Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On the weekly crime report Friday morning by Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings on the KGVO Talk Back show, he said there were 16 new felonies reported and charged, with a high number of those dealing with domestic or family violence.

Jennings said a majority of the 11 violent crimes reported last week dealt with family or domestic violence.

Out of the 16 New Felonies Reported 11 Dealt With Family Violence

“This week, we had 11 violent crimes against other persons, and that is a lot,” began Jennings. “That's almost as much as we've ever seen this year. In that category of 11 violent crimes, seven of those were family violence. Those were domestic violence incidents, not all involved a husband, wife or partners; some of them were with children or other loved ones.”

Jennings emphasized the fact that October has been set aside to look closely at domestic violence.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

“October is actually Domestic Violence Awareness Month every year,” he said. “This is a time that we really try and highlight some of those challenges that relationships face. We want to encourage people to find other ways to deal with some of their disagreements or problems; to make sure that people are in healthy relationships and they feel safe and not coerced because of finances or housing or other things, to remain in a situation where they are unsafe.”

Jennings praised the Missoula justice community for its growth in helping to mitigate domestic violence.

“I think more and more people are comfortable reporting that with the training that our law enforcement officers have, they just do such a good job of making sure that they're providing comfort to victims, and some of the supportive services that survivors need,” he said. “We also have so many really great organizations in this community, like the YWCA, or the Crime Victim Advocate Program and other entities out there that are really trying to help people make sure that they don't have to remain in a dangerous situation.”

Jennings Emphasized Treatment to Help End Domestic Violence

Jennings placed great emphasis on a mixture of enforcement and treatment to help solve the issue of domestic violence.

“If someone is being violent, we're going to hold them accountable, and there's an element of punishment to that, but we also try to make sure that they get back on their feet,” he said. The reality is that a lot of people might be in a relationship where something bad happens, but it doesn't mean that they're irredeemable. Sometimes substances are involved, and if they can maintain sobriety, it doesn't happen again. The system really tries to balance making sure people know that that's not okay, and there is some punishment pursuant to law, but we also really try and look out for the next time and avoid that next time; to help people get on their feet and make sure it doesn't happen again.”

Find out more about Domestic Violence Awareness Month here.

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