(As originally published on June 29, 2018)
Beth Ponthier wasn't sure whether detectives would accept her when she began working as the Alexandria Police Department's crime victims advocate.
She needn't have worried, though. The detectives welcomed her into the position, funded by a grant, and asked lots of questions about what she was and wasn't comfortable doing.
Ponthier steps in where detectives might not always be comfortable. They're trained to investigate crimes. Most don't have specialized training in how to comfort or provide assistance to victims.
But Ponthier holds an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Louisiana State University of Alexandria and a master's degree in human services counseling with a focus in marriage and families therapies from Liberty University.
She knew the job was tailored for her the moment she, quite accidentally, found out about it.
“I was at home with my kids at the time," she said. "I wasn’t really actively looking for anything."
A friend told her she needed to contact Hugh Bryan, the licensed psychologist in Alexandria who has the contract to administer the grant with the city of Alexandria. He explained to her what the job was about.
She realized it was “right up my alley.”
The idea of adding a victims' advocate at the department started with former Chief Loren Lampert. He approached Cpl. Wade Bourgeois, the public information officer, about applying for a grant to fund it.
That process and getting it through the necessary approvals with city government took some time. Ponthier was hired in August 2017, but didn't begin working in the department until January.
She primarily works with with the victims of violent crimes — homicides, attempted homicides, rapes, domestic violence — or their families. She has access to incident reports and reaches out to victims.
"It's not always easy," said Ponthier. Some victims — particularly ones of domestic violence — don't leave good contact information with officials.
She's also there to assist people through the judicial process, going to court dates with them and explaining how the process works. She can help victims and families craft victim impact statements and pass along information to judges that they believe is vital.
“Just having someone that they would be comfortable with sitting there with them, that understands," she said. "A lot of times, you’ll have victims that are sitting in the courtroom. They have their family. They have a support system with them, but their family doesn’t really understand either.”
And it can be difficult when victims aren't satisfied with what happens with cases. Ponthier called that an "unfortunate" thing that does happen. She tries to explain why to them.
Both Ponthier and Bourgeois believe having a victims advocate is becoming the accepted practice for police departments. Ponthier said she visited her counterparts at the New Orleans Police Department in March and brought back some great ideas to try here.
Bourgeois said anything that can help improve police interaction with victims is good. Detectives carry tremendous case loads, so having an advocate in the department allows them to focus on the investigations.
Ponthier views it as a team effort.
“There are times that they’ll maybe say a little more to me, especially female victims,” she said.
She said she hasn't been surprised by anything she's experienced on the job. She described herself as a realist who is excited about the opportunity. But she said she knew the possibility of reaching and making a difference for every victim was "slim to none."
It's hard to reach victims of domestic violence who aren't ready to move past the bad relationships, she said. She knows that stems from their fears or because they saw the same thing while growing up.
That's not surprising, but it is disappointing, said Ponthier. Still, she thinks her job could be a starting point in reaching those victims. She's told victims who have been in her office that their situation is not OK or normal, that the abuser likely will do it again and maybe try to kill them.
“They’ve never had that bluntness, for somebody to come out and say, this isn’t right. This isn’t normal," she said. "You deserve more than this. There is more than this. For some of them, it is the first time they’ve heard someone be candid and honest with them.”
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