Hollywood Police Sgt. Rhett Cady recently co-authored an article about Hollywood Police Department's Focused Deterrence Initiative for Violent Crime and Domestic Violence Reduction for ICMA - International City/County Management Association's Public Management Magazine.

 "Focused-deterrence programs involve a combination of policing, social and community services, education, and justice-system stakeholders who collaborate as part of a comprehensive approach to identify the highest risk offenders and then apply pressure to deter them from offending."

You can read the full article here.

Hollywood Police Department: Domestic Violence Initiative

Domestic Violence is a concern for our community and society as a whole. Studies have shown offenders who are prone to domestic related incidents are also involved in other crimes which occur outside the home and within the community.

The Hollywood Police Department has recognized a large amount of calls for police service have involved domestic related incidents.

The Hollywood Police Department’s Offender Focused Domestic Violence Initiative (OFDVI) program, the first of its kind in the State of Florida, works to focus on repeat offenders of domestic violence by identifying the most repetitive and violent offenders and hold them accountable, while continuing to pursue justice through all of the investigative stages, including bond court, trial, sentencing, and probation. By monitoring repeat offenders based on the individual rather than the traditional approach of location, one of the Hollywood Police Department’s goals is to stop the repeat cycle of violence before it is repeated. This style of policing is often referred to as “Focused Deterrence” and since OFDVI’s implementation in May 2015, it is how Domestic Violence prevention is being conducted within the City of Hollywood.

Domestic incident offenders are classified based upon their predisposition for violence. The initial domestic-related incident, along with the totality of the offender’s criminal history sets the classification in which offenders are ranked. The classification for domestic offenders spans from placement on the A, B, C or D list. A large focus is placed on Class A-list offenders, who are the most violent offenders with the highest propensity for violence.

Research has found that these individuals are violent outside Domestic Violence. We have currently identified 133 A-Listers. Through our research we have found they are responsible for the following offenses:

Aggravated Battery – 106

Battery – 331

Aggravated Battery/Pregnant – 53 

Robbery – 128

Aggravated Stalking/Stalking – 18 

Homicide/Murder/Attempted – 19

Sexual Assault/Sexual Battery – 27

Resisting Arrest – 106

Carjacking/Home Invasion – 9 

Aggravated Assault/Assault – 93 

Kidnapping/False Imprisonment – 44 

Violation of Injunction - 27

Over half of the currently identified domestic related repeat offenders had active Protection Orders.

A provision of the OFDVI program is to take action BEFORE the offender re-offends by providing services and resources to offenders who receive Hollywood Police Department’s OFDVI deterrence message.

The OFDVI deterrence message sets clear standards of expectations for City of Hollywood residents who have engaged in acts of domestic violence and is delivered by uniformed officers daily. When the clear standards mentioned in the OFDVI deterrence message are violated, the offender progresses into a higher category of the program gaining additional attention from officers and detectives.

Offenders who are identified through the OFDVI program are afforded resources such as anger management classes, job placement, life coaching, and treatment programs, which are available through a multitude of organizations. By offering resources to offenders, one objective is to prevent the re-occurrence of domestic-related incidents by reducing potential life stressors. In addition, detectives request harsher sentencing for offenders who do not utilize the assistance offered prior to committing a repeat act of domestic violence.

One example of the utilization of Hollywood Police Department’s OFDVI program is with A-list offender Richard Lorenzano. Arrestee Lorenzano had previously been identified through a domestic-related incident. Due to the domestic-related incident, along with the totality of his extensive arrest history, Arrestee Lorenzano was placed on the OFDVI A-list.

During the investigative process, the detective assigned to the case accompanied the victim to bond court, which had not occurred prior to the implementation of the OFDVI program. The victim felt reassured and essential in the judicial process and was instrumental in Arrestee Lorenzano receiving a harsher punishment during his sentencing. After Arrestee Lorenzano had served his sentence, Arrestee Lorenzano was later released and placed on probation.

As part of the OFDVI program, the Hollywood Police Department, in conjunction with the Department of Probation and Parole, conducts probation sweeps. During a subsequent probation sweep, Arrestee Lorenzano was found to be in possession of a semi-automatic handgun. Arrestee Lorenzano’s probation was violated, and he was immediately placed into custody.

The Hollywood Police Department has experienced a reduction of 22 percent (on average) for domestic related incidents since the implementation of the Hollywood Police Department’s Offender Focused Domestic Violence Initiative Program in May 2015. The reduction in domestic related incidents is due in part to our police officers’ motivation in following up with offenders not initially arrested at the domestic incident – preventing further victimization of individuals, stripping the offenders of their anonymity, and by making offenders accountable.

Since the implementation of the OFDVI program, the Hollywood Police Department has experienced a ten percent recidivism rate with the D-list offenders versus a national average of 30 to 40 percent recidivism.* (*vrfca.org -> Per the Violence Research Foundation Domestic Violence and Recidivism Reduction Project)