Progress Slowly But Surely

Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said she and other officials recognized domestic violence-related homicides had become an epidemic. In 1996, DV killed 29 people; 31 in 1997. O’Malley along with law enforcement, domestic violence shelters and other county officials became to examine those homicides to identify the gaps in service that were leading to deaths.

By 2001 after several years of analyzing cases and offering more comprehensive assistance, domestic violence-related deaths were down to 14.  With the help of a $990,000 federal grant for additional services, those numbers have continued to generally decrease with 20 deaths in 2002; 15 in 2003;  11 in 2004; 7 in 2005; 5 in 2006; and 8 in 2007. Their goal is to eliminate domestic violence-related homicides altogether.

–Danielle McNamara