New pilot project in Peel aims to reduce domestic violence by pairing social workers with police

Peel Region is rolling out a new pilot program officials hope will help reduce family and intimate partner violence.

Such violence increased in the region by 3.5 per cent from 2016 to 2021, according to Peel Regional Police. In 2021 alone, the service received 17,000 calls for domestic incidents an average of two every hour.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome," saidPeel Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah."We know we have to think outside the box."

Duraiappah was on hand Tuesday to announce the launch of Safe Centre Response Teams, a three-year collaboration between the force and the Safe Centre of Peel a partnership of 15 agencies working to assist victims of domestic violence and abuse.

Since family violence tends to operate along a spectrum, Duraiappah said the goal will be to help provide those families at the earlier end of the spectrum "the appropriate off-ramps" in the hopes of avoiding repeat calls that escalate in violence.

The team will accompany uniformed officers to calls and, where appropriate, they'll meet with those in the household to better understand the root causes of a conflict and which appropriate support agencies the families should be referred to.

The pilot is described as the first of its kind in Ontario. "We will be setting a precedent of early intervention right here in Peel Region,"Jeshani said. "It's very exciting."

While there's value in the pilot, Mirlo Liendo, an author, survivor and advocate for families experiencing violence, says she worries it might be "a Band-Aid solution."

"Having a social worker there is a start. It's not a complete fix by any stretch," she said. "It's been my personal and professional experience that sometimes social workers aren't as experienced in dealing with incidents of coercive control and what some of the nuance is."

Liendo said how much of an impact the program has will also depend on what happens to the victims and families after their initial interactions with the pilot workers.

"There are so many avenues and so many pieces of this puzzle that need to be addressed with more than just a three-year pilot project," she said. "I really do hope it creates more change and creates more education and that it becomes a bigger part of the police hiring process as well."

WATCH | 'It's very similar to torture:' victim recalls enduring coercive control

'It's very similar to torture:' victim recalls enduring coercive control

3 years ago

Duration 9:22

WARNING: This video contains disturbing details | A Montreal woman shares her story as a survivor of intimate partner violence, where she felt trapped by acts of coercive control a pattern of abusive behaviour used to control victims.

Duraiappah says there will be monthly assessments of the program's impact and he expects the first full review by the six-month mark.

He said officers have been "handpicked" for the pilot and have received specialized training in intimate partner and family violence, de-escalation, and crisis intervention, as well as empathy-based training.

"Domestic violence hurts and diminishes all of us," said Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women's Social and Economic Opportunity and MPP for Brampton Centre.

"The earlier we can intervene and prevent physical violence, the stronger our communities and families will be."