• Email the Domestic Violence Response Team

Domestic violence is a serious problem with far reaching effects in communities. According to the Illinois Attorney General’s office, 31% of American women report having been physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend. Approximately 240,000 pregnant women are battered each year. Domestic violence costs American businesses $5.8 billion each year: $4.1 billion in direct medical and mental health expenses, and $ 1.7 in lost productivity. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, April 2003.) Domestic violence affects all ethnicity and socioeconomic classes.

The Schaumburg Police Department has taken a victim sensitive approach as it relates to domestic violence and implemented a change of policy of zero tolerance against domestic abusers. Officers will make an arrest for domestic battery when probable cause exists, as opposed to the Illinois Supreme Court ruling that states an officer may make an arrest for domestic battery when probable cause exists. Complaints are signed on behalf of the victim when the victim is reluctant.

The Schaumburg Police Department’s Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) is made up of eleven patrol officers from all three shifts, three social workers, one crime analyst, three detectives, one sergeant and one lieutenant.

The goals of the team are:

• To provide effective and improved service to victims of domestic violence.
• To provide a thorough, professional investigation for the State’s Attorney’s Office.
• To have a current understanding of domestic violence, the laws that pertain to it, and the versatility to adjust and change with the times.
• To offer a combined, consistent departmental approach from social services, patrol, administration, and investigations in an attempt to break the cycle of repeat calls and escalating violence.

The Domestic Violence Response Team collects information on all domestic related incidents. The crime analyst compiles data to determine when the police department has responded to three or more domestic incidents in a six month period to the same address or with the same parties. All domestic reports are reviewed by the social services department and the DVRT supervisors. The criteria for DVRT response are domestic arrests and multiple calls for service. Every domestic battery arrest is assigned to the team for follow up, as well as places or persons who have had three or more police responses. When these “Domestic Hot Spots” are identified, they are more closely monitored for intervention.

When the Domestic Violence Response Team responds, they will:

• Answer questions
• Provide or give a recommendation for counseling
• Review all options
• Appraise the victim of their rights
• Prepare the victim for criminal court
• Keep the victim current on court dates
• Assist in obtaining an order of protection

The DVRT team provides ongoing training to the Schaumburg Police Department employees during roll call and annual mandatory training sessions. Topics include:

• Orders of Protection (civil and criminal)
• Unlawful Visitation Interference
• Victim Sensitive Interviewing
• Teen Dating Violence
• Elder Abuse
• Abandoned Baby Law
• Crime Victim’s Compensations Program

The Domestic Violence Response Team provides public education outreach to schools, businesses, and organizations to address the issues surrounding domestic violence. For further information, or if you are interested in a presentation to your group, please contact Sergeant Matt Christenson at 847-348-7348 or mchristenson@schaumburg.com.