Six University Police officers have gone beyond their call of duty to shoulder an even greater responsibility to the community.

The six received special domestic violence training in both the handling of special equipment and counseling victims. The training exists through a federal grant for violence against women that NIU obtained in 1999.

With this training, University Police has sent the word out to potential and reoccurring offenders that the force and the university equally are up to the county’s task of preventing domestic violence.

Lt. Matthew Kiederlen, one of the six trained officers, said having a solid group of officers available and knowledgeable in handling such a touchy issue resulted from a desire by the police force to have a program like this implemented on campus.

“We decided to have a core of cops that would keep trained and up-to-date while expressing an interest in dealing with these situations,” Kiederlen said. “We are all caring, compassionate people with the skills to handle these sensitive situations.”

Another one of the trained officers, Lt. Deborrah Pettit, said one of the group’s goals is to be able to connect on a deeper level with a victim seeking help rather than simply pointing them in another direction.

“We are more sensitive to individual needs rather than lumping the victims into categories,” Pettit said. “Officers now understand the variety of ways people can react to these situations.”

Pettit said officers on campus originally would make a trip to the hospital where a victim recently was admitted, wait hours to speak to them and then interrogate them for an even lengthier period.

Kiederlen said he and the other five officers are now often times a victim’s first step on the road to recovery.

“The victim will typically come to us first,” Kiederlen said. “Then we can send them to a counseling service, Safe Passage, Health Services or the Judicial Board. We want to hook them up with people that can help them all throughout the entire process.”

Sgt. Todd Henert said the training also delved into learning about the investigative strategies used when tackling a case of domestic violence. He reinforced that the officers also were trained to help NIU students understand the scope of the problems that arise from either committing domestic violence or being a victim of it.

One way these officers use their abilities while simultaneously attempting to prevent domestic violence is through a mandated meeting for freshmen living in residence halls. The program typically centers on the officers showing videos, sharing on-the-job stories of domestic violence cases and interacting with the students as a means of sending their message.

Pettit said this endeavor hopefully would prevent domestic violence cases within the county having any type of affiliation with NIU students.

“We have these mandatory programs to encourage students on what they need to do to help decrease the amount of violence,” Pettit said.