By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Hays-area law enforcement officers last week attended training aimed at preventing domestic violence and gender-based violence incidents by better understanding the perpetrator.

Approximately 20 officers from the Hays Police Department, Fort Hays State Campus Police and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday attended “From 9-1-1 to the Courtroom: A Coordinated Response to Domestic Violence” from the Office of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and hosted by Fort Hays State University and the FHSU police.

HPD Lt. Ron Rounkles described the training as a non-traditional review of domestic violence.

“We traditionally concentrate on the victims … what they should or should not do” to be safe, he said. “This training was different in that it dealt with the makeup of the batterers — without making excuses for them — but offering a possible explanation for their aggressive behavior.”

HPD Chief Don Scheibler said the training also focused on data collection, understanding the dynamics of a victim’s behavior, victim safety, and how a risky situation for the victim could escalate to a lethal one.

“The training went from the initial call to officer investigation and offered interesting insight on what motivates a suspect,” Scheibler said. “Perhaps if we recognize the suspect’s motivation, it may help to prevent future incidents.”

Scheibler thanked the Kansas Attorney General’s office for the training and FHSU for use of their facilities.

The statewide training is part of a grant-funded program from Governor’s Advisory Council on Domestic Violence Training.