What a great article about Domestic Violence Court working and putting the abusers in their place.
Julie Miessen just wanted the police to put a scare into the man who had abused her, followed her from northern Minnesota when she left him and threatened to kill her and their child.
Then she got to court and realized that Stearns County prosecutors had more in mind than a wake-up call for her ex-boyfriend. And she was mad about it and let everyone know.
She had effectively sent him to jail by calling the police when he violated an order for protection. If she didn’t at least appear to be doing all she could to get him out of jail, she feared what would happen when he was released.So she went to Anna Marie’s Alliance to fulfill the requirements of Stearns County’s Domestic Violence Court, which was where her ex-boyfriend’s case ended up. She was at Anna Marie’s to go through the motions, she thought — to watch a video and set up a safety plan that would allow her to drop the no-contact order.
“Of course, I didn’t have a very good attitude,” Miessen said.
That changed quickly, though.
“We watched a video about how domestic abuse affects children. Wow. I was like, ‘No way.’ There’s no way I’m doing this to my kid. My kid doesn’t deserve that,” she said.
Another woman was cracking jokes about the video and the safety plan requirement. Miessen confronted her, telling the woman that the video had changed her and her attitude about what to do about the abuse.
“I’m not going to let my kids go through that,” she recalls saying that day. “That was my turnaround point. And I think I’ve apologized to everybody in Stearns County for how I’ve treated them.”
That turnaround is one of the dramatic signs of success for the Stearns County Domestic Violence Court. It has survived on $1 million worth of grants since it began three years ago and soon will become a permanent part of the Stearns County criminal justice system budget.
It’s stories like Miessen’s that show how the DVC is saving money and lives by putting the worst of the worst domestic violence offenders under a microscope of strict supervision and swift sanctions for violations.
“What we are doing here is homicide prevention,” Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall said. “We’ve gone from one group of guys committing three assaults a year to a total of five assaults out of 136 guys in three years.”
The success of the program was highlighted again earlier this month when Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited St. Cloud to hear testimonials about the DVC’s effectiveness. Klobuchar was working on congressional renewal of the Violence Against Women Act that helps fund such programs.
“It’s a really great story of getting things started and then institutionalizing it in a way where you learn that it saves money and saves lives,” Klobuchar said.
Close monitoring
When the court started in May 2009, the previous seven homicides in Stearns County were related to domestic violence. Domestic violence accounted for 40 percent of court appearances in which a defendant stayed in jail until they made their first court appearance, Kendall said.
The cases were cycling through the system, but the courts weren’t slowing them down or stopping the violence. Children witnessing the abuse were more likely to be the next generation of abusers.
“We decided to take on the worst of the worst,” Kendall said.
That meant closer monitoring of the offenders accepted into DVC. A surveillance agent and probation agent in a three-month period make as many as 4,000 contacts with about 40 offenders. Each offender is required to call in daily to report where they are.
There are random visits to the offender; random drug and alcohol tests; and help with mental health issues, counseling and medical assistance, among other things. Police now have access to offender and victim records through squad-car computers so they know exactly what restrictions have been placed on each offender and who their victims are.
There is voice recognition software in the jail and monitoring of jail phone calls so no-contact orders can be enforced if an offender calls a victim. GPS units track offenders, and expanded use of arrest-and-detain orders give law enforcement more tools to protect victims.
“This is a different way of doing business,” said Lt. Jim Mortenson of the St. Cloud Police Department.
He’s part of the Stearns County Domestic Violence Partnership, a collaboration of law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, county human services, legal aid and domestic violence prevention advocates.
The partnership is vital to the court, which handled 129 offenders through the end of 2011. By the end of 2011, 120 of them had pleaded guilty to their crimes, and 52 had gone to prison. Only nine had graduated to traditional probation supervision.
The focus isn’t just on the offender. St. Cloud Area Legal Services provided services to 115 of the victims of those offenders. Included among those services is child protection and establishing and enforcing child support, housing, medical assistance and help with transportation and day care.
“What is important to the victim here is oftentimes these are the areas of control that the offender has over the victim,” said Mark Sizer, county human services administrator. “She doesn’t have a place to live. She doesn’t have a vehicle, transportation, child care. And we can assist with those needs.”
'On my own'
One of the cases Sizer highlighted during Klobuchar’s visit to St. Cloud was Miessen’s. He told the senator of the day Miessen’s ex-boyfriend got out of jail and immediately violated a no-contact order by calling a third party with a request to set up a meeting between her and him.
When Miessen’s ex-boyfriend walked into the downtown St. Cloud Perkins, the DVC surveillance agent and police were waiting for him. He was arrested on his birthday, less than an hour after being released from jail where he was in custody from a previous no-contact order violation.
By then, Miessen was a believer in domestic violence court. Initially she just wanted to please the man who had abused her so his harm wouldn’t spread to her daughter and to her extended family.
“The fear of knowing that they will hurt you and your family is enough to keep you with somebody,” she said. “He could hurt me. I didn’t want him hurting my family. When you feel so low and have such low self-esteem, it’s hard to leave. It’s what you know. That’s the life I led for three years.”
She had cursed the domestic violence court staff, refused to cooperate with its policies and held onto the hope that her abuser’s “I’m sorrys” would one day lead to a change in him.
But the no-contact order violations continued, as did the threats. He enrolled in classes at the same college where Miessen enrolled, sometimes taking the same classes. He confronted her while she was studying in the commons area, in the parking lot and over the phone.
If the video at Anna Marie’s was her turning point, the followup support was what kept her on her new path.
She spoke often to a victim advocate and would get calls — often on weekends — from surveillance agent Bill Nelson, just checking in to see how she was doing.
There were times when he dropped whatever he was doing — and at odd hours — to come to her house when she needed help.
“They made me realize I can do it on my own,” Miessen said. “And to this day he still wants me dead. But I’m not letting that control my life. I want to help people that are in this situation and let them know there are resources and you can get out and you can do it.”
That turnaround was significant for Kendall, who said Miessen was one of the first victims who initially was combative and who later embraced the domestic violence court approach. She hopes more do the same.
Half of the offenders in the DVC make it and half don’t, she said. There are services there to help the offenders change their behavior and stay out of custody. And there are swift consequences, including significant prison terms, for those who refuse to change.
“We put the keys to the jail or the prison in his hands. If he’s not going to make it, then let’s get there. And we’re getting that done twice as fast,” Kendall said. “So you’re figuring out which are which a lot more quickly by giving him opportunities. And sometimes they make it, and when they don’t, let’s not mess around.”
“What we are doing here is homicide prevention,” Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall said. “We’ve gone from one group of guys committing three assaults a year to a total of five assaults out of 136 guys in three years.”
The success of the program was highlighted again earlier this month when Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited St. Cloud to hear testimonials about the DVC’s effectiveness. Klobuchar was working on congressional renewal of the Violence Against Women Act that helps fund such programs.
“It’s a really great story of getting things started and then institutionalizing it in a way where you learn that it saves money and saves lives,” Klobuchar said.
Close monitoring
When the court started in May 2009, the previous seven homicides in Stearns County were related to domestic violence. Domestic violence accounted for 40 percent of court appearances in which a defendant stayed in jail until they made their first court appearance, Kendall said.
The cases were cycling through the system, but the courts weren’t slowing them down or stopping the violence. Children witnessing the abuse were more likely to be the next generation of abusers.
“We decided to take on the worst of the worst,” Kendall said.
That meant closer monitoring of the offenders accepted into DVC. A surveillance agent and probation agent in a three-month period make as many as 4,000 contacts with about 40 offenders. Each offender is required to call in daily to report where they are.
There are random visits to the offender; random drug and alcohol tests; and help with mental health issues, counseling and medical assistance, among other things. Police now have access to offender and victim records through squad-car computers so they know exactly what restrictions have been placed on each offender and who their victims are.
There is voice recognition software in the jail and monitoring of jail phone calls so no-contact orders can be enforced if an offender calls a victim. GPS units track offenders, and expanded use of arrest-and-detain orders give law enforcement more tools to protect victims.
“This is a different way of doing business,” said Lt. Jim Mortenson of the St. Cloud Police Department.
He’s part of the Stearns County Domestic Violence Partnership, a collaboration of law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, county human services, legal aid and domestic violence prevention advocates.
The partnership is vital to the court, which handled 129 offenders through the end of 2011. By the end of 2011, 120 of them had pleaded guilty to their crimes, and 52 had gone to prison. Only nine had graduated to traditional probation supervision.
The focus isn’t just on the offender. St. Cloud Area Legal Services provided services to 115 of the victims of those offenders. Included among those services is child protection and establishing and enforcing child support, housing, medical assistance and help with transportation and day care.
“What is important to the victim here is oftentimes these are the areas of control that the offender has over the victim,” said Mark Sizer, county human services administrator. “She doesn’t have a place to live. She doesn’t have a vehicle, transportation, child care. And we can assist with those needs.”
'On my own'
One of the cases Sizer highlighted during Klobuchar’s visit to St. Cloud was Miessen’s. He told the senator of the day Miessen’s ex-boyfriend got out of jail and immediately violated a no-contact order by calling a third party with a request to set up a meeting between her and him.
When Miessen’s ex-boyfriend walked into the downtown St. Cloud Perkins, the DVC surveillance agent and police were waiting for him. He was arrested on his birthday, less than an hour after being released from jail where he was in custody from a previous no-contact order violation.
By then, Miessen was a believer in domestic violence court. Initially she just wanted to please the man who had abused her so his harm wouldn’t spread to her daughter and to her extended family.
“The fear of knowing that they will hurt you and your family is enough to keep you with somebody,” she said. “He could hurt me. I didn’t want him hurting my family. When you feel so low and have such low self-esteem, it’s hard to leave. It’s what you know. That’s the life I led for three years.”
She had cursed the domestic violence court staff, refused to cooperate with its policies and held onto the hope that her abuser’s “I’m sorrys” would one day lead to a change in him.
But the no-contact order violations continued, as did the threats. He enrolled in classes at the same college where Miessen enrolled, sometimes taking the same classes. He confronted her while she was studying in the commons area, in the parking lot and over the phone.
If the video at Anna Marie’s was her turning point, the followup support was what kept her on her new path.
She spoke often to a victim advocate and would get calls — often on weekends — from surveillance agent Bill Nelson, just checking in to see how she was doing.
There were times when he dropped whatever he was doing — and at odd hours — to come to her house when she needed help.
“They made me realize I can do it on my own,” Miessen said. “And to this day he still wants me dead. But I’m not letting that control my life. I want to help people that are in this situation and let them know there are resources and you can get out and you can do it.”
That turnaround was significant for Kendall, who said Miessen was one of the first victims who initially was combative and who later embraced the domestic violence court approach. She hopes more do the same.
Half of the offenders in the DVC make it and half don’t, she said. There are services there to help the offenders change their behavior and stay out of custody. And there are swift consequences, including significant prison terms, for those who refuse to change.
“We put the keys to the jail or the prison in his hands. If he’s not going to make it, then let’s get there. And we’re getting that done twice as fast,” Kendall said. “So you’re figuring out which are which a lot more quickly by giving him opportunities. And sometimes they make it, and when they don’t, let’s not mess around.”
http://www.sctimes.com/article/20120527/NEWS01/305270029/Stearns-County-Domestic-Violence-Court-entering-fourth-year-seeing-success?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1
