Weslaco PD makes trauma victims feel safer with ‘soft room’

WESLACO, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — The Weslaco Police Department designed a "soft room" to make trauma victims feel physically and emotionally safe during interviews.

"The soft interview room was intended to be able to give them a space that wasn't so cold and clinical. To let their guard down and work through some of the details of the crime they experienced," Weslaco Police Chief Joel Rivera said.

The room is made up of furniture that Martinez Furniture and Appliance in Weslaco donated. It includes chairs, pillows, carpet and a painting on the wall, whereas their other investigation room only includes two plastic chairs and a desk.

Chief Rivera said the soft room works in conjunction with the department's therapy dog to help emotionally support the victims of crimes including sexual assault and family violence.

He also added that the use of the room could help victims more easily remember the details of their traumatic experience.

"When a person is stressed out, they fail to recall more details," Chief Rivera said. "The fact that this is a softer interview room, it's not cold, it's not clinical, they're a little bit more at ease. These are more comfortable chairs, we can soften the lighting in here to get them in a headspace where they can recall more specific details of the crime that they had to endure."

Teresa Chapa-Cantu, a psychologist at the Resiliency Psychological Center in Harlingen, said the soft room is something that many other police departments should adopt.

Chapa-Cantu said small details can make a trauma survivor feel safer.

"If somebody doesn't feel like they are being threatened or attacked in some way, we don't feel like we have to get ready to fight or to run away or to hide," Chapa-Cantu said. "So if we feel more relaxed, we are more likely to be able to talk or open up."