NORTH BAY ? This month the North Bay Police Service began releasing weekly domestic violence statistics to make the public aware of its prevalence.
?City police respond to an average of three-and-a-half domestic occurrences every day,? said community services officer Ted Whittle. ?We want to raise the public?s awareness of this problem and the violence involved.?
Cnst. Erin Racicot, police domestic violence coordinator says in 2010, City Police brought 1,059 domestic assault charges.
?The numbers are really alarming, ? she said, ?and not only are the incidents increasing, but we are seeing a trend this year to more younger female offenders. I don?t know why, but young women are being a lot more physical.?
Domestic abuse covers a wide range of interactions that can occur between two people in an intimate personal relationship, including young dating couples, and can be both physical or verbal.
?These are among the most serious charges laid, and domestic violence is a dangerous situations for officers to attend,? said Racicot. ?The emotions are so intense and people end up doing things they would never do to their parents, siblings or friends.?
City Police want to take a proactive role in trying to stem the rise in domestic incidents.
?Education and awareness. Those are the keys to trying to stop the cycle of abuse. And it is a cycle. Children raised with abuse don?t know any other way to handle those intense inter-personal conflicts, whether they are the aggressor or the victim. We need to teach them that there is a better way,? Racicot said.
North Bay Police are about to launch a new campaign in City high schools to teach students about healthy relationships.
?It?s our new community campaign showing students how to deal with conflicts and the negative side of dating. It?s important that they know, first off, what the law says. Some of these teens think that hitting their girlfriend is no big deal, but it?s serious. It?s domestic violence,? said Racicot.
The program?s mandate is not only education, but to give the students the tools they need to deal with conflict in a non-violent manner.
Racicot says that despite a more general awareness of domestic assault, it?s still a taboo crime that often goes unreported.
?The victim is embarrassed, doesn?t want people to know their partner is violent or even feels in some way that they deserved to be hit,? Racicot said. ?That stigma is still there, and it?s even worse if the victim is a man.
?There are tons of cases not reported, and for the male victims, it is very hard for them to reach out for help.?
Racicot is passionate about getting rid of that stigma and says in her mind, the education process should start in elementary school.
?Kids don?t understand why these things happen between their parents, or the adults in their life, and they internalize and make it personal. They think it?s their fault. They don?t always realize that there are other family models where violence doesn?t happen,? she said.
?I think healthy relationship building should start in Kindergarten. I think its something that should be discussed around the supper table with mom and dad.?
The new high school campaign is another way North Bay Police are working with city residents and with the various communities within the city to try and eliminate domestic crime and the hurt associated with it.
?It?s called pro-active policing and I?m all for it,? said Racicot. ?I?m hoping that with education we can get those three-and-a-half calls a day cut way back.?
Story by Laurel J. Campbell ? ?lcampbell@metrolandnorthmedia.com
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