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The Center for Violence-Free Relationships often works with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department in helping and advocating for its domestic violence and sexual assault clients. The election of a new Sheriff that understands domestic violence and sexual assault is essential for the hundreds of survivors in our county. We wanted to get know our candidates so we sent them a list of questions to answer. We got some great responses from Candidate John D'Agostini, but unfortunately were not able to get a response from Craig Therkildsen. So here are excerpts from some of John D'Agostini's responses.
Q). What are the top three crimes in our county and what is your plan to address these problem areas?
A). "The three top crimes reported are, Larceny, Assault and Burglary. This is a common trend throughout law enforcement jurisdictions nationwide. Included in the Assault crimes are DV investigations. Putting into practice my policy of "Total Policing" that has three main facets: Total enforcement on crime and criminals, Total Care for victims, witnesses and the community and Total Professionalism through training and leading by example will enable my office to enlist community support and involvement in addressing specific problems with a multifaceted, comprehensive strategy."
Q). Over the past 2-3 years it would appear that a significant number of the murders that have occurred in El Dorado County have involved some aspect of family and/or domestic violence. Are you aware of and concerned about this rise in lethal family violence and what could you, as the Sheriff, do to address this issue?
A). "I am aware of and concerned about the domestic violence murder trend in El Dorado County and across our nation. In order to address the issue, I believe that we must work in partnership with domestic violence advocacy agencies, the District Attorney's Office, the Superior Court, County Probation, Child Protective Services, and the Sheriff's Office. Working with those agencies, I believe we should discuss the possibility of forming a team who could examine domestic violence murders and make suggestions on how to prevent those crimes from happening in the future."
"As part of my top to bottom review of Sheriff's Office policy and procedures, we will ask two primary questions - is our policy and response adequate and can we improve our service to the community? I believe that there is always room for improvement."
Q). During the past year and a half, law enforcement on the western slope has been absent from our local Domestic Violence Coordinating Council meetings. What would you personally do to ensure that your agency employees participate in these collaborative meetings?
A). "Our Sheriff's Office must be involved in all proactive measures possible to reduce crime in El Dorado County. Having representation from the Sheriff's Office at such council meetings is essential to this endeavor. As your Sheriff, I will assign an investigative supervisor or manager to attend all coordinating council meetings."
Q). What type of training would you support for local LE officers to receive on the subjects of domestic violence and sexual assault and what would you do to ensure that they received such training on a regular basis?
A). "Penal Code Section 13519 requires that law enforcement officers receive domestic violence training every two years...I strongly support additional training that can be provided within our budget constraints. I am open to creative solutions. One possible solution to increase domestic violence training would be to present short "roll call" domestic violence training sessions prior to the deputies going on shift. This would reduce costs and keep our deputies up to date on domestic violence issues and improve our response..."
Q). From talking with local deputies over the last few years, it seems that some officers believe that the Placerville DA's office is not filing very many domestic violence cases given the number of DV arrests the officers are making. Please discuss any general concerns you might have regarding the DA's filing decisions in domestic violence cases. In your opinion, are the DV laws being appropriately enforced in our community?
A). "As your Sheriff, I will establish a healthy, transparent working relationship with the DA. I have every confidence in the District Attorney and his staff.
We should remember that the standards of proof for a trial are very different from the standards for making an arrest. The District Attorney bears the burden of proof and is required to prove their version of events beyond a reasonable doubt... An officer working on patrol must meet a lower standard of proof known as probable cause. The facts they gather must be sufficient for a reasonable person to believe that a crime was committed by a particular person.
Working more closely with the District Attorney, his Deputies and Investigators will help the wheels of justice move more rapidly, efficiently and keep the needs of victims/witnesses in the forefront while respecting the constitutional rights of everyone affected."
Q.)What are some of the ways that you see The Center and EDSO working together to reduce Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault in our community?
A). "As part of my top to bottom review of Sheriff's Office policy and procedures, I will extend an invitation to the Center for Violence-free Relationships to review and discuss our domestic violence and sexual assault policies. I want input from the stakeholders on what we are doing right and what we can do better. Areas that will be reviewed are as follows:
· What level of training our deputies have received
· How deputies are held accountable (or not) for following our domestic violence policies
· Who monitors how consistently or how well the domestic violence policy is followed
· What are the consequences for failing to follow domestic violence policies or recognition for implementing them well
In the future I would like to see domestic violence training sessions provided to our staff by the Center for Violence-free Relationships." | 
