I want to give a shout out to Buncombe County Commissioner Holly Jones today. She got the county involved in an initiative to decrease the incidence of domestic violence. There were five domestic violence homicides in Buncombe County last year. That number is statistically small, but other measures of reported incidents are in the thousands. Actually, I am sure some women – or men – in these wretched situations might prefer to be dead.

Now, you are probably thinking this is some kind of political rah-rah with catchy phrases, blue-ribbon appointments, and education and outreach. If only four people die next year, we can credit our program with a 20% reduction.

A sampling of literature Jones sent me indicated that designers of apparently successful interventions in Massachusetts were aware of the “chatter” nonsense. “Studies showed” that perps typically don’t “just snap,” but from some angles, around 90% of offenders’ modi operandi are cookie-cutter. Granted, people, especially those on the fringes, are far from being predictable; furthermore, it is hard to know if the victim is, for example, a drama queen or afraid of being perceived as a drama queen.

The jaw-droppers, though, were the stories about problems with the system. One death followed a lost restraining order. One victim continued to live in fear because her charming perp was let off on a technicality. One time, the assailant told his victim not to tell the police he was emailing her, and the police responded by paying him a visit and telling him he would be arrested if they found out he was the sender. One article said the emergency room is often the last place victims are seen before they are killed.

The plan proposed for Buncombe County will try to close any cracks in the system, inconvenience perpetrators instead of the victims, and get various others in the community involved in shouldering the burden for the victims. At the last commissioners’ meeting, Jones said the county would broadcast its zero-tolerance policy and let perps know the community and service providers had their number.