SPD: intimate partner violence is a crime felt throughout a community

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In Wyoming, 33.9% of women and 30.5% of men experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. This is higher than the national average of one in three women and one in four men.

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse, Sheridan Police Department Lieutenants Dan Keller and James Hill addressed domestic violence in Sheridan.

Hill said intimate partner violence is a crime that many times takes place behind closed doors, but it is one that is felt throughout a community. 

Lt. J. Hill

According to the SPD, violence that occurs within a household relationship is the most prevalent violent crime in the U.S. and Sheridan is no exception. Intimate partner violence specifically occurs between either current or past partners. The SPD closely tracks these incidents as they are most likely to escalate. Over the past five years, the SPD has responded to an average of 96 calls involving intimate partners yearly. There were 74 incidents in 2023. Also over those five years, the SPD averaged 46 domestic violence arrests, these arrests are for offenses such as battery, aggravated assault, and strangulation. In 2023, the SPD made 34 arrests involving these offenses. 

Sheridan Media will have more with Lt. Hill and Lt. Keller’s interview concerning domestic and intimate partner violence in future stories. 

 If you need help, you are not alone. People and officers are here to help. Contact the Sheridan Police Department at 307-672-2413 or the Advocacy and Resource Center at 307-672-3222.