An elected prosecutor of a mostly rural county since 1999, Hertel told the commission that he has a small staff and personally handles multiple jury trials each year, including domestic violence and sexual assault cases.
“An important thing to understand is these kinds of cases differ widely from other criminal cases that we see,” Hertel told the commission. “With domestic violence cases, prosecutors have to deal with an increase in witness intimidation, dynamics of power and control, or feelings of love and loyalty toward the perpetrator in these cases that just don’t exist in other types of crimes. With sexual assault crimes, we’re dealing with alcohol and drugs being used as weapons instead of guns and knives. That’s a whole different dynamic and needs its own skill set and training.”
Most of Hertel’s recommendations focused on additional training for prosecutors and law enforcement officers on how to respond to domestic violence situations, how to gather evidence more effectively, how to successfully pursue a case to secure a conviction and how to more effectively collect data to understand why these kinds of intimate cases are under reported and under charged nationwide. Hertel also advocated for more Federal guidelines and funding for prosecutors that would be specifically focused on sexual assault and domestic cases.
Learn more about the Commission and what it is hoping to accomplish by clicking the link below. https://www.justice.gov/ag/presidential-commission-law-enforcement-and-a...
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About the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council: The IPAC is a non-partisan, independent state judicial branch agency that supports Indiana's 91 prosecuting attorneys and their chief deputies. It is governed by a 10-member board of directors of elected prosecuting attorneys. The IPAC assists prosecuting attorneys in the preparation of manuals, legal research and training seminars. It serves as a liaison to local, state, and federal agencies, study commissions, and community groups in an effort to support law enforcement and promote the fair administration of justice.