Metro to get more domestic violence detectives

By KATE HOWARD • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • June 27, 2008 Four detectives will be added to the city's domestic violence division by September to address one of the city's most frequent crimes, Mayor Karl Dean and Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas announced today. With 10 detectives, the unit has less than half the staff it had in 1994. Police investigated more than 17,000 domestic incidents in 2007, according to a release. “Domestic violence is a crime that affects not only individuals, but families and communities, as well,” Dean said in a prepared statement. “During the 16 years I spent working as a public defender, I saw first hand how domestic abuse can lead to the offender committing other violent crimes, and how victims, including children, are often re-victimized or become offenders themselves. This was an issue affecting too many in our city then, and it is an issue that we need to address now.” Dean has long considered combating domestic violence and crimes against children to be his public safety priorities. The funding for the additional detectives -- three added on July 1 and one added in September -- will come from the money allocated in the 2008-2009 budget to increase Metro police staffing levels, said Janel Lacy, Dean's spokeswoman.

Renamed Sexual Assault Center moving to Metro Center

By LEA ANN OVERSTREET • Staff Writer (Tennessean)• June 11, 2008 The Rape and Sexual Abuse Center at 25 Lindsley Ave. is moving and changing its name. Now known as the Sexual Assault Center, it will move into a 16,000-square-foot facility at 101 French Landing in Metro Center on June 17. The center celebrates its anniversary this fall. For almost 30 years it has provided counseling, support, education and advocacy to survivors of sexual assault. Since 1978, it has helped more than 15,000 children and adult victims of sexual abuse and assault. According to Stephen Lackey, associate director of development, the center's counselors see more than 700 people a year, with more than half that number being children. "Our facility now is just not adequate. There's not enough room to do what we want to do," Lackey said. For 15 years, therapist Eric Fogle has worked with assault survivors, and he said the time has come for a larger site. "We serve a lot more people than we used to, but we're busting at the seams. We're busting out of this building," Fogle said. Center representatives said the new building will provide more space for individual therapy, increased areas for educational development, and a room able to seat more than 80 people for community outreach and education programs. Therapist Char Creson said the changes would not undermine the help she and others are prepared to provide to sexual assault survivors. "Through it all, we keep the clients' needs in mind. That's a consistent thing. Our expertise has been a constant," Creson said.