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DRAFT <br />Rowlette asked what training is provided to the Orono Police Officers in regards to dealmg with <br />domestic abuse situations. Lt. Cheswick replied that each officer receives tra^g when they <br />are hired and that it is a Department mandate that onping traimng occur. He noted that m <br />February the Department is scheduled to attend a training session in domestic abuse. <br />JoEllen Hurr asked what additional assistance officers provide victims other than handing them <br />a card with their rights and contact resources. Lt. Cheswick replied that quite often victims are <br />in the police office, and that the officer will advise and assist them until they are in a position <br />of safety, i.e. they may be transported if so requested to a safe location, then they are assisted <br />in making the contacts they deem necessary. <br />Lindquist questioned whether Lt. Cheswick felt a shelter in Orono would be of benefit. Lt. <br />Cheswick noted that in some respects it would mean more work for the department, noting tha <br />the number of police calls to the shelters in Plymouth and Minnetonka were sigmficant. <br />Mabusth noted that many such calls were due to "suspicious activity", since the environment of <br />a shelter is sensitive to intrusion by the victims’ abusers. This has lead to numbers of false <br />alarm calls. She also noted that at one of the shelters located on a cul-de-sac m a middle clas <br />neighborhood a large number of the calls were made by a single neighbor who was apparently <br />adversely impacted by the activity, car parking, etc. generated by the facility. <br />Lt. Cheswick noted that in many respects having a shelter in Orono would be helpful, in that <br />it would provide a nearby location and an additional option for Schroeder questioned <br />how many incidences of domestic abuse the Police Department responded to m a typical year. <br />Lt. Cheswick indicated he would have to review the computer records, but that there are many <br />different levels of domestic abuse, and he would have to do some research to present a c ear <br />Dicture. Mabusth showed an overhead with information provided by the applicant reg^dmg die <br />number of domestic abuse calls reported for Orono including its contract cities. Lt. ^heswic <br />noted that those numbers were somewhat different than City records, and Webber noted that her <br />numbers might be incorrect due to some errors. <br />Schroeder indicated he had received some information from the Department of Correction <br />indicating 19 incidents of domestic assault which Lt. Cheswick characterized as the senous <br />incidents''in 1993, as opposed to somewhere in the range of 80 total domestic assault mcidents. <br />Schroeder indicated he would provide his information to everyone. <br />Schroeder reiterated that the reason for all of this discussion regarding the number of incidern <br />ia to somehow establish wnether or not a need e.xists for the proposed shelter in r • <br />Peterson asked, of the 78 incidents reported for 1993, does Lt. Cheswick have a sense <br />manv I'ctually were referred to or transported to a shelter. Lt. Cheswick suggested the number <br />was probably less than 10. Lt. Cheswick also noted that in his experience the DepaiOTent Ims <br />mt had a problem getting people into safe housing when it was necessary, be it a shelter or a <br />motel. He noted that he personally had not e.xperienced the inability to get a victim mto