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In early 1995, the Finance Committee of the Rhode Island House of
Representatives established a multi-disciplinary committee to prepare
for the implementation of VAWA. Subsequently, Governor Almond named the
Rhode Island Justice Commission to administer the Violence Against Women
S.T.O.P Formula Grant for the state. The original committee continued to
meet and now serves as the Planning Committee.
This committee developed a comprehensive statewide plan to reduce the
incidence of crimes of violence against women and to improve services to
victims. As a result of the efforts of this committee, Rhode Island
was the second state in the nation to receive funding under the Violence
Against Women Act. In addition, the Rhode Island State Implementation
Plan was the first in the nation to be approved by the
Office of Justice
Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
The multi-disciplinary Planning Committee,
with assistance from two subcommittees has successfully developed and
implemented several specialized programs that address the needs of
victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The law enforcement
training program developed in Rhode Island was the first of its kind in
the country, and focuses on the improvement of law enforcement officers’
response to domestic violence and sexual assault cases.
The Law Enforcement Training Task Force
is the policy setting body for programs and projects under the law
enforcement component of the Violence Against Women Act. Members are
drawn from Rhode Island’s law enforcement community, victim service
agencies, the Supreme Court Domestic Violence Training and Monitoring
Unit, the
Department of Attorney General and the Rhode Island Justice
Commission. Captain Michael Chalek, a representative of the Rhode Island
Police Chiefs’ Association, is the chairperson.
In the first year of funding, a "train the trainers" program within
each law enforcement department in the state and university police
departments was conducted. The task force established the
Curriculum Development Committee,
which was augmented with additional members from a variety of
disciplines. The Law Enforcement Training Task
Force oversees the development of a curriculum and
coordinates new training programs for law enforcement officers. The Task
Force coordinates multi-disciplinary training sessions that are
conducted in each of the municipalities and at the State Police. In
addition, the Task Force meets quarterly to review and discuss the data
that has been collected by the Supreme Court Domestic Violence Training
and Monitoring Unit.
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