Peace House Celebrates Summit and Wasatch County Law Enforcement

Peace House Thanks Summit and Wasatch County Law Enforcement

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes 2019, a men’s march against domestic violence, has been supported by the Park City Police Department and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office from the very first year and this year Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office joins us too.  Area law enforcement provide much needed support to victims of domestic violence by assessing levels of threat with the Lethality Assessment Protocol, rendering aid, and deescalating situations.

These calls, domestic violence calls, are among the most dangerous for police officers. A 2016 study by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found that domestic disputes are more likely than other scenarios to lead to an officer getting shot. In a breakdown of 91 Line of Duty Deaths by Dispatched Call Types, Domestic Disputes at 22% dominated the threats even over Burglary and Robbery combined or Man with Gun and Shots Fired combined categories.

Why are domestic calls so much more dangerous than other kinds of calls?  Domestic violence relationships are rooted in power and control. When the victim takes steps to leave the situation, it leads to volatile reactions by the perpetrator as he/she attempts to reassert dominance.

We are grateful for the annual support Summit and Wasatch county police and sheriff’s offices provide at Walk a Mile in Her Shoes but we are also grateful for the daily risks they take to keep families and individuals in unsafe relationships safe.