St. Joseph County law enforcement to change way they deal with domestic violence

 A new testing tool is changing the way law enforcement officials in Michiana respond to domestic violence cases.  It's aimed at getting abused women the help they need long term, as opposed to just during the time of the incident.  

In St. Joseph county alone, police respond to about 8,000 domestic calls every year.  And now, law enforcement officials want to make sure these cases aren't being addressed after it's too late.  

Just this year, four month old baby Halo Stutzman was killed, and her dad charged with her death.  And again, 11 month old baby Micahyah Crockett was beaten to death, and her mom was charged with his death.  It's something officials want to avoid.  

So that's why law enforcement agencies across St. Joseph county will be implementing a new system.  It's Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell's Danger Assessment.  While it's aimed at women, it can be used in any domestic violence situation.  It's a series of questions officials can ask at the scene to determine the risk of the relationship.  

But the big different is that this system will get the victims in direct contact with people who can help, and that's something officials hope can help bring down that number of 8,000 calls every year.  

Training will begin in December all across St. Joseph county and they hope to start using this system by the beginning of the year.