A program that seeks to reduce the number of domestic-violence-related homicides in Florida now includes Collier County.
The Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team, or INVEST, allows the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, The Shelter for Abused Women & Children and other agencies to work together to identify cases of domestic violence that could escalate into something more serious.
The program has a two-fold focus: to send abusers a message that CCSO is watching them, and to provide victims with intense service management and advocacy.
Collier is one of six counties recently added to the INVEST program by the Florida Attorney General’s Office. A total of 11 counties participate.
The counties were chosen because they had among the highest instances of domestic-related homicides in recent years.
In 2007, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received reports of 214 cases of domestic-violence-related murder or manslaughter, up 17 percent from the 183 cases reported the previous year, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
So far this year, Collier has had three reported cases of domestic-violence-related homicides. That compares to one case in 2008, five in 2007 and two in 2006, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Currently, law enforcement agencies are required under state law to notify the nearest domestic violence shelter of domestic violence arrests. With the new program in Collier, CCSO detectives will team up with the INVEST advocate from the shelter. Each morning the teams will cull through the previous day’s domestic violence reports to identify victims potentially at risk for homicide.
Team members will contact the victim and explain the program, as well as refer the victim and any children to safe shelters or other services.
Detectives will also make personal contact with the abusers and monitor them to ensure accountability.
“We’re making contact with them and letting them know there is a complaint against them and we’ll be monitoring them more closely,’’ said Lt. Mike Fox of CCSO’s Major Crimes Bureau.
The INVEST team advocates and law enforcement officials are trained in domestic violence issues, offer confidentiality, and are available 24 hours a day.
The program will provide CCSO and the shelter with another tool to battle domestic violence.
“We have always tried to get in front of domestic violence in this county,” Fox said. “This program is another way we’re trying to identify potential victims.’’
Said Lisa Reddick, director of programs for The Shelter for Abused Women & Children: “Individuals attempting to leave abusive relationships face myriad challenges both emotional and economic. The INVEST program is a collaborative effort that will provide intensified service management to individuals confronting especially difficult circumstances and assist them as they and move through these challenges.”
Fox and Reddick said the program will foster continued partnerships between CCSO and the shelter.
“Working with the Sheriff’s Office and identifying other key community partners provides an organized effort on the part of Collier County to address domestic violence through intensified services, increased communication, cooperation and coordination among participating sectors,’’ Reddick said. “The vision of The Shelter is a community without domestic violence so that ever home is a safe haven for the family it shelters. Our promise to you and the community is to protect, to prevent, and to prevail.”
Chief Jim Williams, who is head of investigations for the Collier County Sheriff's Office, discusses Collier's participation in the INVEST program at a news conference in Tampa on July 16. The Florida Attorney General's Office has expanded the program, which seeks to reduce the number of fatal domestic violence cases in Florida, into six counties, including Collier.The Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team, or INVEST, allows the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, The Shelter for Abused Women & Children and other agencies to work together to identify cases of domestic violence that could escalate into something more serious.
The program has a two-fold focus: to send abusers a message that CCSO is watching them, and to provide victims with intense service management and advocacy.
Collier is one of six counties recently added to the INVEST program by the Florida Attorney General’s Office. A total of 11 counties participate.
The counties were chosen because they had among the highest instances of domestic-related homicides in recent years.
In 2007, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received reports of 214 cases of domestic-violence-related murder or manslaughter, up 17 percent from the 183 cases reported the previous year, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
So far this year, Collier has had three reported cases of domestic-violence-related homicides. That compares to one case in 2008, five in 2007 and two in 2006, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Currently, law enforcement agencies are required under state law to notify the nearest domestic violence shelter of domestic violence arrests. With the new program in Collier, CCSO detectives will team up with the INVEST advocate from the shelter. Each morning the teams will cull through the previous day’s domestic violence reports to identify victims potentially at risk for homicide.
Team members will contact the victim and explain the program, as well as refer the victim and any children to safe shelters or other services.
Detectives will also make personal contact with the abusers and monitor them to ensure accountability.
“We’re making contact with them and letting them know there is a complaint against them and we’ll be monitoring them more closely,’’ said Lt. Mike Fox of CCSO’s Major Crimes Bureau.
The INVEST team advocates and law enforcement officials are trained in domestic violence issues, offer confidentiality, and are available 24 hours a day.
The program will provide CCSO and the shelter with another tool to battle domestic violence.
“We have always tried to get in front of domestic violence in this county,” Fox said. “This program is another way we’re trying to identify potential victims.’’
Said Lisa Reddick, director of programs for The Shelter for Abused Women & Children: “Individuals attempting to leave abusive relationships face myriad challenges both emotional and economic. The INVEST program is a collaborative effort that will provide intensified service management to individuals confronting especially difficult circumstances and assist them as they and move through these challenges.”
Fox and Reddick said the program will foster continued partnerships between CCSO and the shelter.
“Working with the Sheriff’s Office and identifying other key community partners provides an organized effort on the part of Collier County to address domestic violence through intensified services, increased communication, cooperation and coordination among participating sectors,’’ Reddick said. “The vision of The Shelter is a community without domestic violence so that ever home is a safe haven for the family it shelters. Our promise to you and the community is to protect, to prevent, and to prevail.”
