ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601090019
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police officers in Virginia will be required to arrest the primary aggressor in domestic violence cases if legislation endorsed by a state group becomes law.
The Commission on Family Violence Prevention recommended the proposal, one of many strategies designed to prevent violence and punish people who batter their families. The commission adopted its recommendations Friday after 15 months of study and statewide public hearings.
``This will be a big step forward for the women of Virginia,'' said Attorney General Jim Gilmore, who headed the subcommittee that pushed the proposal.
``It means anyone who commits an assault and battery in a domestic situation will be arrested,'' said Gilmore, the presumed GOP nominee for governor in 1997. ``It means a court will have to hear the matter and take some kind of protective action.''
Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, the likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee next year, also was enthusiastic about the proposal. Current law ``still gives discretion to police officers to make arrests,'' Beyer said. ``You have to understand the chilling effect a mandatory arrest policy would have.''
The proposals carry a substantial price tag: roughly $7.3 million annually to hire 329 additional deputies and police officers statewide; $5 million more each year for 162 additional prosecutors, paralegals and court secretaries; and $4 million to $5 million annually to bolster services to victims, such as shelter space and hot lines.
Another key component of the proposals is educating police officers on how to determine who the primary physical aggressor is in domestic violence calls. The officer would need to consider prior complaints of domestic violence, the relative severity of the injuries inflicted on each person, the likelihood of future injury to each person and whether one of the people acted in self-defense.
The need for police sensitivity was stressed by one former victim who spoke during a public hearing on the proposals Thursday night.
Debra Roach of Charlottesville, who said she left her abusive husband in December 1992, recounted how her attempts to get legal relief initially were rebuffed.
She said a magistrate in Blacksburg told her, ``If all you have is a black eye and a few bruises, you are better off to let it go.'' He said if she got a warrant, the man probably would return and punish her even more severely.
In a later incident, a police officer who responded to her call for help ``had the nerve to ask me what I did to get hit,'' Roach said.
``Training is desperately needed.''
Gilmore said he will push for the mandatory arrest policy even if the General Assembly balks at allocating the money.
But Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, said she believes it is ``crucial that we get all the components through. If we don't get the funding part, we may indeed worsen the situation ... because it could put women at more risk if they have no place to go and no services behind them.''
LENGTH: Medium: 62 linesby CNB