A force for children

It’s been a year since the Spokane Police Department assigned two detectives to focus exclusively on child abuse cases. The decision followed the horrific March 2007 death of 4-year-old Summer Phelps and came at a time when the number of physical abuse cases reported to police had increased dramatically.

As a result of last year’s change, children are getting the help they need faster.

“The other agencies get to know us, which makes it easier to communicate,” said Detective Sheri Wilson, who along with Detective Ben Estes works full time on child abuse and neglect. “It’s almost like an enlarged team thing. And we can get to the kids quicker.”

The detectives work alongside state investigators, social service agencies, medical providers, prosecutors, teachers and school counselors to investigate cases of physical child abuse; child sexual abuse cases are handled by another detective unit within the department.

Karen Winston, a child interviewer and supervisor at Partners with Families and Children, said, “With child physical abuse, kids die. Investigators need to make sure they are doing their job correctly to protect a child’s life.

“With this unit dedicated just to that, they have had the opportunity to learn about what to look for, who their contacts are – doctors and nurses, caseworkers – and once you develop the expertise, the process just goes faster.”

Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Kelly Fitzgerald, who works closely with the Spokane detectives, says having the dedicated unit is an asset when it comes to prosecuting child abuse cases. Fitzgerald often works with victims of abuse in Spokane County Kids’ Court. The court helps victims, witnesses and their families understand the legal process in advance of a trial.

As a police detective, Estes has investigated heinous crimes, including homicide and sexual assault. But the seasoned veteran said investigating child physical abuse is no less atrocious, summing it up as “appalling.”

His most surprising discovery is how often adults protect a significant other from being arrested rather than a child from being abused, he said.

“It still shocks me,” Estes said.

Wilson and Estes, who together have more than 30 years of investigative experience, are two of the busiest detectives in the Spokane Police Department, said Sgt. Daniel Torok, who supervises them. They have nearly double the cases of most investigators, and that includes property crimes detectives.

In the past 10 months, Estes and Wilson were assigned 179 physical abuse cases. Of those, 138 have been completed, Torok said. Close to 40 percent were deemed unfounded; 13 percent have been settled by a detective, in many cases with parents agreeing to parenting classes or continued intervention by CPS. About 11 percent resulted in prosecution and 31 percent were suspended, meaning there wasn’t enough information to file charges. The remaining 5 percent had miscellaneous dispositions, including cases that were resolved without an arrest and 1.4 percent that were not assigned to a detective.

About 40 cases are currently being investigated.

“These numbers are not at all reflective of the total reports of child abuse,” Torok said. “The numbers are actually much, much higher. The numbers given are only those that detectives have been able to work.”

In the year ending March 24, the police officers responded to 323 calls of child abuse and either took a report, discovered it wasn’t abuse or determined it should be forwarded to detectives. The reported physical abuse calls were up from the same time period the previous year, during which police received 293 calls.

Reports of child abuse started to increase last year after Summer Phelps’ death, presumably because of an increased awareness of the problem and acknowledgement of the importance of intervention, authorities said.

Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said the department’s goal is to add a third detective in 2009.

“The philosophy of having detectives assigned to special areas is very effective,” Kirkpatrick said. “That allows them to become experts in those areas, and that’s when you make good decisions.”

Reports of abuse come to police from CPS, family members, school counselors, teachers and sometimes a friend, or the parents of a friend.

Spokane police detectives investigate misdemeanor and felony cases. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office investigates only felony physical abuse cases because of staffing issues.

The idea behind the city’s project was that by investigating misdemeanors, investigators would be able to stop patterns of abuse, Wilson said.

“But right now, I personally don’t feel we are getting to cases fast enough,” Wilson said. “But we will be able to do better when we get another detective. Sometimes we have to prioritize what seems like a more serious case and maybe put another on the back burner.”

Estes said he sees several levels when it comes to physical abuse: parents who don’t have a clue about discipline and what can hurt a child; a one-time, isolated event; and adults who are repeating a pattern of abuse.

Detectives have to “hold these abusers accountable, and hopefully we’ll be able to keep these victims safe,” Estes said. But “our job isn’t just to arrest people, it’s to investigate. … Some people make mistakes.”

There isn’t always a criminal charge, Wilson said. “Sometimes we just need to get them the help they need – like connecting them with CPS, which can get them counseling, food, help with rent.”

Estes is a “piranha when it comes to these cases … in a good way,” Winston said. “He’s passionate.”

The 27-year Spokane police veteran has determination in his eyes when he talks about some of the cases he has investigated.

In one case, a man with alcohol and anger problems choked his 3-year-old son, and “threw him around the house,” Estes said. The boy was hurt so badly he had to be taken to the hospital. The father told medical professionals that someone broke into their house and beat his son. The mother had seen him beat the child on previous occasions, Estes said, adding, “If someone had reported the first minor assault, this would not have happened.”