East Helena Police Chief Mike Sanders and City Court Judge Dennis Loveless answer some of our questions about implementing a new lethality risk assessment tool.
This past spring, we shared the exciting news that The Friendship Center would be joining a multi-disciplinary team to implement the Arizona intimate Partner Risk Assessment Instrument System in our community. Known as APRAIS for short, this lethality risk assessment tool measures a perpetrator’s likelihood following an assault to commit a severe re-assault within seven months resulting in serious injury or death of their victim.
APRAIS is not the only tool of its kind, but it’s notable in that it’s meant to be used by various agencies that interact with cases of intimate partner violence, including advocacy programs like The Friendship Center, law enforcement, and court systems. When these different entities have shared language, and evidence-based information to refer to, the impact can be significant for connecting survivors with services, holding perpetrators accountable, and possibly stemming the cycle of violence after an initial assault.
Our team was thrilled to join professionals from several key agencies back in June for a two-day training with APRAIS program staff. Many of the training participants are still working toward full implementation of the tool across Lewis and Clark County and within Helena, but our partners in East Helena have been eager to put it to use right away. In fact, they anticipate fully implementing it by August 1, 2024, which is convenient timing for this month’s partner spotlight!
Police Chief Mike Sanders, City Attorney Peter Elverum, and City Court Judge Dennis Loveless are the partners taking the lead in getting APRAIS off the ground in East Helena. To learn more about the ways they interact with crime victims and perpetrators in their own roles, and how different disciplines can use and weigh the results of the APRAIS tool, we invited a couple of these East Helena partners to respond to some questions. To start us off, EHPD’s Mike Sanders discusses the use and value of the APRAIS tool from a law enforcement perspective. Then to round us out, Judge Loveless shares additional insight on the role of risk assessments within the municipal court process. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Q&A With EHPD Chief Mike Sanders
Can you describe how you and your staff will use APRAIS when you're responding to a partner family member assault (PFMA) or communicating with other agencies?
MS: Our officers will discuss APRAIS with the victim, explain its purpose and value, and ask the victim’s permission to provide their completed APRAIS questionnaire responses to the key components, which include prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and The Friendship Center. When numerous agencies have access to the completed responses and results, it ensures a collaborative response to make sure victims are being offered the most comprehensive level of support and resources.
Several partners in the legal and criminal justice system in Lewis and Clark County were part of a training with APRAIS program staff back in June. Implementation throughout the county will take time, but East Helena is poised to start using it this summer. What’s allowing such a quick implementation timeline in East Helena?
MS:Â In the City of East Helena, we have a great working relationship with our City Attorney (Peter Elverum) and City Court Judge (Dennis Loveless). Once Judge Loveless and Mr. Elverum were informed of the APRAIS tool, they immediately became advocates and were excited to implement it. I have been involved in the APRAIS discussions for about a year and was eager to implement it as well.
Having a transparent and collaborative communication channel between the City of East Helena components involved in the investigation and adjudication of PFMA incidents allows us to implement changes quicker than larger cities or counties. In East Helena, we seek to provide the best resources available to victims of violence, and are proud to be the first in this area to employ such an important risk assessment tool.
From your perspective, what makes APRAIS different or an improvement from other risk assessment tools you're familiar with?
MS:Â APRAIS is more comprehensive and focused on the victim than the previous assessment tool we used. The previous tool seemed more focused on the aggressor and relied on law enforcement officer input to assess the level of danger to the victim. The APRAIS assessment is scored and when a victim has a high or elevated risk based on their responses, it triggers law enforcement officers to follow up and offer to connect victims with additional support and resources.
We are frequently asked how many PFMA reports law enforcement responds to compared to other crimes. Are these some of the most common incidents in East Helena? And how dangerous can these situations be for the patrol staff responding to them?
MS: East Helena Police Department (EHPD) responded to 29 PFMA/family disturbance calls in the past 12 months and most involved the use of alcohol or drugs by one or both parties. PFMA calls involve a high degree of emotion from both the victim and aggressor and their behavior can escalate instantly. According to the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) database, 503 officers were feloniously killed nationwide between 2011 and 2020, and 43 of those (about 8.5%) were responding to domestic disturbance or domestic violence calls. This data shows the dangers to law enforcement officers involved with PFMAs and family disturbance calls and it’s why we take precautionary measures when dispatched to these incidents. EHPD normally has one officer working on a shift, leaving them to respond to most calls alone. When our officer is dispatched to a PFMA call, they are required to request an additional officer from another agency (Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office or Helena Police Department) to assist them.
Have your years in law enforcement shaped or even challenged any preconceived notions you had about intimate partner violence at the beginning of your career? Then, thinking more about the public in general, do you feel like these crimes are still widely misunderstood in ways that can be frustrating or challenging in your job?
MS:Â I started my law enforcement career in 1992 and many aspects of it have changed over the years, with most of those changes being for the better. My thoughts on PFMAs have not changed throughout the years, as I have always felt a high degree of empathy for victims and that was my primary reason for getting into law enforcement.
Early in my career, there was little support/assistance for victims of violence and little or no counseling services available for aggressors. Over the years, I feel communities have made notable advances in education and awareness about the frequency and violence associated with PFMAs. Many are now aware that victims come in different shapes and sizes and different social classes, and they do not fit into the preconceived mold that many in the past placed them in. I believe we can improve our information outflow about PFMAs. If the different components involved in the investigation and adjudication of these crimes and those who provide support to the victims continue learning and educating others, we can continue to make an impact in diminishing the inaccurate ideas people in our community may have about intimate partner violence.
(P.S. In addition to thanking our partners with Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Helena Police Department who support our officers responding to PFMA calls, I also would like to thank The Friendship Center for their invaluable efforts to raise awareness and educate our community about partner/family member violence and their unrelenting support to victims.)
Something we try to keep in mind working with survivors in our tri-county area is that we have a big service region with communities that vary in size and level of access to (or even awareness of) services. What are some of the biggest challenges for you all working in East Helena—either in general or specific to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases?
MS:Â One of the major challenges we face in East Helena is there are no advocate/support resources like The Friendship Center [with a physical presence] in our city. Many times, victims are not aware of The Friendship Center and its resources, and because of the unfamiliarity, several victims are resistant to asking for help. To try to mitigate their apprehension, our officers explain the benefits of working with victim advocates, highlight that they are not alone in this difficult situation, and try to provide safe options to them.
I mentioned another challenge we face in East Helena already: We have one officer working a shift most of the time. When an officer is dispatched to a PFMA, they arrive alone on the scene and, depending on the circumstances of the call, we may be compelled to wait for additional law enforcement officers to arrive before we can safely contact the involved parties.
One of the big selling points on the APRAIS tool for agencies like ours is that it's meant to be used by partners in various disciplines. In your mind, how important is EHPD's partnership with other agencies in addressing and preventing violence in our communities?
MS:Â Our partnership with other disciplines involved with domestic violence incidents is incredibly important and will be the key to the success of APRAIS implementation and continued use. It is so important for everyone involved to have a clear and complete understanding of the risks victims face and to work together to ensure our best efforts to safeguard victims and promote some level of treatment/counseling for aggressors so we can try to break the cycle of abusive behavior.
Q&A With East Helena City Court Judge Dennis Loveless
Lots of different agencies and entities can interact with a case involving an assault or intimate partner violence and courts are one of them. Can you tell us about your role in the process: What all happens before a case makes it into your court in East Helena, and what are you responsible for after that?
DL: I will receive a ticket with the affidavit from the law enforcement officers. I have a standing order that the defendant is to have no contact with the victim. Often, the victim will come in and request the No Contact Order be quashed or modified with certain conditions. At that time, I discuss with the victim the potential problems with vacating the No Contact Order. I especially go through the issues with children that may have been present at the time of the assault. Beyond this, the defendant will either plead guilty or proceed to a trial. The defendant often requests a public defender, and they are provided with the necessary information. If the victim doesn’t cooperate with the City Attorney [currently Peter Elverum], he will either proceed to trial or dismiss the charges.
APRAIS is not the only risk assessment tool of its kind, and Montana is one of many states where judges can consider results from pretrial risk assessments for determining release conditions and detention decisions. How might you weigh the results of a risk assessment when you’re reviewing a case?
DL: I look at the affidavit of the officer and the history of the defendant. Depending on the seriousness and possible progression of violence during the time the parties have been together, I may increase the conditions of the defendant’s bond, including dollar amount, use of GPS, and/or pretrial services.
We often ask our law enforcement partners how often they respond to PFMA reports and how dangerous those incidents can be. On the court side of the system, how often do these cases make it to your courtroom and do you see them any differently than other cases?
DL: I don’t see many of these cases. In the past year there have only been three cases. Of those three, one was dismissed, one was found guilty, and one is still pending. These cases in my view are more serious because of the potential danger to the victim. They are also different [from other cases involving violence] as the victim often wants me to vacate the No Contact Order.
Has your legal career shaped your understanding about intimate partner violence and/or changed how you handle these cases?
DL: I have started discussing with both the victim and the defendant the damage done to the children as they observe and/or listen to violence and abuse. I stress the fact that the children have a greater chance of modeling a parent’s behavior either as victims or perpetrators. I started this after serving on Montana’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission after I was appointed [to my current role] in 2013.
Over your years as a judge and as an attorney before that, have you seen changes in the climate around intimate partner violence, or how our legal system addresses it?
DL:  I started practicing law in 1982. Since that time, the main changes I have seen are around public perception. People seem to be more aware of the issues and problems caused by these cases. Even now though, in most of the cases I see, the victim still wants to request the No Contact Order be dismissed, citing some common reasons: They’re still in love and it won’t happen again, one partner is financially dependent on the other, they need help with their children, and/or they’re going to counseling.
One of the big benefits of the APRAIS tool is that it's meant to be used by partners in various disciplines. In your mind, how important is the partnership between courts and other agencies in addressing and preventing violence in our community?
DL: It provides greater access to information and choices for the victims, and more options for counseling and help. It also provides greater access to Orders of Protection (however, these orders are not always followed by the defendant). Years ago, I was representing a woman in a divorce that was killed by her husband. Prior to the homicide, her major concern was for my life and not her own. She didn’t believe he would harm her but thought he might possibly go after me. Perhaps if we had the APRAIS tool at that time, she may have had a different outlook.
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About APRAIS
The Arizona intimate Partner Risk Assessment Instrument System (APRAIS) is a risk assessment tool designed to measure a victim's likelihood of experiencing a severe re-assault resulting in serious injury or death within seven months of an initial assault. To learn more about the tool, visit the APRAIS program website. To learn more about the evolution of risk assessment tools like APRAIS and The Friendship Center's work with multi-disciplinary partners to implement APRAIS in our communities, check out this story that originally appeared in our spring print newsletter.
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