Link between Community and Family Violence Suggests Local Elected Officials Must Address Domestic Issues

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"Family violence is the root cause of virtually all the violence we see in the criminal justice system." And, according to Judge Ronald B. Adrine of the Cleveland Municipal Court, local leaders can no longer just leave this problem to just the courts and the police.

Citing a variety of studies during the Leadership Training Institute seminar held prior to the Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., "Family Violence: Stopping the Cycle that Begins at Home," Judge Adrine pointed out some staggering statistics:

* 12 to 15 percent of all homicides in this country are outgrowths of abuse between individuals who are intimate with each other;

* 63 percent of all young men between the ages of 11 and 20 incarcerated …