St. Paul's 'Blueprint' Program Credited With Drop In Domestic Violence Calls
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Domestic abuse advocates say a unique partnership with the St. Paul Police Department has led to a dramatic drop in domestic violence calls.
Police say the new program, called "Blueprint for Safety," also has helped by giving officers better training to deal with what can be the most dangerous situations officers face.
The program was put in place five years ago, and it's so successful St. Paul officials are getting calls from police departments around the world, asking for guidance in setting up similar plans.
Bree Adams Billis, of the St. Paul and Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, says recidivism is down since Blueprint for Safety was put in place.
"You don't have the same domestic abusers going from woman to woman to woman," she said.
Blueprint for Safety has changed the way calls are handled, from the questions 911 operators ask to the number of follow-up visits police officers perform.
"The message to offenders, at least in this city, [is] we won't tolerate this," Billis said.
In 2009, there were 11,000 domestic violence calls in St. Paul. Last year, there was just over 5,000.
Every single officer in St. Paul has received Blueprint for Safety training.
"We have better reports, our reports are much higher quality, more in-depth," said St. Paul Police Cmdr. Kurt Hallstrom, adding that officers are also given more time to complete domestic abuse reports.
"Instead of just looking at it from an isolated incident that just happened, we will try to interview children and neighbors and try and get better picture of what happened," Hallstrom said.
St. Paul Police and the St. Paul and Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention project have gotten calls from as far away as England inquiring about the Blueprint for Safety program.