Hartford police establish domestic violence unit

HARTFORD, Conn.—The Hartford Police Department has established a domestic violence unit to follow up with victims and help investigate sexual assaults and crimes involving stalking.

The program started after Police Chief Daryl Roberts began an anti-truancy program in 2006 to get children off the street and return them to their schools and homes.

He said he noticed that youths did not want to return home because of domestic violence.

In the past two years, one-third of aggravated assaults were domestic violence incidents, Roberts said.

"We needed to find a better way to serve the public," he said.
The domestic violence unit will begin training this week and should start work by early February. It will initially be staffed by a sergeant and two detectives working full time investigating serious domestic violence cases.

The team will identify and track repeat offenders, develop a partnership with the chief state's attorney's office to track enforcement and prosecution and help match families with advocacy services.

The unit also will be involved in investigating sexual assaults and crimes involving stalking.

Roberts said the domestic violence unit will help police follow up on investigations, keeping in touch with victims and offenders and checking on compliance with restraining orders.

"We want to make sure the victim knows she's not alone," Roberts said.

Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com