LAPD, City Attorney Team Up To Help Curb Domestic Violence
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Chief of Police Charlie Beck and City Attorney Mike Feuer are teaming up on a campaign to help curb domestic violence.
The recent spate of high-profile domestic violence cases involving Ray Rice and other NFL players has sparked a national conversation on domestic violence, and victims and their families should be reminded they're not alone, according to officials.
Feuer told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO the City Attorney's office reviews 11,000 domestic violence cases a year, about 200 per week.
City Attorney Mike Feuer
"It's important for all of us to raise awareness, be sure that victims and survivors of domestic family violence know they have places to turn," said Feuer.
Despite 11 years of crime reduction in Los Angeles, domestic violence remains the "glaring exception", according to Beck, who said the Los Angeles Police Department has experienced an 18 percent increase in reports of domestic violence so far this year. That translates to 1,300 more domestic violence calls than 2013, he said.
In South Los Angeles, calls are up 30 percent, Beck said.
"We need to address that, not only as a police department, but as a city," he said.
Beck said when calls come in, domestic abuse teams at 13 of the LAPD's 21 divisions are prepared to assist victims "find support, find housing, with medical treatment -- all of the plethora of things needed to address a family in crisis."
The department is working with Feuer's office and the mayor's office to get funding for teams in all 21 divisions, Beck said.
Officials are urging not just victims but also concerned friends and neighbors to contact the Los Angeles County domestic violence hotline at 800-978-3600. All calls are confidential.
Anyone facing domestic violence is also urged to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
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