HOULTON, Maine — Purple ribbons honoring the memories of individuals who lost their lives because of domestic violence abuse are popping up around the town as part of a month-long awareness campaign.
The ribbons, located at the Maine State Police Troop F barracks on U.S. Route 1 and the Aroostook County Jail on Military Street, are reminders that although great strides have been made to raise awareness for domestic violence abuse, much more work must be done to eradicate it.
According to Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall, his agency is seeing more reports of domestic violence through the first nine months of 2017 than in past years.
“Various factors could be at play, but I believe some of it has to do with awareness campaigns and removing the stigma of first- and second-hand reporting of domestic violence related crimes,” Crandall said. “Many of the reports taken by our public safety dispatch center this year were from independent witnesses who did not even know the parties involved, but saw or heard something that made them concerned. Thorough follow up by deputy sheriffs resulted in a number of arrests from those reports.”
Crandall stated he did not have the exact number of cases readily available, but noted his agency has seen about a 35 percent increase in the number of domestic violence related crimes so far in 2017.
“(Dispatch) took an average of the calls for service that were reported as domestic violence related offenses from 2012 to 2016 and averaged that number,” he explained. “That number was compared to the first nine months of this year, and the outcome is that we have seen a 35 percent increase in the number of reports of domestic violence related crimes in the first nine months of 2017 over the average of the first nine months of the previous five years.”
Also, arrests for DV related offenses in 2017 have doubled over the average of the previous five years, he stated.
“We realize this is a very important issue that impacts a lot of families and communities as a whole,” added Lt. Brian Harris of Troop F of the Maine State Police. “Domestic violence is something we fight with every day to provide support for victims. We encourage anyone, if they do know someone who is a victim, to speak out.”
To further increase awareness, October is designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and as such two community events are also being held in the Shiretown this week.
On Wednesday, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians will host its 20th annual Candlelight Vigil at the Maliseet Riverside Gymnasium, starting at 5:30 p.m. The vigil honors those throughout the state who have lost their lives to domestic violence, as well as the survivors impacted. The event will include drumming and candle lighting ceremonies.
For more information on this event, contact the Maliseet Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Advocacy Center at 532-6401.
The following day, Thursday, Oct. 5, the Hope and Justice program will host its annual “Light It Up, Houlton!” event beginning at 6 p.m. at the Gentle Memorial Building. Community members are invited to participate in a brief ceremony, featuring remembrance time for domestic violence homicide victims, one woman’s story and music by Travis James Humphrey. The group will then take a short walk around downtown Houlton, carrying purple glow sticks.
For more information on Thursday’s walk, call 532-4004 for more details.
