Emily Havens

ehavens@thespectrum.com

The volume of domestic violence crimes and number of offenders who are in treatment across Utah is currently unknown, and state officials recognize it's a problem.

The last comprehensive report that contained details regarding domestic violence throughout the state was created based on 2014 statistics. According to Ned Searle, the director of the Utah Office on Domestic and Sexual Violence, the department has tried to gather statistics in recent years, but they were unable to obtain the information needed from several agencies to produce a comprehensive report.

Searle said the report usually compiles statistical information from the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, Utah Sexual Assault Coalition, the Bureau of Criminal Identification, the Department of Public Safety and Children's Justice Centers.

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Additionally, Derrik Tollefson, a professor of social work at Utah State University who also specializes in working with domestic violence offenders and treatment programs, said there's a communication divide when it comes to local and state agencies regarding both statistics and treatment standards.

"We're trying to work on communication issues," Tollefson said. "There isn't good data right now. That's something we have to do better with."

"There's not a lot of good, quality treatment for domestic violence offenders," Searle said. "We don't know what works."

According to the UDVC, more than 40 percent of adult homicides in Utah were domestic-violence related. Each year, approximately 80 Utah children witness the murder or attempted murder of their mothers.

Shelly Teeples, director of the Washington County Children's Justice Center, said there had been at least 10 different cases of homicide in Sevier County over a 7-year time frame, and a child was present in most of those cases. Oftentimes, she said, children are are the perpetrator's next target.

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Also, in all types of violence situations, Teeples said the children are often affected in the same way as if they were being abused.

"In many cases, it's traumatic for the child to watch (a parent) be the victim of domestic violence, and (the child) often mirrors some of the same symptoms that the actual battered person displays," Teeples said.

In 2016, Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill, SB 206, that changed the language of the statute regarding treatment for domestic abusers. In essence, the bill no longer requires a judge to order mandatory therapy or treatment for an abuser. The bill was strongly opposed by the UDVC.

The UDVC claims that the data used to push the bill forward by the Utah Sentencing Commission was based on studies assessing a treatment protocol that is not used in Utah.

According to Jennifer Valencia, director of the Utah Sentencing Commission, making treatment for offenders not mandatory allows judges to focus on the needs of the individual offender and not necessarily the offense.

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"We have found that treatment is sometimes ineffective and even harmful when it's mandated without regard to the needs of the individual offender," Valencia said.

Similarly, Teeples said the abuse can increase in the home after an abuser has been punished because they then have the power to directly blame the victim, and the cycle of abuse begins again.

"When I worked for domestic violence victims, sometimes the perpetrator would go to jail, bail out that night and go back home," Teeples said. "I'd try to notify the victim of their rights and safety plan, and the abuser would already be back home convincing or forcing the victim to recant their stories so the case would be dropped against them."

For convictions in which treatment is ordered by a judge, Utah requires a minimum of 16 sessions, although some programs extend beyond that, Tollefson said. The treatment for offenders is typically structured in a group setting, and it usually begins with an evaluation regarding what the offender's background is and what his or her needs are.

While there's no hard-and-fast treatment plan for offenders who are either low, medium or high risk, Tollefson said there are emerging programs that are better targeted toward more violent offenders, and the exact treatment varies by jurisdiction.

For abusers who have either executed or attempted homicide in the home who are incarcerated, they also undergo treatment while in Utah State Prison. But he said the providers for low and high risk offenders are the same, and there's no additional training required for a provider who's treating an escalated offender.

Searle said the goal is to research treatment options, provider qualifications, and standards used elsewhere that would yield the best results for specific offender populations.

"We never looked at how to do all of these things and hold the offenders accountable," Searle said. "We want to stop recidivism while keeping the victims safe and not have the issues continue in their lives.

Follow reporter Emily Havens on Twitter, @EmilyJHavens, and find her on Facebook at facebook.com/emilyjhavens. Call her at 435-674-6214.