“That’s how deadly they are, the numbers are huge:” Retired Waco officer takes on national crime prevention program
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Most people would relax during retirement, but one retired Waco police officer is expanding safety measures worldwide.
W. Patrick Swanton was with the department for 40 years before becoming president of the National Institute of Crime Prevention and has a stack of pictures that tell a story throughout his career.
“I got to work with some incredible people. I think the most important aspect of my career that I miss the most was the citizens, because we had such a good rapport with our community. And they still do, not everybody gets that,” said Swanton.
Swanton went from patrol officer to special investigator, was on the SWAT team and much more.
Yet, becoming supervisor of the Family Violence Unit in 2003 helped spark his passion to help place victims in better circumstances.
“One of the things I wanted to do was learn. I wanted to learn about victims, what they went through. The trauma that they went through. So I went to trainings, any trainings I could go to,” said Swanton.
Swanton said he was introduced to the National Institute of Crime Prevention through trainings.
He teaches instructors all over the world about sexual assault and domestic violence prevention.
Swanton said he’s been involved with the organization for the last 20 years but became president a year ago and a half ago.
“When I started learning the needs of victims, it takes a special place in your heart because you know there are so many more out there that don’t report or need help,” said Swanton.
Swanton said domestic violence calls are still an issue.
He said he’s still communicating with officers at the Waco Police Department who say domestic violence calls have increased drastically since 2020 because more people were at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know as law enforcement that’s the most dangerous calls we can go on, for us in the law enforcement world. That’s how deadly they are, the numbers are huge. I think you’d be surprised at how much time our officers—or Waco PD’s officers spend on domestic abuse calls.”
Swanton said most of McLennan County is training officers on abuse calls, the state has stepped up in resources, so he’s ready to lead the charge globally.
However, he’s reminding the public to show support for a victim, no matter how long they put up with abuse.
“It can be threats towards their physical wellbeing, it could be threats towards their children, it can be threats towards their family. There’s lot of underlying factors why individuals stay in domestic abuse cases, you and I may not understand that if we haven’t been in that. But we’ve got to give them the time to heal and make the decisions in just provide them with the support whenever they’re ready to make those decisions to leave,” said Swanton.
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