The Violence Against Women Act grant money would allow a sheriff’s detective to work at the FVPC. The city of Xenia has a similar program in place.
“They are right there with the social workers and the counselors, and they’re able to coordinate everything right there in house, which adds to our ability to find (victims) help,” Prall said.
Calls to police for domestic violence-related incidents were actually down in Ohio during the pandemic, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s office. In 2019, Ohio law enforcement agencies received 76,203 domestic-violence dispute calls. The number dropped to just over 71,500 in 2020, then about 65,000 in 2021, and rose very slightly to 66,665 domestic violence calls in 2022.
But many other numbers are up.
As of July 21 last year, Greene County Domestic Relations Court handled 139 domestic violence cases in Greene County, up from 117 in that period of 2021, and 108 in 2020. Additionally, the court had issued 81 civil protection orders, compared to 49 on July 21, 2021.
The Greene County Family Violence Prevention Center has seen an increase in calls to their hotline every year since 2019. In 2019, there were 414 calls, a number that jumped to 539 in 2021, and 570 in 2022.
Police suggest domestic violence incidents are regularly underreported.
In Greene County last year, 590 domestic violence calls ended with criminal proceedings, either with domestic violence-related charges or on other counts, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s office. Another 540 incidents ended with no charges at all.
“There’s almost a radio silence around domestic violence. In June 2020, we started to see a spike, but it was also more intense violence: a weapon was used, a weapon was threatened, or strangulation was experienced,” said Debbie Matheson, director of Greene County’s Family Violence Prevention Center. “You don’t see that in a domestic violence report.”
Greene County is in a “unique position” when it comes to county services, Prall said. While the western part of the county is densely suburban, and includes Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the eastern part of Greene County is very rural. Rural victims of domestic violence can often have a harder time accessing help, because of poverty and/or the distance required to travel, Prall said.
“It’s a population that we are feel are being missed, and that we need to cater better to,” she said.
Greene County is also hoping to better serve college students, and the Black community. African Americans are disproportionately affected by domestic violence. In 2022, 32% of victims of domestic violence in Ohio were Black, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
“We need to do better,” Prall said. “The education and services that are provided by the Family Violence Prevention Center would allow us to begin the process of curtailing this, getting the offenders the help that they need, and getting victims the long-term life skills that they need to get out of the situation.”
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