Bob Berlin, DuPage County State's Attorney's Office Co-Host Virtual Domestic Violence Seminar

Wheaton - On April 16th DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and the 18th Judicial Circuit Court Family Violence Coordinating Council (FVCC) hosted an online seminar titled “Domestic Violence Protocols: Best Practices.” The seminar was open to prosecutors, victim advocates, and law enforcement officers.

Bob Berlin opened the seminar with remarks to the participants and specifically highlighted that the President of the Center for Domestic Violence Policy in Washington, DC recently reviewed DuPage County’s manual for domestic violence incidents and said that it looks great,” and commented that we are “doing really good work in this area.”

The seminar reviewed the unique problems surrounding domestic violence incidents. There was discussion on the prevalence of domestic violence, its impact on the criminal justice system, and also included a review of applicable statutes, proper investigative techniques, and impediments to the successful prosecution of offenders, while also prosecuting the safety of victims.

The training also discussed “trauma-informed approaches” when interviewing victims of domestic violence and addressed the importance of multidisciplinary partnerships in combating domestic violence.