New Policies Urged on Domestic Violence

A special panel formed to study the scope of domestic violence in Los Angeles County delivered a sweeping set of recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, urging greater coordination, training and reporting by the many agencies that deal with varied aspects of the crime.

“These crimes are shocking, sickening and they hurt all of us,” Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti said as he and Sheriff Sherman Block delivered the report. “The goal of all of us is to stop the violence. Stop it today.”

Garcetti ticked off numbers that hint at the magnitude of the problem in Los Angeles County: 25 cases of domestic homicide since Jan. 1, a rate of more than one every nine days; 1,100 felony cases of domestic violence and 2,000 misdemeanor cases filed by his office this year; nearly 70,000 reports of spousal abuse to the 911 emergency line every year.

Calling the grim statistics a “blueprint for action,” board Chairwoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke asked that the panel continue working to refine and help implement the reforms.

Key recommendations from the study, titled “Domestic Violence: The War on the Home Front,” include:

* Creation of a central clearinghouse for information on domestic violence.

* Cross-training of county agencies to improve cooperation on domestic violence cases.

* Coordination of courts, which issue conflicting orders. The criminal courts may order perpetrators to stay away from a victim’s home, while the family court issues custody and visitation orders that grant access to the same address, the panel found.

* Creation of a Victim Emergency Response System that would provide safe and confidential shelter, food vouchers, child-care supplies and medical care. In a county of nearly 9 million residents, there are fewer than 250 shelter beds available for victims of domestic violence, the task force reported.

* Establishment of a system for doctors, hospitals and other medical facilities to report suspected domestic violence injuries uniformly.

The task force was formed in the wake of the slaying of Nicole Brown Simpson. Her ex-husband, O.J. Simpson, has been charged with killing her and a friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman, outside her Brentwood condominium June 12. The murders focused national attention on the issue of domestic violence because the former football star had a history of spousal abuse.

While finding that improvements are needed to reduce the level of domestic violence, the panel also reported that important changes are already in the works.

In October, Garcetti established a domestic violence unit to specialize in prosecuting such crimes and on Tuesday he issued formal guidelines for his prosecutors to follow. Those guidelines direct deputies to prosecute even if a victim does not cooperate, and to vigorously seek jail or prison time for offenders.

Sheriff Block reported that his department has been improving its response in recent years. He said domestic violence calls are given top priority, requiring field personnel to handle them without delay. Deputies are trained in helping victims to acquire protective court orders.

Despite their efforts, Garcetti and Block said the problem of domestic violence requires more than just a governmental response.

“We must involve the community . . . to break the cycle of violence,” Garcetti said, noting that domestic abuse often is passed from generation to generation.

Block recommended mandatory classes on domestic relations be taught in all middle and high schools statewide. “It’s essential that we prepare young people to mitigate the problem,” said Block.

County Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed said that many of the recommendations could be implemented without busting the budget. She said existing funds are available for some of the programs and that other recommendations--such as requiring updated policies and procedures--would have little or no direct cost.