- April 24, 2024
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Spousal domestic violence cases in Flagler County have dropped dramatically since 2017, but improvement is still needed, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said at a June 9 Domestic Violence Summit at the Hilton Garden Inn Town Center.
“Domestic violence affects every county and city in our country," Staly said. "The only way to tackle a problem this size is to work together as a community and attack it from every angle. ... I'm not ready to declare victory on this problem, and there is a lot of work still to be done, but there has been a 50% reduction in spousal aggravated assaults in Flagler County since 2017, when I became sheriff. I think we may have turned the corner.”
Staly, in 2017, had formed a task force dedicated to preventing domestic violence; in 2018, the FCSO used a Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence grant to assign a full-time detective to domestic violence cases.
Domestic violence reports and arrests declined somewhat during the pandemic, but have been creeping back up, Staly said.
"We're making good progress, with a slight dip during the pandemic," Staly said.
At the summit June 9, representatives from the task force's five subcommittees — faith-based services, social services, education, mental health/medical services and criminal justice — spoke about the resources their organizations offered.
Pastor Ed Reisetter spoke about faith-based services and how local religious communities can aid victims of domestic violence; Family Life Center Chief Executive Officer Trish Giaccone discussed the improvements at the shelter and its facilities; prosecutor Jason Lewis discussed the importance of the StateAttorneys Office's relationship with the FCSO to build cases and gain convictions, Flagler Humane Society Executive Director Amy Wade-Carotenuto discussed signs of animal abuse that can potentially turn to domestic violence situations, and Detective Annie Conrad spoke about the use of therapy dogs, with therapy dog Dottie in attendance.
The Child Protective Team discussed promoting the safety and well-being of Florida’s children by providing medically led disciplinary assessment for children suspected of being abused or neglected.
Responding to an attendee's question, Staly noted that Florida's Risk Protective Order (RPO) law, also known as the red flag law, lets law enforcement officers confiscate guns from people considered a danger to others, but it has a flaw: It allows people to turn their firearms over to a friend, rather than law enforcement, for safekeeping.
"There's no guarantee that a day, or as soon as law enforcement leaves, that they don't give them back. Now they're not supposed to do that, but you only find that out when something bad happens," Staly said. "So if if the legislature is going to focus on on the RPOs, that's the area that I think they need to look at."
Staly said he's a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and that the FCSO has used the RPO law conservatively.
He noted the Flagler County hasn't had a domestic violence related homicide since 2017, when it had had four in one year.
"If we weren't doing this multi-disciplined approach in Flagler County, I think that we would be like the other counties in the circuit for the State Attorney's Office," Staly said. "... Our numbers are still down, especially from 2017 when we started this, in a community that's growing by leaps and bounds."
A follow-up domestic violence summit will be scheduled.
