POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 43 As originally published Cops welcome handy reference on responding to situations. TRURO - A pocket-sized flip guide designed to help police cover all the bases in domestic violence cases was launched here Tuesday. Sharon Mitchell, a police consultant for the provincial Justice Department, said the 130-page, hand-held guide is easy to use and contains a quick checklist police can follow, plus more indepth, detailed information. The checklist covers everything from securing a scene, to looking for injuries or defensive wounds, determining the aggressor, and assessing risk to children and family members. It also addresses the importance of making referrals and doing followups. “The ultimate goal is to decrease domestic violence significantly and ensure that people are safe,” Ms. Mitchell said. “I would like to say that we would banish it forever but that unfortunately is not a reality.” The consultant said the process of investigating, documenting and sharing information about violence cases involves many people and organizations, and can be confusing. As a result, some “people fall through the cracks.” Police had input into the guide - 3,000 of which will be distributed to officers throughout the province at a cost of between $35,000 and $40,000. The launch, conducted by Deputy Justice Minister Doug Keefe, was held at a Truro motel where approximately 80 violence educators attended a two-day workshop hosted by the department’s Justice Learning Centre. The guide is “necessary because you can’t carry all of this information around in your head,” Mr. Keefe told reporters. “There’s a huge amount of information that people, depending on their circumstances, might need to know.” The learning centre was established in September 2002 in response to a provincewide review of how domestic violence was handled in Nova Scotia. That report was commissioned by the government following the high-profile, murder-suicide of Lori Lee Maxwell and Bruce Allan George in Truro in February 2000. Mr. George shot Ms. Maxwell and then himself. The pair had a history of domestic violence and reviews found agencies were doing their jobs, but were working in isolation and not sharing enough information. The learning centre addressed the need for better training. The Justice Department doesn’t have updated statistics on domestic violence in the province, but is currently doing a tracking project, the results of which it hopes to release soon. (cvonkintzel@herald.ca) By Cathy Von Kintzel, Herald, Truro Bureau - June 29, 2005 In the News... Guide targets domestic violence (CATHY VON KINTZEL / Truro Bureau) Turo Police Chief Ken MacLean flips through a new police pocket guide on domestic violence Tuesday.
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