Jump in domestic assault reports in Rutland spurs speculation

RUTLAND — A sharp increase in the number of reported aggravated assaults and domestic violence in Rutland may indicate greater trust in law enforcement and a willingness by victims to come forward rather than an uptick in the number of crimes committed.

Between 2014 and 2015 there was a 38 percent increase in the number of aggravated assaults in the city; roughly 65 percent of those were domestic violence-related.

Cmdr. Scott Tucker of the Rutland Police Department said the 2016 numbers look similar. According to the latest figures, there have been 50 reported aggravated assaults in Rutland this year, eight fewer than last year. Thirty-nine of those have been classified as domestic violence-related.

He said the department is working with the National Network for Safe Communities, a research team affiliated with John Jay College, to identify high-risk offenders and reduce overall rates of domestic violence.

Avaloy Lanning, the executive director of the Rutland County Women’s Network and Shelter, said the data most likely do not suggest that the problem has gotten worse.

According to Lanning, the network, which is the only domestic violence service provider in the county, has not seen an increase in the number of calls to its 24-hour hotline or in the number of clients coming to its door. Those numbers have remained consistent.

Lanning said if someone’s home gets broken into there’s a high probability that they’ll call law enforcement. “But if I’m being abused in my house by my partner or by a family member or by my landlord,” she said, “I am less likely to report that abuse.”

However, if victims know there’s a support network available and that law enforcement can be trusted they are far more likely to call the police, advocates said.

“I think that under (former Chief James) Baker and with the start of Project Vision there really may have been a greater sense that the cops were OK among the public,” said Robin Weber, a research analyst with the nonprofit Crime Research Group. Until recently the organization worked with the Rutland Police Department and wrote a report in March analyzing last year’s numbers.

One of the troubling findings in 2015 was the high number of cases involving varying degrees of strangulation, which is considered a high predictor of homicide.

Leigh Goodmark, a professor of law at the University of Maryland whose research has focused on domestic violence, said it may be wishful thinking to assume that the increase in domestic violence rates is largely due to better reporting and awareness. Goodmark said domestic violence is still one of the most underreported crimes and that there’s little concrete evidence to support the argument that more victims are coming forward.

“We’ve known domestic violence to be an underreported crime as long as it’s been measured,” Goodmark said. “What could change all of a sudden to make that different?”

In addition, Goodmark said that while murder rates have generally declined nationwide in recent years, domestic violence-related homicides have tended to go up. In Vermont, domestic violence played a role in more than a third of all homicides last year. That number is down slightly from 2014.

Lanning said it’s not just greater trust in law enforcement that explains why victims are coming forward but also a stronger partnership with the Rutland County state’s attorney’s office and a closer working relationship between the police and advocacy groups.

The women’s network has a legal advocate embedded in the Police Department one and a half days a week who also meets on a regular basis with law enforcement countywide. The same staff member attends family court every Friday. In addition the county has a domestic violence task force made up of members of the state’s attorney’s office, law enforcement and service providers.

Rutland County State’s Attorney Rosemary Kennedy said her office is working closely with law enforcement to do a better job of documenting reports of domestic violence, which can often be challenging to prosecute. According to Tucker, police have started to treat domestic violence crime scenes more like homicide cases. Kennedy said there isn’t always physical evidence that abuse has taken place but that doesn’t mean an assault hasn’t happened.

“There are a lot of challenges with domestic violence,” Kennedy said. “Oftentimes the victim is still in love or financially dependent or has a child with the abuser. These are very complicated relationships.”

Since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 the emphasis has been on prosecution with or without victim participation, Goodmark said. But this has had uneven results. In some cases, Goodmark said, the punitive response has in fact fueled domestic violence.

For example, one of the biggest drivers of violence is male underemployment or unemployment, an outcome that is much more likely after serving time in prison. “One could ask given that relationship does it really make sense to use as our accountability mechanism something that’s going to make violence more likely,” Goodmark said.

According to Tucker, in 98 percent of the reported domestic violence incidents in Rutland this year the abuser was a white male between the ages of 20 and 30. Of those 35 percent were previously convicted of domestic violence.

In recent years there’s been a vigorous debate over whether the criminal justice model is the most effective approach. And Vermont has been part of that conversation.

In October Goodmark gave a lecture at Vermont Law School titled “Should Domestic Violence Be Decriminalized?” Goodmark, who is also a practicing attorney, said the answer is no. But not all offenders should be treated the same, Goodmark said.

The intimate partner violence intervention strategy developed by John Jay College targets the highest risk offenders, who tend to commit the greatest number of crimes. Low-level offenders are treated differently in the hope that early intervention and counseling might reduce recidivism. It is based on the same model used to reduce drug-related crime in Rutland.

Kennedy said prosecutors have started to take a more holistic approach to the issue and that each case presents its own set of challenges. For example, Kennedy said an alarming number of first-time offenders were charged with strangulation, which was something of a surprise. Other first-time offenders may have a history of domestic violence that’s never been reported before.

Figuring out whether to pursue probation, a deferred sentence or jail isn’t necessarily straightforward. Kennedy expressed some surprise and dismay that in 2016 more progress hasn’t been made.

“I don’t think we’ve really changed the underlying norms on violence against women,” said Goodmark. “Until you do that work I think you’re going to see rates stay high.”

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