Reports of domestic violence have risen steadily over the last decade in Prince George’s County, according to a new report that offers advice on how to prevent a domestic dispute from ending in a homicide. Domestic violence calls to law enforcement have risen every year since officials began to keep statistics on calls in the 1970s, according to the report by the Prince George’s County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. County officials received 12,979 calls related to domestic violence in the first 11 months of 2011.
Prince George’s 56 domestic violence homicides from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2011 trail only Baltimore and Baltimore County statewide.
The report is the first from the panel created in 2007 to study domestic violence homicide cases.
But officials point to new annual lows in homicides and assaults as signs that they’re working to implement some of the panel’s recommendations.
There were only two domestic violence homicides in Prince George’s in fiscal 2011, according to the most recent data from the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence. Homicides have been dropping since fiscal 2008, when 13 were killed in domestic violence incidents.
By studying specific domestic violence cases to see how police, sheriff’s deputies, the court system and other county agencies handled each incident, the panel was able to find approaches to prevent future homicides, said Michaele Cohen, executive director of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence.
“They’re looking for ways for the system to be improved, for what could have made a difference for the people in those situations,” Cohen said. “I think they’re already moving forward.”
For example, the panel suggested police always fill out supplemental reports for every domestic violence emergency call they receive. Police Chief Mark Magaw said his officers already complete those reports and are working on evaluating homicides.
And a new Magaw appointee has been working for more than a year to improve the department’s response to victims, providing access to domestic violence prevention centers and faith-based organizations to help prevent repeated attacks.
As a result, domestic assaults were down 8.6 percent in 2011, a reduction of 252 victims, according to Magaw.
“Those numbers are even unacceptable to us,” Magaw said. “This whole community needs to be involved in this issue. We need to make sure all the municipalities are on board.”
