On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office hosted a Domestic Violence Training at Gardendale High School. The training was conducted by the ATF and the US Attorney’s Office.
The training focused on providing local law enforcement with training and guidance for making and successfully prosecuting domestic violence related cases in Federal Court. There are nearly 100 domestic violence assaults reported to law enforcement every day in Alabama. If the abuser has access to a firearm, the chances that the victim will be killed dramatically increases. The training will help law enforcement to assist the victims by prosecuting the offender in federal court. Some of the benefits of prosecuting these cases in federal court are stronger penalties, prison time and greater separation from the victim if found guilty.
There were over 100 people representing 30 different agencies in attendance today. “We want to make sure our deputies and other local law enforcement agencies have every tool available to them in order to protect families here in Jefferson County,” said Sheriff Mark Pettway.