MNPD, Nashville DA’s office address domestic violence at Metro Council special committee meeting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As the Metro Nashville area has grown, city officials have said that instances of domestic violence has also increased.

Domestic violence cases make up 50 percent of the violent crime that goes through the Nashville District Attorney’s Office.

“It’s no secret to anyone here that the population of Nashville has drastically increased in the last 10 years, and with that, you have more folks and understandably domestic violence is, unfortunately, one of those issues,” captain Blake Giles with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said. “But we can’t put officers in residences and we can’t put them in homes.”

Before the a special committee meeting of the Metro Council, Giles said that so far in 2024, the MNPD has responded to more than 20,000 domestic violence cases. The meeting was called in response to the number of domestic violence cases.

“I believe, and what our office believes, is that domestic violence should actually be considered a health crisis,” Nashville District Attorney General, Glenn Funk, said at the meeting.

Funk’s office provided some suggestions on how to potentially improve the problem. He pointed to the Partners in Care Program, where mental health clinicians are paired with Metro officers. The goal is to improve safety and care for those going through a crisis. The district attorney’s office would like to see similar responses for domestic violence cases.

“If an advocate was present, then they could address issues and get information that just having a police officer on [the] scene…might not get complete information,” Funk said.

The district attorney’s office also pointed to the need for a system to make sure offenders could not have access to firearms. As of publication, those convicted of domestic violence are required to surrender their guns. However, Funk explained at the meeting that there is no way to enforce the law.

“”That’s a real hole: we’ve got it in the law, but then there’s no way to enforce it,” Funk added.

The MNPD would also like to see a staff increase in order to spend more time combing through some of its high-risk cases.