Fort Wayne
Police officers respond to thousands domestic
disturbances each year. These types of complaints are not isolated to any
particular age, income level, or ethnicity. Every day,
teenagers-to-retirees summon our officers into their homes, schools, and
workplaces seeking assistance with various relationship-issues.
All Fort
Wayne Police Officers have received training on how to handle domestic
complaints; but each year, an increasing number of officers are receiving
specialized instruction about this ever-present concern. The department's
goal is to reduce and/or prevent future domestic violence related injuries
and deaths through increased awareness, better investigation/documentation, and follow-up
intervention.
In an effort to improve our service, the Fort Wayne Police
Department established a Domestic Violence Unit staffed by detectives who
specialize in this field of investigation. Their primary
responsibility is to focus on domestic assault victims and ensure that
each incident receives the attention needed to help the prosecutor
go after the perpetrator.
The Domestic Violence Unit works in conjunction with the Victim Assistance
Program and the Allen County Prosecutor to strengthen our public
safety net for domestic violence victims.
Victim's Rights and Domestic Violence Safety Plan
Safety During an Explosive Incident
If an argument seems unavoidable, move to a
room with easy access to an exit - NOT a bathroom, kitchen or
anywhere near weapons.
Identify which door, window, stairwell, or elevator offers the quickest
way out of your home, and practice your route.
Find a trusted neighbor you can share your concerns about the possibility
of violence and ask them to call the police if they hear a disturbance.
Devise a code word to use with your children, family, and friends when you
need the police.
Use your own best instincts and
judgment. Think of how best to remain safe until help arrives. If the
situation is very dangerous, consider giving your abuser what he/she wants
to keep him/her calm. You have the right to keep yourself safe
until you are out of danger.
Safety When Preparing To Leave
Establish a plan for where you will go if you have to leave
home, even if you don't think you will need to. Determine who will be
willing to let you stay with them or lend you some money.
Have a bag packed and ready. Keep it hidden, but easy to get to. You
might consider keeping it at the home of a trusted friend or relative.
Leave money, an extra set of keys, copies of important documents, extra
medicines and clothes with someone you trust.
Obtain information about Protective Orders from the Victim Assistance
office, the Police, or the Allen County Prosecutor. When possible,
get this information in advance of your departure.
Remember, leaving your abuser is the most dangerous time.
Review your safety plan often so that you'll have the means to safely
separate when it is necessary.
Safety In Your Home
Change the locks and install safety
devices on windows.
Develop a safety plan and discuss it with your children.
Make sure the children's school, daycare center or camp knows who is
authorized to pick-up your children.
Tell you landlord and/or neighbors that your partner no longer lives with
you, and ask them to call the police if they see that person near your
home.
Before you get back into a potentially abusive relationship, discuss
alternatives with someone you trust.
Safety in Public Places And At Work
If you have a
Protective Order, keep it with you at all times. Call the police if
the abuser violates the order. Even if the abuser leaves before the
police arrive, ask the officer(s) to document the violation.
Inform store, building, or campus security, as well as co-workers you
trust, about your situation and the potential for violence. If possible,
provide security with a photograph of your abuser.
Vary your travel-route to and from work. Arrange for someone to walk
you to your vehicle/bus and remain until you are safely away.
Consider and plan on what you would do if your abuser would confront you
in different locations.
What To Take With
You When You Leave
IDENTIFICATION
- Drivers License, Birth Certificates for you and Children, Social
Security Card, Public Assistance ID, Work Permits, Green Cards, Passports,
Visa.
LEGAL MATERIALS - Your Protective Order, Lease or Rental agreement
on your apartment or house. Car registration and insurance papers.
Health and Life Insurance documents. Medical records for you and
your children. School records. Divorce and custody documents.
FINANCIAL - Cash money, checkbook, passbook, and credit
cards.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS - House/Vehicle keys, medications, photos of
you, your children and the abuser, address book, phone card, jewelry or
other objects that you can sell/pawn for needed cash.
VICTIM RIGHTS
A Victim has
the RIGHT...
To be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect respect throughout
the criminal justice process.
To be informed, upon request, when a person who is accused of
committing or convicted of committing a crime perpetrated directly against
the victim, is released from custody or has escaped. This includes
the release or escape from a mental health facility.
To have his/her safety considered in determining the release from custody,
a person accused of committing a crime against the victim.
To be provided, upon request, with information regarding the disposition
of the criminal case involving the victim.
To be heard at any proceeding involving the pre-sentencing, sentencing, or
post-conviction release of the victim's assailant. The victim's
right to be heard may be exercised at the victim's discretion, through an
oral or written statement, or submission of a statement through audiotape
or videotape.
To confer with a representative of the prosecuting attorney's office after
a crime against the victim has been charged, before the trial and before
any disposition of a criminal case involving the victim. NOTE:
Please confer with a Victim's Advocate or the Prosecutor's
representative for specifics of this process.
To pursue an Order of Restitution and other civil remedies against the
person convicted of a crime against the victim.
To be informed of the victim's constitutional and statutory rights.
IMPORTANT CONTACT NUMBERS
