The News Room [News Archive]
Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615
Release Date: Thursday, February 26, 2004
Operation Safehouse takes 114 domestic abusers and stalkers
off the street --- Sheriff, local departments team up for
warrant sweep
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Photo: courtesy Detroit News
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Every day, hundreds of women in Wayne County live in fear for their
lives, but not at the hands of a stranger. These victims of domestic
violence instead are afraid of their current, estranged or ex-husbands
and boyfriends. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic
Violence, more than one million women seek medical treatment every
year for domestic abuse-related injuries.
To help stem the tide of domestic violence in Wayne County, local
law enforcement agencies have dedicated more than 100 officers
over the past three days to track down offenders charged with or
convicted of domestic violence. Officers participating in Operation
Safe House are from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office
and the Detroit, Inkster, Livonia, Taylor and Westland police departments
and the Social Security Administration.
In Wayne County in 2003, the Prosecutor’s office issued
1,900 misdemeanor warrants and 1,600 felony warrants for domestic
abuse, an average of approximately 100 per week. Law enforcement
agencies participating in Operation Safe House have pulled warrants
for the 265 offenders considered most threatening to their victims
and have begun arresting them.
Charges associated with the warrants include Felonious Assault,
Assault with Intent to Commit Murder, and Home Invasion, according
to Sheriff Warren Evans.
“During economic downturns, such as the one we are currently
facing, reports of domestic abuse go up because of stress over
finances and other issues,” Evans said. “Regardless
of what sparks it, there is no excuse for this type of behavior
and it will not be tolerated.”
By the end of the three-day sweep, officers had arrested 114 offenders,
with charges ranging from Felonious Assault, Breaking & Entering,
Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and Assault With Intent to Commit
Murder, all related to domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse’s legacy
Evans said that many times the impact of an abusive household goes far beyond
the primary relationship and can last for generations.
“Children who grow up in abusive homes are 15 times as likely
to be the victims of abuse as well,” Evans said. “Frequently
children who have been abused grow up to abuse others. We also
know that as many as 70 percent of children who are abused will
grow up to have a juvenile criminal record and half of them will
graduate to adult crimes. ”
Domestic Abuse Facts:
- Battering is the single largest cause of injury to women in
the United States -- over mugging, automobile accidents and rape,
combined.
- More than 50 percent of all women will experience some form
of violence from their spouses during marriage. More than one-third
are battered repeatedly every year.
- Thirty-one percent of female homicide victims are killed by
their partners.
- Up to 50 percent of all homeless women and children in this
country are fleeing domestic violence.
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