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Domestic violence on the rise in metro Detroit counties, making one prosecutor ‘afraid’

Domestic violence on the rise in metro Detroit counties, making one prosecutor ‘afraid’

There were no obvious signs that Oakland County Public Health Officer Calandra Green was being abused at her home, her family said.

Not until Green was found dead in May 2023 in the Pontiac home she shared with her husband, Charles Quincy Green, who police believe killed Calandra before taking his own life.

Calandra, who was a public and community health advocate, was ultimately murdered by “a person who was not spiritually and mentally healthy, and just went down the wrong path,” said her sister Sikande Stewart.

“We have to make sure we raise awareness so this doesn’t happen to the next person,” Stewart said. “And unfortunately, it’s something that’s becoming common and I’m not comfortable with it.”

Green is one of thousands believed to be affected by domestic violence in Metro Detroit, where the number of victims has increased in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, according to 2023 Michigan State Police statistics, coinciding with a trend across the state. The domestic violence rate for a sample of major cities that did not include Detroit increased 3% in 2023, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.

State police domestic violence victim numbers are not available for 2024, but Macomb County prosecutors said domestic violence prosecutions have increased in the past year.

Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido said in late December that domestic violence prosecutions were up more than 4% with 2,800 domestic violence cases compared to the previous year and nearly 13% from 2019. The number of domestic violence victims in Macomb increased from 5,512 in 2022 to 5,920 in 2023, a 7% increase, according to the Criminal Justice Information Center of the State Police.

The increasing number of serious domestic violence incidents resulting in serious injury or death concerns the Macomb prosecutor.

“I’m afraid these numbers will continue to increase,” Lucido said. “…And it’s not just a little bit, it’s starting to get too high.”

Ashley Elkins, a mother of two from Warren, was reported missing in early January. Her ex-boyfriend was charged Thursday with lying to police. after they executed a search warrant at his apartment. Prosecutors said they believe DeAndre Howard Booker knows where Elkins is and that she left Booker’s apartment before disappearing.

In Oakland County, the number of domestic violence victims increased 3.4%, from 4,935 in 2022 to 5,105 in 2023, according to state police data. County prosecutors did not provide data on the number of cases processed, but HAVEN, a well-known shelter in the county that helps victims of domestic violence, said officials have also seen an increase and that its shelter has been full since October.

Lucido and HAVEN employees don’t fully know why they are seeing an increase in domestic violence, but HAVEN officials partially attributed it to problems with the economy and an increase in people’s willingness to report when they are being hurt.

Not all areas are experiencing what Macomb and other areas of Michigan are seeing in recent months.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has noted a decrease in requests for domestic violence-related warrants from 2023 to 2024, but was unable to provide any data from previous years. In 2023, 9,287 domestic violence injunction applications were filed, while there were 8,289 injunctions as of December 19. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to a request for prosecution statistics.

State police data showed a 3.2% increase from 22,907 victims in 2022 to 23,631 victims in 2023 in Wayne County.

National statistics for a sample of 10 cities (including Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis, but not Detroit) showed that the domestic violence rate fell 2% in the first half of 2024.

Fear that incidents will continue to increase

Lucido said he is most concerned about felony domestic violence charges, which were already at 2023 levels in mid-December. These are the cases where serious injuries or death are involved.

“That worries me because the violence is getting more violent in these homes,” Lucido said.

The Macomb County prosecutor said his domestic violence unit, which includes three prosecutors, implemented new technology, provided training, educated students to stop the cycle of violence and provided services to victims. They have offered free presentations at schools to talk about the cycle of violence, how to report abuse, and the consequences of domestic violence.

Lucido said she wants to get into schools to educate children about what healthy relationships look like and make sure they know how to report if they or someone in their home is being abused.

“We want to be able to keep that in mind now, that if you know someone in your family who is being abused, you know a parent or a neighbor, that is not the way you treat someone, and it is not the way to resolve differences. ”Lucido said.

Why may rates go up?

Nationally, domestic violence rates appear to be declining since 2019, the Criminal Justice Council found after sampling cities. According to the council, which studies crime rates for 12 violent, property and drug crimes in 39 American cities, the domestic violence rate among 10 cities fell 2% during the first half of 2024.

Statewide, domestic violence incidents increased from 65,705 in 2022 to 67,816 in 2023, an increase of 3.2%. Meanwhile, the number of fatal domestic violence incidents decreased from 100 in 2022 to 87 in 2023. Figures for 2024 were not available.

Several fatal incidents occurred in Metro Detroit last year.

In February 2024, in Warren, Antonio Askew allegedly shot and killed his wife, Eboni Askew. And last July at Eastpointe, Steven Kolson was allegedly fighting with his wife when he is accused of strangling her to death, according to Lucido’s office. As recently as Thanksgiving, Darrien Harris allegedly shot the father of his wife’s son in Warren when the man came to his house to deliver a gift to his son.

HAVEN, the Oakland County nonprofit that provides resources to survivors of domestic violence, has seen a “steady increase” in people entering shelters, said executive director Christine Kinal. He said he believes this is partly due to an improved referral process, but also partly because domestic violence rates are increasing.

Since October, the HAVEN shelter has been completely full, Kinal said.

“Unfortunately, we have to turn away many. We don’t have beds. They are full,” Kinal said. “On average, we are about 85% full. But we have been 100% full this quarter since October.”

Kinal said shelter officials have worked with two victims who were murdered. One of them was Kelly Mays, a domestic violence advocate and mental health counselor, who said Black women especially need to feel comfortable seeking services. She was allegedly stabbed to death by an ex-partner in January 2024. Jimmie Lee Brown has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death.

“There have been a lot of things that have impacted this,” Kinal said. “Some cases are more violent and unfortunately cause deaths.”

Kinal said the rise in domestic violence is a national problem and can be attributed in part to funding cuts to HAVEN programs and people struggling with the economy, which has been marked by high inflation in the last two or three years.

Jen Porter, HAVEN’s director of development and marketing, said awareness of domestic violence has increased in Metro Detroit due to some high-profile deaths that have made headlines, such as those of Mays, Green and nurse Patrice Wilson. who was murdered by her boyfriend Jamere Miller in May 2023.

“I think people are more willing to take that step now to get help,” Porter said.

Less secrecy, more conversations

Green’s sister Stewart stressed the importance of being able to talk to family and friends about mental health and domestic violence.

“I think that’s part of the problem, that we don’t talk about it,” Stewart said. “We are from a family where what happens in our home stays in our home… If you live in a situation where you are being verbally, mentally, emotionally and physically abused, you better talk to someone about it. “

Nearly half (or 45%) of Black women and 40% of Black men have experienced physical intimate partner violence, sexual intimate partner violence, or intimate partner stalking throughout their lives. lives, compared to 25% of women and 11% of men of all races. according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Calandra’s daughter, Casey Anderson, said she had a relationship from high school to college that became verbally abusive toward the end. Her mother helped her get out of the relationship and realize that she deserved someone better, she said.

But Anderson, 25, of Pontiac, said she understands how difficult it can be to leave someone you love, even if that person is hurting you. Sitting on a bench set up outside the Oakland County Health Division in Southfield, dedicated to her mother with a special plaque, she said she now wants to be an advocate for those facing domestic violence “who can’t speak.”

“You don’t have to live that in fear or live alone,” Anderson said. “Yes, you can speak and tell people your story because if you stay behind closed doors, your story will never be heard, your voice will never be heard.”

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