Springfield has a domestic violence problem. So why are police seeing fewer reports?

In 2021, the rate of domestic violence incidents in Springfield was more than twice what it was in the state of Missouri as a whole.

That's not too surprising, since Springfield has "always had really high rates of domestic violence," according to Jamie Willis, director of operations at the Greene County Family Justice Center, 1418 E. Pythian St.

What was surprising to Springfield Police Department Sgt. Chris Rasmussen was this: While police were seeing fewer domestic violence reports, the Family Justice Center was serving more people.

The Family Justice Center is a place where victims of domestic abuse can find legal aid and access advocate services, as well as contact officers like Rasmussen, who leads the police department's domestic violence unit.

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Rasmussen isn't completely sure of reason for the disparity.

"It could be the word of mouth about the Family Justice Center being spread, where people are utilizing their services more, and bypassing police," Rasmussen said.

Willis explained that fear of escalating violence can contribute to whether a victim of domestic violence decides to file a report.

"Sometimes survivors feel like going through the criminal justice system is not the best fit for them, either because they’re worried it will escalate the situation or potentially put them in more danger," Willis said. The SPD's domestic violence unit on-site will take reports and run investigations, "but if a survivor comes in and says ‘I don’t want to work with law enforcement,’ we in no way pressure them to do so."

However, support services and law enforcement aren't mutually exclusive. Willis said the center receives a lot of referrals from detectives and patrol officers who respond to domestic violence.

Working together has allowed the domestic violence unit to develop "better working relationships" with advocates.

"(Detectives are) getting advocates involved; they're having advocates reach out to (victims) to try to facilitate services," Rasmussen said. "It’s different for victims when they’re hearing it from police officers, to hear it from someone that’s involved in, I would even say, is more of a professional when it comes to counseling and providing assistance with shelters, whatever kind of assistance they need."

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Keeping the spotlight on domestic violence, resources

This year, the Family Justice Center has been averaging about 217 service visits a month, up more than 50 percent compared to when they first opened in 2018, according to Willis. During COVID-19 lockdown, the center averaged 133 remote visits per month.

Back in the summer of 2020, the Family Justice Center saw over 300 visits per month in their new, larger building.

"It was really max capacity of what we can do; just the absolute top of what we can do," Willis said.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Willis said, there was a heavy focus on domestic violence. But she's concerned about keeping the spotlight on the issue.

"There was a lot of attention during the beginning of the pandemic about the barriers that survivors face and there was a lot of awareness about domestic violence, which is great," Willis said, "but I feel like that has waned a little bit now that everyone is kind of getting back to normal."

She hopes that "survivors know there is a place to go, always, so that they can get the services they need" — even ones that people wouldn't immediately think of, like procuring a copy of their identification for a job or housing, or working with Rescue One to place the family pet in a confidential foster home until the victim get to a safe place.

"There’s help out there, and if they reach out for help, we’re there to support them, not to tell them what we think they need to do, just to provide their options and to help walk them through the process," Willis said.

Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: As domestic violence reports decrease in Springfield, more seek help