Domestic violence deaths declining in Chicago

By: Matthew BlakeThe news: Kleo Barrett, a Cook County sheriff’s deputy and daughter of prominent African- American minister T.L. Barrett, was killed in a possible murder-suicide allegedly perpetrated by her ex-boyfriend.

Behind the news: While domestic violence homicides in Chicago have declined, they still occur more frequently in some black neighborhoods. From 1995 through 2004, Chicago averaged 49 domestic homicides per year. In 2005, there were 36 incidents, and in 2006, the number dropped further still to 21.

“There is research into different factors, but a lot of it has to do with police response,” said Dawn Dalton, director of violence intervention and prevention at the Jane Addams Hull House Association.

Still, 71 of the 124 domestic homicides reported since 2003 occurred in police districts where the majority of residents are African American.

Leslie Landis, director of the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence, said African-American women tend to call the police more often than women of other groups.

In 2006, the three police districts with the most domestic-related calls for service per day were majority- black districts.

Between 1995 and 2004, 53 percent of black victims of domestic homicide were men—a far higher percentage than men of other groups. But that statistic might be misleading.

“Is he a true victim, or is it self-defense?” said Stephanie Love-Patterson, associate director at the Chicago Abused Women Coalition. “If I have an order of protection on you and you kick the door down, I’m probably not going to serve you breakfast.”