A Twin Cities law enforcement sweep occurred this month and the target was domestic violence suspects. This campaign was part of a national sweep and it resulted in 12 arrests out of the 100 that were pursued.
This sweep was part of the 11th annual National Family Violence Apprehension Detail. This is a nationwide effort that targets family violence crimes, such as child abuse and domestic assault.
During the sweep, St. Paul police officers explored an apartment on the East Side in search of a man who was suspected of attempted strangulation. The woman in the apartment spoke Spanish and said she had not seen the man in quite some time. However, one officer saw his picture in a family photo on the wall.
A commander with the St. Paul police said that a huge message is sent about domestic violence and that law enforcement will take action.
This year’s sweep involved personnel from Ramsey County Probation, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, and Immigration. Departments in Roseville, New Brighton, White Bear Lake, and Maplewood also joined St. Paul in the effort.
The officers were divided into teams with half of the teams searching in St. Paul, one team in Minneapolis, and two in Ramsey County.
This year there were 12 arrests with 100 arrest attempts. In 2012, there were 12 arrests with 60 arrest attempts. Law enforcement still deems the campaign a success because they are pushing domestic violence awareness throughout the area.
Law enforcement says what is difficult about arresting individuals for domestic violence in this way is that they have unstable whereabouts and some evade arrest. Once a person is arrested, there are different programs that they are able to engage in to help prevent them from reoffending later.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics says that every day at least three women and one man are killed by their partners in the U.S. In Minnesota, 2012 saw 18 people killed as the result of domestic violence. So far in 2013, there have been 25 victims.
In last year’s sweep, there were 22 states that had participating agencies. Out of the 3,560 arrest attempts, there were 770 that were arrested. How many of those cases went to trial and how many were convicted is not known.
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