U.S. Attorney's Office partnering with Grand Forks law enforcement to address domestic violence
Sep. 20—GRAND FORKS — The recent designation of Grand Forks as one of 78 communities across the nation that will be working closely with federal law enforcement to address intimate partner gun violence would not be possible without local law enforcement's commitment to the issue, according to the U.S. State's Attorney for the District of North Dakota.
"The only reason this was successful is because of the willingness of the Grand Forks County State's Attorney's Office, Grand Forks (Police Department) and Grand Forks County Sheriff's Office," Mac Schneider told the Herald. "If they weren't willing to commit time and resources and effort on this, it wouldn't be a possibility. But as the case stands, I really look forward to continuing our partnership and working on this important effort."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland recently approved an initial set of communities to serve as jurisdictions of focus to address intimate partner gun violence under Section 1103 of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, according to a press release recently issued by the North Dakota district's U.S. Attorney's Office.
Rural, suburban, urban and tribal communities have been designated throughout the country, and additional jurisdictions are anticipated to be designated in the future.
The Justice Department, through its United State's Attorney's offices and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Field Divisions will be partnering with the city of Grand Forks — and all other designated jurisdictions — to develop plans to reduce intimate partner firearm violence and prioritize the prosecution of domestic violence offenders who are prohibited from firearm possession.
Plans may include appointing Special Assistant United States Attorneys to prosecute offenders in federal court. Schneider anticipates this appointment will happen in the intermediate future.
"I think there's a great potential for targeted federal prosecutions that take violent offenders who are a threat to their families and their domestic partners out of the community — where they're no longer a threat," he said.
The Special Assistant United States Attorney would likely work at the Grand Forks County State's Attorney's Office, but would have the ability to prosecute cases in federal court, representing the United States, Schneider said. They would work with all relevant agencies — local and federal — to identify appropriate cases for prosecution.
Examples of circumstances that would qualify for federal prosecution are when someone who is arrested for a domestic violence offense, but is later determined to be a felon in possession of a firearm; someone who has a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction and possesses a firearm; and someone who has an active protection order against them and possesses a firearm.
All of these offenses, when brought to federal court, carry up to 15-year sentences.
"When it comes to reducing violent crime, and trying to be a strong federal partner to the police and sheriff's deputies who are on the front lines of public safety in North Dakota, that felon in possession statute is critical," Schneider said. "Because felons with guns, they're a threat to law enforcement, they're a threat to their communities — and, when it comes to individuals who have a conviction for domestic violence, they're a threat to their families."
While searching for communities that would be good partners in this endeavor, the DOJ used data to identify places that could benefit from an increased focus on intimate partner violence resources, and also showed a commitment to working with the DOJ to prosecute violent offenders, the release said.
Grand Forks was an appropriate choice because of the city's years-long commitment to reducing domestic violence — evident through the decades of work done at CVIC, a local nonprofit created to address and prevent interpersonal violence, and the county's 2018 establishment of the North Dakota's first domestic violence court, Schneider said.
He believes the city's record spoke for itself, and Laura Nash Frisch, vice president of victim witness and visitation at CVIC, echoed that sentiment.
"We've just got a lot of things going for us in our community," she said. "Law enforcement, and the state's attorney's office, they've been involved with our domestic violence task force since the '90s, and I would say that has just continued to grow over the years."
At CVIC, clients who have experienced domestic violence frequently express concerns that despite being prohibited from firearm possession, their abusive partners continue to own and threaten them with weapons, Nash Frisch said. She believes this additional tool will be incredibly useful in addressing that issue.
"I'm just excited about this opportunity for Grand Forks, and the potential that it has to really increase the safety of (domestic violence) victims, and the community in general," she said.
