The Jamestown Police Department’s inclusion in a state program that aims to decrease domestic violence can be nothing but positive for the city.

The Chautauqua County STRIVE Partnership received $847, 225 from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services’s Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence grant, with Jamestown receiving $309,815. It’s the first time the city has received a portion of the grant funding, with the additional money to be dedicated to overtime domestic violence details, a crime analyst position, outreach materials, canine supplies, a domestic violence case management system, as well as travel and training.

In 2024, the Domestic Violence Intervention Unit (DVIU) received 1,817 Domestic Violence Incident Reports that Jamestown Police Department officers took. Through Project Crossroads, the DVIU staff provided over 2,000 referrals through the victim and domestic violence court follow-up programs, unsolicited phone calls, and office visits. Project Crossroads also completed 16 presentations and in-service training events on domestic violence.

Domestic incident calls for service have decreased by -3.91% in 2024 compared to the five-year 2019-2023 average of 2,022 incidents per year. Domestic violence calls peaked at 2,182 in 2022, preceded by 2,088 calls in 2021. Most years, the Jamestown Police Department responds to a little more than 1,900 domestic violence incidents a year.

The decrease in domestic violence calls is a start. Perhaps the additional funding and the resources it brings to the table can drive those roughly 1,900 domestic violence calls a year even lower.

Jamestown police officers respond to roughly five domestic violence incidents a day on average. Anyone who has read this newspaper’s police blotter knows these incidents often involve children, sometimes involve weapons and often have the possibility of escalating into truly scary situations that can result in serious physical injury . But we also know that domestic violence can be particularly damaging to children, both physically and mentally. It should be important to us as a society to break the cycle of domestic violence.

Money alone won’t bring an end to the scourge of domestic violence that plagues society. But it can’t hurt to have additional resources at the city’s disposal.