Problems with DuPage County Circuit Court have caused a slump in the number of people receiving counseling from the county for domestic violence, county leaders said Monday.
In the past year, the number of people referred for domestic violence counseling has dropped 40 percent, said Angie Zoloto, county administrator for psychological services. Because of that decrease, Zoloto is asking for less money to run the program in the next fiscal year, which begins Dec. 1.
“It’s a systemic problem and we hope it’s fixed,” she said.
In previous years, the 26-week program, which counsels people found guilty of domestic violence crimes, has treated as many as 65 people per month.
But in the past year that has declined to around 40 per month, Zoloto said.
DuPage County State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett said there were several reasons for the decline in referrals, including higher standards for prosecutors to prove someone is guilty of domestic violence. He also said crime rates in general are down.
In addition, prosecutors must deal with one of the oldest problems in prosecuting domestic violence: victims who don’t want to press charges.
“There is immense pressure put on victims not to show up for cases, and when that happens, we don’t have a victim and those cases are difficult to prosecute,” Birkett said. “We still can do victimless prosecutions, but you need a lot more evidence–911 tapes and statements of the offender. That’s not always easy to do.”
A special committee, begun this summer to deal with family violence issues, plans to address the problem and come back with recommendations, officials said.
Birkett said he plans to begin a new program before the end of the year to encourage victims to come to the bond hearings of the people charged with abusing them. Such hearings are usually held the day after someone is charged.
“We want to get them into court quickly, show them we are here to listen and care about what they have to say,” Birkett said. “We want them to know the courtroom is not a place for them to fear.”
