Editor’s Note: This story is first in a four-part series that will focus on different types of crimes, how they are handled by police and where victims can get help. If you would like any more information on how to handle any crime, please contact the DeKalb Police Department or University Police. If you or someone you know is a victim to anything we report, please contact a local counseling center.

Domestic abuse, the quiet problem no one talks about, affects millions every year. It’s a quiet problem because it does not affect the community, but the home.

Lt. Jim Kayes, of the DeKalb Police Department, said domestic battery is violence within a family. “Within a family” is not limited to family members, but also includes couples who live together.

Kayes said that in the event of a domestic battery, usually police are going to arrest the offender. They do this to take the offender out of the situation.

Those arrested for domestic battery also cannot go immediately back home either, Kayes said. There is a 72-hour no-contact rule.

In 2002, the DeKalb Police Department reported 327 cases of domestic battery.

However, the police can only handle the domestic battery and not act as counselors, Kayes said.

That is where domestic abuse organizations step in.

After an offense is reported, victims can contact an abuse center, like the Department of Children and Family Services.

“We’re mandated to let the victim know about the centers,” Kayes said.

Kayes added that the cases of domestic battery usually involve a boyfriend-girlfriend situation and the next most frequent situation is husband-wife. He said that it is almost always a man abusing a woman.

Emily Hadley, a Safe Passage advocate, said they offer a number of counseling services. Safe Passage is an organization that says they work with “clients in a safe, nonjudgmental atmosphere to develop their inner strength and awareness of community resources so that they can pursue a positive direction in their lives.”

Hadley said they offer shelter, counseling for adults and children and support groups for those in need.

Also, they offer public education for schools and in presentations to community organizations, Hadley said. She added that they work with all ages but work mostly with children. To talk to someone at Safe Passage call 728-3228.

On the other side of the age spectrum, the elderly are particularly susceptible to abuse.

“Whenever allegations of abuse come in … we would then go out and investigate,” said Marshall Hayes, the executive director of the Elder Care Services of DeKalb County.

Hayes said there are five types of elder abuse: physical, financial exploitation, neglect, emotional and sexual.

Neglect is the most dangerous, Hayes said.

“Neglecting a very frail elderly person, it’s like neglecting an infant,” Hayes said.

Hayes said last year, there were 70 cases of elder abuse in DeKalb County.

For information about elder abuse, call the service at 758-5950.