The daily posting of the Geary County Booking Photos has become a staple for JC Post readers.

If you are one of our daily viewers you may have noticed a significant number of domestic related arrests in the county.

Tony Wolf, Geary County Sheriff, said that many of these cases have one unfortunate thing in common – the military.

“Well a lot of the stuff that we see, usually follows a deployment from the military out there; and I hate to blame it all on the military, but that is a very large portion of it,” said Wolf.

Wolf went on to explain the unfortunate types of scenarios that lead to these domestic related arrests.

“Lots of times we see that a lot of the soldiers that come back from deployments and things they will find out that their wives have been stepping out on them…I’m not saying all of them, but that is a common occurence…these guys come back and find that their wives have done things that they shouldn’t have done – and the fight starts, and it usually escalates in to a physical altercation,” said Wolf.

Notably, a significant number of domestic related arrests are females.

Wolf explains what constitutes a domestic dispute:  “…any kind of battery that takes place – shoving, pushing – anything like that is an arrestable offense; and also, destroying property. If [we] arrive on the scene and the aggressor, whether it be the male or female, has destroyed (for example) a dresser…well they get arrested for domestic criminal damage to property; even though they own half of it – it’s a communal property – but they get arrested for destroying the victim’s half of it.”

Wolf added that signs of physical contact during the altercation can obviously land [you] in jail.

Per the state statutes, Wolf said that [they] law enforcement pursues charges when arriving on the scene of domestic incidents. 

“It is no longer a situation where the victim has to pursue the charges,” said Wolf adding that “it used to be like that and the reason for the change is that lots of time you have a victim that is scared of the aggressor and they would not want to pursue charges fearing retribution.”

Wolf said that when law enforcement arrives on the scene and has sufficient evidence to make the arrest it is “us making the decision to arrest, us being law enforcement.”

While there is no excuse to resort to physical violence, it is a reality for many. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence or abuse there are resources available to assist you.

As a victim, do not try to retaliate and risk a permanent stain on your record, jail fines and court costs – ask for help before it’s too late.

Please visit The Crisis Center for contact information and access to a 24 hour crisis hotline.

In Junction City call 785-762-8835, Manhattan call 785-539-2785, and other areas can call toll free 1-800-727-2785.