Local opinion: Domestic violence and guns in Pima County

Domestic violence is frequently a gun issue. Even when no shot is fired, a gun is frequently used to intimidate, threaten and control an intimate partner. Domestic violence (DV) abuse soared during COVID and still remains high all over the country.

Pima County is no exception. These days Tucson Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department are responding to 15,000 DV calls a year. Where a gun is present in the home, the risk of homicide increases 500%. It’s shocking to hear that Arizona’s rate of intimate partner firearm homicide is 45% above the national average. But most devastating of all, is to learn that Pima County has a higher rate of intimate partner firearm homicides per 100,000 residents than Maricopa County.

DV violence primarily targets women (90%), but it devastates whole families, leaving children forever scared by the trauma. These victims are our neighbors, our co-workers, our classmates at school. This is not acceptable in our caring community. So what can we do about it?

In speaking to local professionals who work to protect victims and to decrease domestic violence abuse, it’s a complex web of factors causing Pima County to fail women who are being abused by their intimate partners. But everyone seems to agree that the Pima County Attorney’s Office must be a key partner in addressing this issue.

It appears from available data that many serious DV offenders are avoiding prosecution. Over the last two years (2022-2023), 929 DV felony charges were dismissed in Superior Court and an additional 444 DV felony cases were waived to the City of Tucson’s already over-crowded misdemeanor DV court. Law enforcement, social service, and the judiciary all agree that felony charges are often necessary — especially in cases where a firearm or some other weapon is involved — in order to protect the victim.

County Attorney Laura Conover prides herself as being the opposite of her predecessor. She does not like to lock people up. We support restorative justice in sentencing and diversion programs, but where guns and violent passions are involved, this has led to a dangerous situation in Pima County. This is not about being soft on crime or hard on crime: it’s about leaving victims of domestic violence completely vulnerable to their abusers with no way to escape short of fleeing our community.

We strongly recommend that our County Attorney recommits her office to protecting victims, by aggressively prosecuting DV felony offenders and by restoring collaboration between her office, DV prevention agencies, law enforcement, and the courts. This collaboration is crucial in maximizing existing local resources as well as obtaining additional resources to provide the protection and support these victims so desperately need.

It takes a community to stop domestic violence. Let us be that community.