ColfaxPD_in_the_news HopeDigits Phone Services Help Police and Victims of Domestic Abuse Article from Police Chief Magazine May 2007
HopeDigits announces that it has helped police officers in Colfax, Iowa, direct victims of domestic abuse to a useful resource: a provider of free, private phone numbers.
The Colfax Police Department consists of four full-time, five part-time, and 8 reserve officers. The agency serves a community of 2,500 people on the western edge of Jasper County, 23 miles east of Des Moines.
"We have contact with victims and are usually able to follow up on them and thereby gain a greater understanding of their plight, but getting them resources is sometime a challenge, especially with domestic violance," said Officer Paul Kuhlman, who works the night shift and often has direcct contact with crime victims. "If the victims don't get the help they need, they may in fact go back to their abuser and contimue to place themselves in jeopardy of further harm."
Understanding the domestic violence cycle, Kuhlman and his fellow officeer refer victims to HopeDigits, an online enterprise that allows individuals to obtain free and private phone numbers on demand. They can use the numbers to retrieve voicemail messages and foward calls to a cell phone or land line. By design, the phone numbers can be acquired instantly, and phone calls to the mumber can be instantly recieved. HopeDigits is also a free service for polcie agencies.
"HopeDigits gives the victim a free phone number that they have total control over, and is a way to stay in contact with support groups like friends, family, and domestic violence advocate, police and prosecutors, in the event that the victim moves to a shelter or another safe location, without having to worry about the abuser finding them," said Kuhlman
