7 News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford is taking a deep dive into domestic violence.
You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799 7233, text "START" to 88788 or chat on their website
Full coverage: Breaking Free - a deep dive into domestic violence
It comes after doing weekly check-ins with local police chiefs, where we were told that domestic violence is still the No. 1 crime in just about every community. During the month of December with the holiday season and new year approaching, domestic violence calls go through the roof.
Related: Resources for domestic violence victims
We are lifting the voices of survivors, judges and police chiefs whose officers are opening the door to protect victims.
Behind the door of every police agency is a battle against domestic violence. So, we invited three police chiefs to our studios to sit down with me to discuss the epidemic plaguing our community: Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren, Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin and Eastpointe Police Chief Corey Haines.
"In our community, yes, it's definitely an issue," Shahin told me. "We have roughly 300 incidents of domestic violence a year and it's remained steady for a long time."
"We average over 1,200 calls for service for domestic violence alone. Annually, it equates to about 25 runs per week," Barren added.
"Since the beginning of this year, since January, we've already had assault incidents of almost 900, of which about 90% of those were domestic violence," chief added.
Police officers are on the front line of this battle and it's one of the most dangerous daily runs for them.
"You’re going into someone’s private home. You don’t know what you’re walking into, and you don’t know what weapons they may have access to," Haines said.
Watch our full town hall with Chiefs Shahin, Haines and Barren in the video below
Barricaded gunman situations often begin with an incident of domestic violence.
Shahin said 20% of the time, the victims of domestic violence homicides are family members, children or a police officer.
In one case in Southfield, Barren said a woman broke up with her abusive boyfriend. Then, he tracked her to a Southfield hotel with her new boyfriend.
"They’re both gunned down. She’s gunned down fatally, he’s placed in a critical situation still battling from his scars," Barren said.
"We learned that the son had beaten the mom to death, cleaned the house and stuffed her body in a drain culvert," Haines said of another situation.
"I can just tell you over 26 years, I’ve seen a lot of trauma and a lot of devastation to families; a lot of scared children & women under the hands of domestic violence," Shahin said.
Watch below: Part 1 of Breaking Free: 'I had bruises all over.' Woman who endured years of abuse as child shares story to help others
But here's the question - how do we stop it?
"It stops by awareness of the community. It stops by having resources available for the victims. It stops by accountability of the criminal justice system," Barren said.
For five years, Barren has led a walk against domestic violence, with agencies like HAVEN on hand, as well as judges and survivors.
For Deodge Hill, a survivor of domestic violence, the chaos began with a fast-course three-month relationship.
"It ended with the guy kidnapping me, holding me at gunpoint," Hill said.
She said he got away with it, so she walks to empower other women.
"I did not want anyone else to go through that," she said.
Sheila Johnson, the chief judge of the 46th District Court, also joined the walk to raise her voice.
Chief Judge of 46th District Court Sheila Johnson is here to raise her voice.
'This is probably the number one crime that we see repeatedly in the district court," Johnson said.
She said domestic violence has a lot to do with power and control.
"There are behaviors that may have grown based on someone’s past experience, perpetuate this onto generation after generation," Johnson said.
Southfield even has a domestic violence commission.
"Can you pinpoint anything as to why in 2024, domestic violence is still such a big issue in communities and getting worse?" I asked the chiefs.
"I can tell you there’s been so much education and it's fairly disappointing to see that there hasn’t been some improvement," Shahin said.
Experts say a victim may go back multiple times before finally breaking free.
"They feel they’re in love, this isn’t going to happen again, he’s apologized. There’s that control he’s the breadwinner of the family and what am I going to do if he’s locked in jail," Haines said.
Barren said through HAVEN, they now have forms specifically to tell if the victim was strangled, which he said is a point where homicide is likely in the near future.
When it comes to cultural barriers, police departments must be a reflection in the mirror of the community they serve, including language, so victims feel safe to report so they can get a personal protection order and seek an advocate for help.
And when it comes to cultural barriers police departments must be a reflection in the mirror of the community they serve.. Including language.. So victims feel safe to report. To get a personal protection order.. To seek an advocate for help.
"We applaud you and the station for bringing this much-needed topic to the forefront," Barren said.
"It gives us a chance to talk about what we see on an everyday basis," Haines added.
It's critical to remember what Barren said has been learned from studies, and that once a victim has been choked by their abuser, the attempt to murder that person is not far behind.
