The Social Problem of Domestic Violence

SEELEY LAKE – A reader asked the question how big of a problem is domestic violence in Seeley Lake and what is being done to address the problem. Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Sunderland spoke about what law enforcement sees in Seeley Lake and provided a list of resources for victims.

“It’s a big problem everywhere,” said Sunderland. “Domestic violence is, unfortunately, prevalent no matter what the size of the community.”

Sunderland said local law enforcement deals with it on a “regular basis.” They have had two partner/family member assault (PFMA) arrests in the last three weeks. It is not uncommon to have children within the same home where the abuse is going on.

“We only deal with it when people call us,” said Sunderland. “We are fully aware that there is a lot of domestic violence that goes unreported, which is unfortunate. But there are other avenues to get help (see last paragraph).”

Some reasons why domestic violence goes unreported Sunderland said included: the victim, either male or female, does not want the offender to be taken to jail; the offender may be the sole bread winner; if the victim is a female, she may feel trapped or if there are children involved, the victim would rather be assaulted and take the heat away from the children.

Sunderland said most of the time the domestic violence goes hand-in-hand with alcohol or drug abuse.

“In a lot of cases when we show up both parties are intoxicated,” said Sunderland. “It’s not an excuse but, in my experience, that is typically what we see.”

The domestic violence laws for the state of Montana are spelled out. Anytime law enforcement is called to a domestic dispute, the preferred response is an arrest.

If the dispute is only verbal, Sunderland said they restore the peace and the officer must document why an arrest was not made. If there is any type of abuse or assault, the offender is arrested on a PFMA charge.

“We don’t need the victim to say, ‘I want that person arrested’ or ‘I want to press charges.’ We make that decision,” said Sunderland. “In the case of domestic violence, we are the ones that make the final complaint on the victim’s behalf.”

There is no bond for PFMA charges and the offender is served with a 72-hour no contact order.

“If we are putting a person in jail for assaulting a partner or family member, we don’t want them bonding out and going back and reoffending right away,” said Sunderland. “That allows the victim 72 hours to get an order of protection, move out, [and] get to a safe place. If that offender violates the 72 hour no contact order, that is an additional charge.”

The first and second convictions are misdemeanors. The third conviction is a felony. Other charges can be filed if the assault includes a child.

Victims receive a Notice to Victims providing them with the resources for immediate assistance and the steps in the long term to help get out of the situation. Sunderland said law enforcement also calls a crime victim advocate if the victim wants. There are no shelters in Seeley Lake; however, law enforcement would help the victim get to a shelter in Missoula if there was no immediate family or friends to help.

Sunderland said a big issue that is coming to light due to better medical and law enforcement training is strangulation.

“A lot of victims will say, ‘Oh, he [or she] choked me,’ not understanding that there can be serious medical affects,” said Sunderland. “Even though they may feel fine at the time there could be swelling [cutting off the airway] or blood clots [from the carotid arteries]. It could be fatal.”

Sunderland said the most frustrating thing with domestic abuse is trying to help these victims get out of a bad situation, only to have them return to the situation, often due to the mind games played on them by the offender

“In my opinion one arrest is too many. We care about everyone involved and no one deserves to be a victim,” said Sunderland. “It’s a social problem. It involves all of us. The only way we can rid our society of it is everyone work together. It’s called awareness cures.”

Sunderland said there are several resources available to victims outside of law enforcement. These include: local churches; YWCA Pathways Shelter in Missoula, 406-542-1944; Crime Victim Advocate, 406-258-3830; First Step Resource Center, 406-329-5776; the local medical center and area hospitals. Sunderland said the Crime Victim Advocate provide the victim with as much help as they want including filling out order of protections to going to court with them.

Sunderland encourages anyone with questions or concerns to email or call the Pathfinder, pathfinder@seeleylake.com or 677-2022, and they will be addressed in future columns.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Call Activity 10/11/16 – 10/17/16

10/11, 2:31 p.m., Woodworth Road and Highway 83: Suspicious Activity.

10/15, 12:03 a.m., 3XX Frontier Drive, Seeley Lake: Suspicious Activity.

10/15, 1:05 a.m., Highland Drive and Frontier Drive, Seeley Lake: Suspicious Activity.

10/16, 4:56 p.m., Highway 200, Potomac: Accident, No Injury.

10/16, 6:10 p.m., Highway 200 west of Potomac: Accident, No Injury.