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

Photo: courtesy Detroit News

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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