Police break up marriages

August 2, 2002 permalink

Over the past year, Dufferin VOCA has received many calls from couples who have been subjected to unwanted restraining orders, often originating in a domestic violence complaint. In one case, a neighbor misunderstood the seriousness of a squabble and called the police, in another a wife called the police thinking that the police would calm the situation. In all cases the police set in motion a train of events that leads to one partner, the husband in all cases so far, being barred indefinitely from his home, or from any contact with his wife. These orders are imposed on the family against the will of both husband and wife, but will not be dissolved by the courts. Mothers have complained that they cannot take care of their family without their husband. We have dubbed this pattern the shotgun divorce. The following article from today's Orangeville Banner deals with the subject, but neglects the family's point of view.

Domestic violence charges a priority for police, courts

By NELIA RAPOSO

The number of domestic violence related charges laid by Orangeville Police has more than doubled in recent months.

From Jan 1 to June 30, 24 such charges were laid compared to 10 laid between June 13, 2001 and Dec 31, 2001.

It's hard to say why the numbers are up, says Const Ondine Easson.

She guesses more people are calling as a result of heightened public awareness, especially since the tragic death of Shirley Snow this past spring.

Show was run down by a minivan outside Wal-Mart on a Sunday afternoon in front of horrified shoppers. Her ex-husband Angus Snow is charged with her murder.

There is no specific charge for domestic abuse; in these situations police choose from a number of offences described in the Criminal Code of Canada -- assault, sexual assault, assault with a weapon, etc.

Domestic violence calls are a high priority and require two officers to attend.

Const Easson says statistics show that it's the most dangerous call for officers.

"It makes sense. Emotions are running very high", she says.

"A complainant has the potential of getting violent when she (most complainants are female) sees her meal ticket going out the door with the police officers", Easson says. "She sees her short term circumstances being worse -- no money, no home. In the long term she may be dead if she stays with him. They feel its self-preservation to recant".

All front-line police officers in Ontario take domestic violence training. And new officers on the Orangeville force receive a refresher course.

Police try to videotape all victim statements and they hold onto audio of 911 calls to use in court and to remind the woman of how hurt she was at the time of the call.

Since 1983, police in Ontario have been directed by the Solicitor General to lay charges in all cases of domestic abuse where police have reasonable grounds.

In 1993, the offence of criminal harassment, also known as "stalking" was introduced to the Criminal Code.

Prior to that, it wasn't uncommon to refer a complainant of domestic violence to a justice of the peace to apply for a restraining order or file civil charges.

Now police officers must lay a charge or at least file an occurrence report for every domestic call.

If a suspect is arrested, police may release him on a promise to appear in court or on an undertaking with conditions or on recognizance with or without sureties (money that police may keep if the conditions are broken).

"If he breaches his surety his mom loses her $500. It can be a deterrent for some people", says Easson.

"Our jails can't hold the number of people who commit domestic violence. It's not uncommon to breach undertaking conditions. It's a sad reality that people don't have much respect for the law", Easson says. "If we kept everyone in jail the jails would be full to bursting within a couple of days".

Therefore it's not often that a suspect is held in custody for a domestic violence related trial.

"Realistically it doesn't happen very often, but it should", Easson says.

Locally, there is talk of setting up a domestic violence court.

No specifics were available at press time but both Easson and staff at the Crown's office confirmed that it was being pursued.

Since 1997, there have been special domestic violence courts in Ontario, intended to provide a more supportive environment for victims. The goal of such a court is to make the system more effective in prosecuting offenders and holding them accountable for their actions. As of 2001, there were about 16 domestic violence courts in the province.

Other improvements may be coming. Over a year ago, the government passed, but did not proclaim law, a Domestic Violence Protection Act.

This new legislation, not yet in effect, would: give police and courts more ways to protect victims of violence including removing the abuser from the home; replace restraining orders with domestic violence intervention orders which would be easier to obtain and more strongly enforced; provide for education about domestic violence and new interventions for all people employed in the legal system; and enforce mandatory counselling for abusers.

The following article appears on the same page:

Banner searching for local ghost stories

The Banner is searching for local stories of unexplained phenomena, unsolved mysteries and unusual characters.

We are planning a special publication -- just in time for Halloween -- that will feature these "believe it or not" type of stories.

Haunted houses, alien sightings, local superstitions and unexplained occurrences will all have a place in this section.

If you know of any such stories from the area -- Orangeville, Caledon, Shelburne, Erin, Hillsburgh, Grand Valley and beyond, -- call Banner editor Lee Ann Waterman with the details at (519) 941-1350, ext 240 or email banner@orangevillebanner.com with the details.

The deadline to submit story ideas is Sept 30.