 203,638 *1992 69,437 240,826 *1993 67,732 238,895 5-year increase +36.9% +26.7% ADULTS AND JUVENILES ARRESTED FOR SPOUSAL ABUSE State of L.A. County California *1989 14,829 38,200 *1990 16,430 43,760 *1991 16,562 45,677 *1992 17,455 49,547 *1993 16,663 50,982 5-year increase +12.4% +33.5% WILLFUL HOMICIDES OF SPOUSE, LIVE-IN, BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND, EX-SPOUSE State of L.A. County California *1989 94 270 *1990 78 277 *1991 80 267 *1992 82 261 *1993 67 253

Source: California Dept. of Justice