Article: Providence murders a domestic affair, chief says

4:12 PM Mon, Jan 11, 2010
Gregory Smith
PROVIDENCE -- One-third of the murders in the city in 2009 were incidents of domestic violence, Police Chief Dean M. Esserman disclosed Monday, and he announced a campaign to identify problem households and relationships in an effort to head off violence.

Eight of the 24 murders were cases in which someone in a familial, romantic or other personal relationship killed the other person in the relationship. That stands in sharp contrast, the chief disclosed, to the fact that there were no domestic violence murders in 2008.

The number of calls for domestic violence and domestic violence assaults overall actually declined in 2009, but the incidents tended to be more severe, according to Esserman.

How the problem households and relationships would be identified and how the interventions would be done were left unstated at a news conference at the Public Safety Complex. The details are still being worked out, he said, but it would involve police officers visiting apartments and houses.

An announcement of multiple anti-crime initiatives by Esserman and Mayor David N. Cicilline comes after a string of fatal attacks in 2009. Last year's 24 murders were up sharply from 13 the year before.

The most recent murder -- a woman was the victim Sunday night -- was an incident of domestic violence, Esserman acknowledged. The male suspect has a lengthy criminal record, he said.

Asked if the domestic violence campaign might have helped to prevent the murder Sunday, in a house on Bellevue Avenue, Esserman said he is not sure. There are no calls of domestic violence on record at that address, he said.

"There must be some way to interrupt violence rather than wait for the next 911 call," Esserman said.