by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is trying to interest paralegals in helping victims of domestic violence adjust to new, safer lives.
Stressing that everyone will be aware that paralegals can’t actually dispense legal advice, Kathy Pannell said more help is needed to keep “incidents” from becoming homicides.
“When I first came on to the sheriff’s department, I probably dealt more with sexual assault and homicides,” Pannell told the Northeast Florida Paralegal Association last week. “Recently, more of the homicide cases have been related to domestic violence.
“I had to start putting a lot more focus into domestic violence because something had to be done. We have to intervene to try to get people out of harm’s way before it escalates into homicide.”
The job comes with even more than the obvious pain.
“It falls to me to deal with the children left behind,” she said. “I have had to notify many children that their mother had been taken away from them.
“That is probably the hardest part of my job. To tell a child that their mother has been killed by their father.”
As the JSO’s Victim Services counselor/coordinator, Pannell provides short-term emotional support to victims of crime, gives victims information about other community resources and service providers and helps other officers at crime scenes with crisis intervention and counseling.
“Many people don’t realize there are resources available until they become victims,” she said.
The sheriff’s department recently completed a pamphlet that officers will give to all victims. The pamphlet goes into detail about domestic violence and describes all the services that are available.
“Battering is a pattern of force and terror,” said Pannell. “The violence usually gets worse and more frequent over a period of time.
“We all know abuse is about power and control. It is a living hell for a person who may be in that type of situation.”
In many cases, Pannell has met victims who haven’t worked “for a long time.”
“We want to mentor to re-establish them into the work force,” she said. “It’s difficult enough just being out here every day without a job.
“They may need some type of education program or need some guidance getting back into the work force.
“Then they can become more self-sufficient and provide for themselves and their families.”
Many of the victims that Pannell meets “feel totally helpless,” she said. “They stay and end up in a worse situation than if they leave.
“This is a very, very different type of crime because, in many cases, the victims still love their batterers.”
Too often, Pannell has referred victims to the clerk of court to pick up necessary paperwork only to learn that their “self-esteem has been so totally destroyed and they many times feel so helpless and so clueless about what to do, they generally need a little help.”
That’s where the paralegals come in.
“We want to see if maybe we can refer some of these individuals to you,” said Pannell. “You would just give them some directions on how to fill out paperwork, maybe child support, custody issues — any of the things they need in order for them to be able to move on with their lives.”
The JSO also would give paralegals a list of attorneys and service providers who are willing to donate their time to help out.
“We want to get to these individuals and mentor with them,” said Pannell. “We want to teach them there is another way, teach them there is a way out, teach them there’s hope.
“We want to let them see that life isn’t over and that they and their children are very important.”