PARIS — It’s said that timing is everything.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Paris Interim Police Chief Jeff Lange announced last week during a domestic violence candlelight vigil at Moore Park his department’s ramped up efforts to combat this growing problem in the community.

Newly promoted Detective Richard Belanger will be directly involved in all domestic violence-related incidents. He has been in law enforcement for the past 24 years, with the last 22 serving as a detective in Boston, and joined Paris Police Department in August as part-time. Patrol officers are the ones who initially respond to these types of occurrences, which can include family fights and disputes and physical violence, Lange said late last week.

“Even if it’s a nonarrest, any domestic violence incidence, I want the new detective to take a look at that just to confirm whether or not charges could be filed [and] do a follow up with a victim to keep them up to date about what’s going on with their case,” he said.

Lange noted the town averaged roughly four domestic violence-related incidents per month for 2015. At this time last year, there were 35 of these cases. Currently, there are 39 reported incidents with three months left in the year. The interim chief confirmed it’s a growing problem in town.

“It has increased as far as dispatch and calls. We’ve had a lot more,” Lange said. “The way they’re being classified as a domestic incident, those are on the rise, unfortunately, here in Paris.”

In 2014, the department had 2,774 calls for service. Paris police are projected to have a 27 percent increase in calls for 2015, based on the stats Lange pulled from Sept. 24, 2015, compared to same date last year.

“Our call volume has increased that much and it continues to rise, I think that’s why the DVs are on the rise,” he said, noting the department has also seen an uptick in referrals from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services confirming there’s been domestic violence. “It’s not just DVs – it’s burglaries and thefts [too]. I can contribute the burglaries and thefts to the heroin problem.”

When Lange served as a detective, he would make sure officers sent him their domestic violence reports to ensure all the ducks were in a row before taking the case to court, he said. That’s why Belanger already made a connection with Assistant District Attorney Alex Winter, who’s in charge of domestic violence cases.

“[They] will be working hand in hand on all the cases that are presented,” Lange said.

From Thursday, Oct. 22 to Friday, Oct. 23, Belanger is headed to York for domestic violence and sexual assault training. His detective experience in a much larger city and the skills he’ll brush up on, will be integral in solving domestic violence cases locally, Lange said.

“You know what the elements [are] needed to get a successful prosecution,” he said about detectives. “You’re not doing [the victims] any justice if you don’t do a complete investigation.”

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