Class about domestic violence

By Staff
Melissa Cason, Franklin County Times
ELLIOTT BRANCH-Fifteen members of the Franklin County Law Enforcement community gathered yesterday at Elliott Branch to take part in domestic violence training.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Department and Russellville and Red Bay Police Departments were all represented at the training session sponsored by Safeplace, Inc. and the Franklin County Domestic Violence Coalition.
"Training is important for our law enforcement officials because they are the front line people," Safeplace spokesperson Susan Swaim. "They are the first on the scene of a domestic violence call."
Lt. Steve Searcy with the Montgomery Police Department conducted the training session with the officers to give them an update on the state laws concerning domestic violence, and teach them how to deal with the ever-changing dynamics of domestic violence calls.
"We try to do some sort of training at least once per year because laws and domestic violence calls are always changing," Swaim said.
Searcy said that domestic violence calls are the most dangerous calls for law enforcement because they include making arrests and handling disturbances, which are both dangerous situations.
The Southeastern portion of the United States has the most calls for domestic violence situations due to there being more unlicensed firearms owned.
"We like to hunt, and we like our guns so we have more firearms in our homes than in other parts of the country," Searcy told the officers during the session.
The training session was provided free of charge by the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The session also provided the officers with four hours of training, Swaim said.
Alabama requires all police officers to receive at least 12 hours of training each year, however, Franklin County's law enforcement officers are encouraged to go for as much training as possible for different situations.