Police to have special domestic violence team

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

A group of activists hold a demonstration in Istanbul against domestic violence. AA photo

Istanbul police have launched an initiative to tackle the issue of domestic violence by providing specialized training to some 100 law enforcement officers from the city’s 39 districts.

Members of the city’s police force who partook in the 15 day training program will be assigned to posts in the bureaus of public security in district police headquarters across Istanbul, according to reports.
The participants received instructions about how to complete domestic abuse victims’ legal proceedings in a speedy and appropriate manner in police stations, the legal framework regarding the issue of domestic violence, the kind of questions that need to be asked and the manner in which such traumatized women should be treated.

The officers who completed their training in the Istanbul-Gayrettepe Police Headquarters will not be assigned to any duties other than cases of domestic violence. One female and one male police officer will be charged in each bureau with the task of assessing calls and applications and intervening in such incidents without delay.

Some 250 instructors had trained about 40,000 police officers in another project that was initiated by the Istanbul Police Headquarters in 2007 to combat domestic violence.

About 30 percent of all women in Turkey have been subjected to domestic violence, according to official statistics.

Some 80 women lost their lives in Istanbul due to domestic violence in 2005 alone, while another 57 women in 2010 and 42 women during the first 11 months of 2011 also passed away due to such incidents.

A branch directorate was established recently at Ankara Police Headquarters to combat domestic violence.