Sartell Offers Victims Fleeing Domestic Violence a Safe Room

(KNSI) – Sartell is offering victims of domestic violence a place to flee and get help in an emergency.

The police department installed a safe room in the entryway of its public safety building when it opened in 2020. Police Chief Jim Hughes says the safe space was the first in Minnesota and wants to ensure the public knows it’s there.

“It’s been there since we first opened the building. We occasionally will try to publicize it, especially during Domestic Violence Awareness month, just to let the community members and others know that there’s this option for them at our public safety facility.”

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Hughes says having the room was important to him because he knows firsthand the devastation caused by domestic violence after losing his 25-year-old sister Nancy and his two-year-old nephew Steven.

“Having personal experience with a sister and nephew that were killed in 1984 after a domestic dispute, it made me think of what could we do here to help those victims that come to our agency. Especially after hours when they’re fearful of their perpetrator following them.”

The room can be accessed 24/7 and is found to the left after someone enters the vestibule. A person can go into the room, lock the door and pick up the phone to be directly connected with a dispatcher. The person is advised to keep the door locked until an officer can meet the victim there.

Hughes says the room isn’t just for Sartell residents. It’s available to anyone who needs help. He says the public safety facility has a well-lit parking lot and cameras so people can use the parking lot as a safe space for child custody exchanges or meet people when selling goods online.