Full Notification

During 2018, the Janesville Police Department responded to approximately 900 domestic related calls. According to the most current Wisconsin Domestic Violence Homicide Report, domestic violence claimed 62 lives in Wisconsin in 2017. Between 1986 and 2012, Janesville experienced 10 domestic related homicides. In an attempt to avoid future tragedies, the Janesville Police Department implemented a Domestic Violence Intervention Team in February 2010. The team is composed of three patrol supervisors and 8 patrol officers. The members of the team serve on a voluntary basis. All domestic violence and domestic trouble reports are reviewed by the DVI team. DVI officers attempt to make follow up contact with the victims of domestic violence within 72 hours of the original incident being reported to the police department. In 2018, over 800 domestic violence reports were reviewed and approximately 500 victims were contacted.

The goals of the DVI program coincide with the department’s mission statement by working with the community to solve this real and at times deadly problem in our city. This is accomplished by connecting victims with services, improving police investigations of domestic violence incidents, and ultimately decreasing the frequency and severity of domestic violence incidents.

The team works in conjunction with the YWCA of Rock County, the Victim/Witness office, Child Protective Services, Mercy Hospital, and others. The cooperation between these groups has led to open lines of communication that aid the victim in receiving proper assistance and support.

A new initiative implemented by the DVI team in 2018 was the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP). Under the program, Janesville patrol officers who respond to domestic calls will screen intimate partner victims by asking 11 questions that relate to behavior, threats against life, and use of weapons by their abuser. If a victim answers yes to some of the questions, the person is immediately referred to support services while officers are still on-scene. The on-scene call goes to the YWCA hotline. The YWCA can then offer services to the victim such as shelter, safety planning, case management, and legal advocacy.

Over the past year the DVI team, along with officers on patrol, has put over 130 victims into contact with the YWCA of Rock County domestic violence advocates. While the exact numbers are not available, the Victim/ Witness office has seen a substantial increase in the number of victims contacting them for assistance on domestic violence related matters such as obtaining restraining orders. It is our hope that the Lethality Assessment Program coupled with our existing Domestic Violence Intervention team will prevent the tragedy of domestic violence homicide in our community.