The new domestic violence victim advocate for the Tooele City Police Department isn’t just specially trained for the position, she’s lived through crime firsthand.

Lynne Smith, 50, started work at the police department two weeks ago and has already encountered some cases that hit close to home. But that’s not a bad thing, she said.

“Because I’ve been a victim, it gives me a better understanding of what a victim is going through,” she said.

This is Smith’s first stint as a full-fledged paid victim advocate, but her previous work history is saturated with experience helping people. For the last three years, Smith worked as the office manager for the Tooele County Children’s Justice Center, and prior to that she worked in Emery County at Four Corners Behavioral Health as a youth and adult case manager and alcohol and drug prevention specialist. Smith has also worked with the Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Victim Advocacy crisis line locally, and has served on the Domestic Violence Coalition both in Emery County and in Tooele County.

“I’ve just always been with the helping-people jobs,” Smith said. “I feel like I can bring hope into people’s lives.”

That hope comes from reminding women of their rights — including the right to live in a good home, the right to be treated respectfully and the right to feel safe.

“I want all women to know that victims have rights,” Smith said, adding that though sometimes a victim can be male, more often than not they are female. “In domestic violence situations, women often lose the ability to know they have rights.”

Smith’s new job revolves around those rights and empowering abused women. She is required to carry a police cell phone around the clock. When police respond to a domestic violence call, they secure the scene and identify an aggressor. After things have calmed down a bit, Smith is called in to provide support to the victims involved.

“A victim advocate is the softer side of things. They are the shoulder to cry on. They hand you a tissue and tell you it’s going to be OK,” Smith said. “We don’t want to just leave the victim standing there saying ‘now what.’”

Smith also helps victims who’s cases remain at the misdemeanor level. Felony cases are handled by victim/witness advocate Holly Johnson at the district court.

“It can be a very scary thing to testify,” Smith said.

Tooele City Police Chief Ron Kirby said a victim advocate plays a huge roll for his department.

“Victims of domestic violence need to talk to somebody who they can trust and relate to, and so someone who has got more experience and training in the area who can talk to victims and give them specialized attention is what we need,” Kirby said. “Officers are going from call to call and they don’t have time to spend with victims.”

During the five-month absence of a victim advocate at the police department, following the departure of Rose Trujillo, officers had to pick up the slack.

“The officers have the training to provide the information to victims,” Kirby said. “When we don’t have an advocate it’s not like we aren’t functioning. It’s just a lot better if there is an advocate that can work with the victim. When the officer gets called to a domestic violence call their goal is to investigate it and make an arrest if warranted. As such, a victim doesn’t get the attention they need because an officer is trying to focus on their primary goal.”

Smith’s briefcase is always fully stocked and ready for her to grab when called out on a case. It’s loaded with the paper work necessary to complete stalking injunctions, protective orders, develop safety plans and inform victims about resources available to them like temporary housing, transportation assistance and food.

Her briefcase is also full of snacks, small games and coloring supplies for children she may encounter during her interviews.

“They’ve already seen the abuse happening and now they are hearing their mother talking about it, so anything we can do to keep them distracted is beneficial,” Smith said, pointing to a pencil drawing taped to her wall. It was done by the son of a victim she conversed with a few days ago.

Smith is even contemplating painting her office in soothing green colors to provide a calming atmosphere for the victims — both young and old — who enter.

“I want it to be warm and inviting,” Smith said.

The domestic violence advocacy position with the police department is funded entirely by grants. Securing those has consumed a lot of Smith’s time thus far, she said.

“I haven’t had too many calls during my first two weeks,” Smith said. “But I’m sure all that will change.”

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com