Domestic violence legal training wraps up

A two-day session training law enforcement and court officers how to prevent and deal with domestic violence is wrapping up today at Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, paid for through a grant the Chippewa Cree Tribe received to help deal with children exposed to violence.

The U. S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana is coordinating the training, part of the U. S. Department of Justice's Defending Childhood Initiative, which awarded the grant to Rocky Boy's Children Exposed to Violence Project. The department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, gave Rocky Boy the grant under the initiative.

"Communities win when all of the law enforcement and community entities collaborate, cross train and provide a forum for discussing and understanding the pervasive problem of domestic violence, " U. S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter said in a release. "We are grateful that Rocky Boy's Children Exposed to Violence Project is bringing people together in a meaningful way to continue the conversation regarding the impact of domestic violence in our communities. "

Law enforcement and court personnel from Rocky Boy and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation were invited to the session, with faculty including tribal prosecutors, elders from the community, staff from the United States Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Montana Department of Justice, the Office of Consumer Protection and Victim Services, the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and the Montana Law Enforcement Academy.

The session was scheduled to include: Evidence-based prosecution and tips on report writing; "Predominate Aggressor – Theory and Practice; " "What is Strangulation and Asphyxiation? ;" Tribal codes; Firearms and orders of protection; Dos and don'ts of testifying; Victim services available from the state of Montana; and a peacemaker panel.

The release said the Defending Childhood Initiative was launched in September 2010 by U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder to address the exposure of America's children to violence as victims and as witnesses. For more information about the initiative, visit www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/.