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Maplewood Extending Domestic
Abuse Pilot Program
Maplewood Extending Domestic Violence Pilot
Program.
December 22, 2016 06:23 PM
Giving domestic violence survivors more support, and doing a better job of holding
abusers accountable: A Ramsey County pilot program, with those goals, ends next week.
But the city of Maplewood isn't letting the progress go by the wayside. It's dedicating
$60,000. They're taxpayer dollars from the General Fund.
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Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, when he sat down
with Ramsey County Attorney John Choi a couple of years ago, the deal was simple:
When the $200,000 that the county would be dedicating to cities ran out, Maplewood
would at least consider dedicating city money to continue the new initiative. And, the city
did.
"You can have the best prosecutors and the greatest investigations in the world, but if we
aren't connecting with those victims and helping make sure that they feel safe, they are
not going to, they are not going to participate in the process, understandably not
participate in the process," explained Chief Schnell.
Chief Schnell said the city has had a number of cases that went from a domestic violence
plea to disorderly conduct.
Schnell explained, "So what ends up happening in those instances, those offenders, many
of who are really, really dangerous people ultimately can go and obtain a permit to
purchase a firearm."
Therefore the city is working to change the system, so survivors trust the system.
"We were concerned about continuance for dismissal, those cases where somebody may
say the court may say, accept your plea today, but a year from now as long as you've
been clean and no other issues, we'll dismiss it," Schnell said.
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This means abusers would have no record.
To fix the problem, a Ramsey County prosecutor has been embedded with officers for the
past 2 years, working with them on a consistent basis, teaching new investigative tactics.
In 2016, Maplewood domestic violence phone calls for help went up. So did prosecutions,
increasing from the usual 150, up to, instead, 200.
"One of the things that I think is different about this approach, is that people often talk
about it's a he said-she said, how do we know who's really responsible,"Schnell said.
So they're using different techniques to collect evidence and conduct interviews.
"I think we actually end up in a place where we are holding batterers accountable in a very
just, fair and reasonable way," Schnell said.
The Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS it's a great pilot
program that's being extended and Maplewood has been a solid ally. Tubman, an
organization that advocates for survivors said it's grateful for partnerships with police and
prosecutors.
Chief Schnell said he wants this to continue the program. As for subsequent years, he
hopes the city will continue to set aside money, potentially even more dollars.
Credits
(http://kstp.com/news/brandi-powell/4182263/?cat=13036)Brandi Powell
(http://kstp.com/news/brandi-powell/4182263/?cat=13036)
Updated: December 22, 2016 06:23 PM
Created: December 22, 2016 05:38 PM
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