Police often have been frustrated that after they have intervened at a home where domestic violence has occurred, other parts of the criminal justice and social service system seldom followed through. In 1987, the City of Colorado Springs was one of several communities around the country selected by the National Institute of Justice to replicate an earlier experiment in Minneapolis where police responded to domestic violence incidents with one of several alternative actions, one being the then novel idea of arresting the perpetrator. Out of this early start grew a series of community initiatives that have drawn in an ever-widening group of collaborative agencies.
The Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT) is an interdisciplinary group of professionals from 11 agencies who are located in a common space and coordinate their agencies’ response to cases of domestic violence. Agencies contributing staff include probation, a battered women’s program, two police and one sheriff’s department, the Humane Society, and legal services. The Team has been expanded to include professionals working with children exposed to violence, including local child protective services and the court-appointed special advocates (CASA) program.
The team maintains several levels of intervention. Referrals are received from a variety of sources, and the first level of intervention involves a confidential intake conducted by a victim advocate who is assigned to work with the victim from beginning to end. Cases moving beyond intake are also assigned a law enforcement detective who works with the victim and the advocate to ensure the victim’s safety over time. Another level of intervention involves problem-oriented policing, in which officers visit the victim’s home to provide additional information and support in the community. Finally, the DVERT coordinates a variety of community resources in support of the adult and child victims’ safety.
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