LAPD, Agency Helping Children Who See Violence

Hailing it as a major step in community policing, officials of the LAPD and a child abuse prevention organization unveiled a joint program Thursday that provides trained counselors to accompany police officers at scenes of domestic abuse where children are present.

The program, called Emergency Response Intervention Network, establishes a round-the-clock team of counselors who also work with the families long after the police have moved on, organizers say.

Traditionally, children who have not been abused but who routinely witness violence at home are not referred to child protection agencies. Officers notify the Department of Children and Family Services only “when there’s actually been a beating,” said Los Angeles Police Capt. John Mutz.

But now, in the Wilshire Division, where the program began in August, five counselors wait for calls and scan police blotters, ready to respond to any case in which a child has been exposed to violence.

Studies show that children who witness beatings are affected in the same way as children who are physically or sexually abused, said Mary Emmons, executive director of Children’s Institute International, the lead agency for the project. Emmons said that boys who witness battering in the home are more likely to grow up to be batterers themselves.

Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, speaking at a news conference announcing the program, called this effort “the direction of the future.” Similar programs are operating in the LAPD’s Van Nuys and Harbor divisions.

“This program today is a step further in breaking that cycle [of violence] by allowing an outside agency to be brought in with resources well beyond what the Police Department and, in most cases, the criminal justice system can provide,” Parks said.

That agency, the Children’s Institute, received a $300,000 grant from the California Department of Social Services for the program this year, Emmons said.

In addition to offering counseling and on-the-spot crisis intervention, the institute staff guides people through complicated bureaucratic processes like filing restraining orders, Emmons said.

Organizers hope that families--though not legally bound to speak to counselors--will be more receptive to receiving assistance when police are still on the scene.

“I think if it’s serious enough for the police to be in their lives, they will see it as serious enough to deal with,” Emmons said.

Police officers who patrol the 14-square-mile Wilshire Division investigate about 110 cases of domestic violence a month, Mutz said. Now, if a child is present at the scene, the officers are required to call counselors from the Children’s Institute immediately.

Upon arrival, the counselors advise the victim and children and arrange for emergency shelter, food and medical care if needed. After leaving the home, they call back within two hours. They also visit the family the next day--giving assistance that officers often don’t have the time or training to do.

“One of the most frustrating things as a police officer was knowing we didn’t have the ability to follow up,” said Deputy Mayor Bill Violante, a former police officer.

Emmons said implementing the program has been slow, and she expects it to take six months to a year before the effort is running fully. She estimated that her staff has responded to about 50 calls.

“The patrol officers have to get used to doing this and understanding the value of doing this,” she said.