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MYTH: If my spouse
does not do drugs and alcohol, I won’t become a victim
of domestic violence.
FACT: Only 13% of Longmont cases in 2007
involved the offender’s
use of drugs or alcohol.
MYTH: Domestic violence happens mostly to people who are
uneducated and/or unemployed.
FACT: In Boulder County, 64% of cases involved
those with a High School diploma or higher education, and
in 65% of
cases, the defendant was employed.
MYTH: After being arrested for domestic violence, offenders
are very unlikely to offend again.
FACT: In 2007 in Boulder County, 34% of
those arrested for domestic violence had committed their
second,
third or
more domestic violence offenses. That’s a total of
408 offenders in the year 2007 alone who
have been arrested multiple times.
MYTH: Domestic violence is just a fight
between a couple. It affects them only and isn't anybody
else's business.
FACT: Domestic violence is not a fight.
It is a pattern of behavior used by one person to exert POWER
and CONTROL over
another person in a relationship. Domestic violence affects
our entire community. It is the No. 1 public safety issue
in Longmont. More people are injured due to domestic violence
than any other crime in our city. Children are the smallest
victims of domestic violence. In fact, 145 children were
present during domestic violence incidents in Longmont in
2007, and in 75% of those cases, the offender was charged
with child
abuse. For more information on the effects of domestic violence
on children, click
here.
Colorado Statistics
- Nearly half of all murders committed
in Colorado are committed by a current or former intimate
partner and the victims are
disproportionably female.
- From 2000-2006, 19 children in
Colorado were killed during a domestic violence related
incident.
For more Colorado statistics, visit
the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV)
website at
www.ccadv.org/facts.htm.
To learn statistics from around the country and
the world, visit the Family Violence Prevention Fund
Web site
at http://endabuse.org/resources/facts/.
Longmont Police Statistics
The Longmont Police Department processed 801 cases
of domestic violence in 2007– that’s 37% of
all cases in Boulder County.
- 78% of cases male was offender,
22% of the cases female was
the offender.
- 64% of offenders have a high
school diploma or better.
- 145 children were present
during domestic violence incidents in 2007– the
highest number in all of Boulder County.
The Police Department sees only 20% of the cases of domestic
violence.
Longmont Research
After a series of extremely violent domestic assaults that
took place in 1998 and 1999 in Longmont, LEVI began a comprehensive
study in order to address the issue of domestic violence.
Much information was gathered by this study, and the report
formulated the direction LEVI was to take in our community:
Information gathered by the study:
- Over
half of the Longmont community has had some personal experience
that has impacted their attitude about domestic
violence.
- Community believes the police
can’t solve
the problem alone nor should they.
- One-third of the Longmont
community has witnessed a domestic violence incident.
- People
don't help because they believe it is someone else's responsibility.
- Most
domestic violence victims first look to friends and relatives
for help.
- People do help when they are directly asked to
help, or because the situation is so serious that they
feel they must do
something.
LEVI wants you as a friend, relative,
or a co-worker to know how to effectively intervene early
on and direct a victim
or abuser to the resources which can help stop this behavioral
pattern. LEVI currently provides the Longmont community
with several resources: 1) a one-stop referral point for
non-emergency
access to domestic violence resources, 2) prevention/education
materials for friends, relatives, and co-workers to assist
a victim or an abuser to seek help and 3) public information
to heighten community awareness and change public opinion
and social behavior toward domestic violence.
Through our
combined efforts LEVI can help anyone find a path to
effective resources and services for themselves or
others they care about.
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