Violence affects all ages and gender, and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors is tackling the issue of abuse in Valley.
“Just recognizing that we are going into the summertime, now, and sadly every time we do that’s when domestic violence seems to increase, so, we just want to make sure our units are ready to deal with and help women in that are in crisis, but at the same token our District Attorney will be very vigilant in prosecuting those people who do engage in domestic violence.” -Supervisor Henry Perea.
The County approved a $188,975 grant agreement awarded by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Law Enforcement (LE) Specialist Units Program to the Sheriff’s Office.
“Without this funding we would not be able to serve the victims of Fresno County in the same manner as we are able to today.” -Sergeant Jeff Kertson.
The money will help fund services at the Fresno Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Unit, help pay for one full-time deputy sheriff and one full-time victim advocate’s salary and benefits to assist victims and their children.
“It’s imperative that we aggressively tackle domestic violence head-on through grant funding available to our Sheriff’s Office, so patrol officers can have proper training to investigate domestic violence cases and assist victims effectively and efficiently in a sensitive manner.” -Supervisor Henry Perea.
The grant mandates that recipients must have established documented working relationships with community organizations relevant to the goals of the LE program.
The goal of the LE program is to create or enhance specialized units to provide a coordinated response to domestic violence victims and their children through investigation, immediate victim advocacy, training for patrol officers and first responders, and the development of effective protocols that will continue after the grant cycle ends.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has an operational agreement with Rape Counseling Services of Fresno.
