Proposed council will review how guns are tracked in domestic cases
Bill creates panel to review family violence policies
Advocates say the recent killings of Julie Minogue in Milford and Traci-Marie Jones in Bethel, who court documents show were trying to leave their abusers, have revealed gaps in how Connecticut handles domestic violence cases.
But that’s just the start of what needs to be accomplished, according to Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence officials who are proposing establishing one governing body to review and refine the state’s domestic violence policies.
“We need to bring it all together under one roof and stop operating in silos,” said Geralyn O’Neil-Wild, director of Legal Advocacy for CCADV.
The agency, which is the umbrella organization for the state’s 18 domestic violence shelters and service providers, is proposing legislation to create the Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council, which would examine several key aspects of the state’s domestic violence policies, including how guns in the hands of alleged abusers are tracked, guidelines for the timely execution of arrest warrants, more electronic monitoring for abusers and what programs are offered to offenders.
“The council would look for collaboration across the entire system,” O’Neil-Wild said.
There’s no statewide oversight right now to determine if individuals who are the subject of a restraining order have actually turned over their guns in accordance with Connecticut law and there is no one examining the entire process, including guidelines on how quickly prosecutors and police should obtain arrest warrants — two issues that were factors in the deaths of Minogue and Jones.
For a problem that takes up about one-third of the state’s judicial caseload, domestic violence policy is still a patchwork of recommendations and laws that should be reviewed and revised on a regular basis, according to Meghan Scanlon, CCADV’s president and CEO.
“This should actually overall improve the entire caseload,” Scanlon said.
The proposed council would combine the work of the Family Violence Model Policy Governing Council and the Domestic Violence Offender Program Advisory Council while expanding the charge to include reviewing policies on how guns are retrieved and tracked when a restraining or protective order has been issued, how domestic violence courts could be expanded and several other issues, including a review of arrest and warrant practices.
Under the plan, the two other councils would be shuttered with members of the new panel chosen by various legislative leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont and Judicial Branch officials.
The bill creating the advisory council is expected to be the subject of a Judiciary Committee public hearing in the coming weeks, said Committee Co-Chair Rep. Steven Stafstom, DBridgeport.
He said CCADV pitched the proposal as a way of combining and extending the work of the two existing councils.
“That makes sense to me,” Stafstrom said. “There are two commissions out there already and some of their work overlaps. Their main function is to make recommendations to the Judiciary Committee.”
But Stafstrom stopped short of saying he was in full support of the bill since he hasn’t fully examined what’s being proposed and there are other proposed laws regarding domestic violence that also have to be considered.
“We look at our domestic violence laws annually,” Stafstrom said. “We’re always looking for ways to improve public safety, but the question is how?”
The bill would require the advisory council to examine several aspects of existing policy and determine if more could be done to keep victims safe and offenders accountable.
That includes an examination of how firearms are tracked when the owner is the subject of a restraining or protective order.
In the Jones case, Traci-Marie Jones obtained a restraining order Jan. 17, prohibiting her husband from contacting her. The Judicial Branch sent a notice to the Bethel Police Department that day indicating Lester Jones was the subject of the order, records show.
But Bethel police have not responded to questions about whether any officers sought to make sure Lester Jones turned in the gun his wife indicated he had when she filed for the restraining order.
Lester Jones shot her dead in their Bethel home before turning the gun on himself on Jan. 31.
“There’s a policy in place, but there’s a lag time,” O’Neil-Wild said. “The Judicial Branch send the police the notification, but the local police have to find the subject and that can be challenging.”
Under state law, the subjects of restraining and protective orders have 24 hours from the time they are notified about the order to either sell their firearm to a licensed dealer or turn the weapon over to police.
“It’s a violation if they don’t turn it over in 24 hours,” O’Neil-Wild said.
But offenders aren’t always arrested for failing to turn over the gun, which is a violation of the order and state law, and victims are not notified that the firearms haven’t been relinquished or seized, she said.
In Minogue’s case, an officer filed for an arrest warrant charging Ewen Dewitt with harassment and violating a protective order. But a judge denied it, seeking more information. The warrant wasn’t re-submitted with more information until a week after police said Dewitt killed Minogue with an ax in early December.
There are also other issues that need review and updating, Scanlon and O’Neil-Wild said.
Connecticut only has three domestic violence dockets with a dedicated prosecutor, judge and other staff who stay on the cases from start to finish who track if offenders are complying with court orders and treatment. There’s no guarantee in courthouses throughout the rest of the state that the same prosecutors or judge will handle a domestic violence case every time it’s on the docket, which could lead to vital information being missed, O’Neil-Wild said.
“Even from a victim perspective, having someone else handle the case who may not be as familiar, may impact how it’s handled,” she said.
As part of the proposed law, the council would also examine how cases are handled from arrest to conclusion, more training for those involved in the system and at the expansion of the use of electronic monitoring or GPS for offenders.
“When it gets into the court system, how is it being handled?” O’NeilWild said. “It sends a message to the victim, ‘are they taking it seriously?’ ”
“It’s also sending a message to offenders,” Scanlon said.
Anyone who needs help with domestic violence can visit CTSafeConnect.org or call or text 888-774-2900. Advocates are available 24/7.