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.