Coronavirus grant helps Modesto target domestic violence, auto theft, break-ins

Jun. 28--Modesto police have started doing more to help domestic violence victims and now have money from a federal grant to help in that effort.

The City Council on Tuesday accepted $468,128 from the Department of Justice, part of the more than $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law in March to help families, businesses, government and others respond to the new coronavirus pandemic.

Modesto police will use part of the grant to pay for six hours of overtime each week for two detectives and/or two officers to visit domestic violence victims. The Police Department recently started this outreach, part of its effort to increase its response to domestic violence.

That effort includes bringing in a second domestic violence detective in mid-May and having officers hand out domestic violence pamphlets when they respond to reports of couples arguing, and they believe there is potential for domestic violence in the future.

The pamphlets are available in Spanish, and one of the detectives is bilingual.

Police Chief Galen Carroll said Modesto, as well as the rest of Stanislaus County, historically has had high levels of domestic violence. He said that has gotten worse in Modesto during the pandemic as people shelter in their homes. Statistics were not immediately available for the pandemic, but Modesto police had 663 felony and 579 misdemeanor domestic violence cases in 2019.

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'We want the victim to feel safe'

Lt. Martha Delgado -- who oversees investigations -- said the visits will let detectives and officers check in with victims to see whether they are getting help, answer questions and make sure the abuser is staying away. It's also an opportunity to build trust and let victims know they are not alone.

"We want the victim to feel safe and be safe," Delgado said, "and to get the resources they need to get out of a bad relationship." But Delgado stressed that if victims have questions or problems, they are encouraged to call the police and other resources rather than wait for the visits.

Carroll said the Police Department also will use the federal grant for officers to target hot spots for auto thefts and auto burglaries, as well as business burglaries. He said vehicle thefts and burglaries have risen during the pandemic. That has not been the case with businesses, but many have been empty because of the pandemic's stay-at-home order.

"We didn't want our businesses to be victimized because they were shutting down," Carroll said.

Some of the grant will go toward purchasing a couple of kiosks for the Police Department's main lobby. Crime victims without Internet access can use the kiosks to file reports. The department also will purchase more workstations for the community service officers at the telephone reporting unit.

More CSOs to take crime reports

Carroll said the department plans to hire five more community service officers for the telephone reporting unit, which will increase the unit's staff to 10 CSOs. He said adding more CSOs is independent of getting the federal grant.

Carroll said telephone reporting limits face-to-face contact during the pandemic, is a faster and more efficient way to report a crime, and frees up time for sworn officers to respond to crimes where their presence is needed.

The grant is part of the nearly $850 million the Department of Justice has allocated through its Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program. The money can be used for such coronavirus-related expenses as overtime, equipment and supplies (including masks, gloves and sanitizer) and for inmates' medical care.

Besides Modesto's grant, Stanislaus County has been awarded $95,241, Turlock $91,391 and Ceres $40,374, according to the DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance website. The website did not list awards for any other Stanislaus County cities.

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