Resource for battered women widely used by officers in the field
When police officers respond to a domestic violence call, many times they have few law enforcement options available to them.
But in Santa Monica, the police department has been using a 24-hour response service called “On Call Emergency Advocate Network,” also known as OCEAN, that sends counselors directly to the scene once officers have secured it.
Advocates help victims through the complex legal web of getting a restraining order and inform them of all the services that are available to help victims of domestic violence.
In January, there were 23 verified claims of domestic violence, and in 100 percent of the cases an OCEAN advocate went to the scene to offer their services.
“It’s a tough case to make, and the advocate helps the victim through the process,” said Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. “It takes a lot of time and training to help people escape a life of battering.”
“It takes a lot of time and training to help people escape a life of battering.” — — JAMES T. BUTTS, JR. Santa Monica Police Chief
In exchange for the service, the police department contributes $10,000 for the program. However, OCEAN officials said the services they provide are worth at least $50,000.
“But we want the police officers in the field to use the service whenever they need it so we offer the hotline anyway,” said Pat Butler, director of Sojourn services for battered women which runs the OCEAN program.
OCEAN counselors have been attending police department roll call meetings to train officers on the existence of the program and the merits of using it for the past 10 years, officials said. Line officers and senior staff have been receiving special training as well.
“We have long supported programs like this,” said Capt. Phil Sanchez. “The department has always looked at ways to support victims in the community and if that means using outside agencies then we will continue to do that.”
Sanchez said by the time police are called in for help, in most cases domestic violence has been going on for a while or has become increasingly life threatening.
“Typically, a battered (person) won’t call law enforcement until the third time it’s happened,” he said. “Or the life of the victim or the life of a child is being threatened.”
Police officers call OCEAN advocates when the scene is safe and if the victims request their help.
Though police department officials have offered to make the program mandatory for officers, OCEAN officials said that is not how they want the program to work.
“We don’t want this to be an order,” said Butler. “We want the officers to want to call us.”
In addition to making counselors available 24 hours by hotline, OCEAN also has posted domestic violence social workers at emergency rooms and the prosecutor’s office. What makes the counselors unique, said officials, is that they do not advocate any one action.
“We merely call the victims afterwards and say ‘so the police came out, how was that?’” said Butler. “The last thing we would want to do is come across like we were asking a loaded question.”
Butler said in her entire career with Sojourn, she hasn’t heard a bad statement about how Santa Monica police officers treat victims when they respond to domestic violence calls.
“The worst thing I’ve heard is that the police made it all up,” said Butler. “Like officers don’t have enough paper work already, they have to make up stuff too.”
Senior officers in the police department said the lack of complaints is directly attributable to the extensive diversity training officers undergo regularly. All personnel, for example, gets sensitivity training from The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
“That’s why we think that the work that has been done is so important to this community,” said Butts.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.