Clackamas County Leads the Way on Domestic Violence Warrant Sweep

Clackamas County’s DVERT Team, April Everist, Victim Assistant, Lt. Angela Brandenburg, and Deputy Robert Strand. DVERT, which is stationed at A Safe Place, played an active role in this year’s warrant sweep. 

On October 21^st, police across Clackamas County arrested 34 individuals with outstanding warrants related to domestic violence. That high daily total was the result of the National Family Violence Apprehension Detail, a collaborative effort also known as the “DV Warrant Sweep.”

As part of the day-long sweep, municipal, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the country direct their resources towards locating active family violence warrants. 499 law enforcement offices in 36 states served more than 1,700 warrants this year, which represents impressive growth in every category in comparison with the 2014 effort.

At the pre-sweep briefing on October 21^st Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts explained, “This is truly a time where law enforcement can come together and make a very clear statement: we care about people that are living in abusive relationships.” CWS Program Director, Amy Doud, also addressed law enforcement personnel during the briefing.

Now a nationwide program, the warrant sweep began right here in Clackamas County. More than a decade ago, now-Sherriff Craig Roberts came up with an idea to combine the efforts of local law enforcement agencies to hold abusers accountable. Under his leadership, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT) launched the SWEEP in 2002.

Although officers can arrest on the basis of these warrants at any point in the year, the sweep is scheduled during Domestic Violence Awareness Month to raise awareness and send a message that abusers will be held accountable. Lt. Angela Brandenburg, the Director of A Safe Place Family Justice Center, told us, “We want to honor survivors by following up on these cases.” On behalf of all of us at Clackamas Women’s Services, we thank Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office for their service and leadership in support of families affected by domestic violence.