October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and a local law enforcement official says responding to domestic situations is the most volatile a police officer can encounter.

Clinton Chief of Police Ben Lowers on the WHOW Morning Show Wednesday told Regional Radio small-town policing can be advantageous when dealing with all kinds of situation, including domestic issues.

Chief Lowers says domestic issues are the most common response call his office gets. He says these situations are extremely volatile and they can be dangerous.

According to Chief Lowers, most of the calls authorities responded to many years ago more often than not had a connection to substance abuse. He indicates while that is still the case, they also continue to see a rise in issues that stem from mental illness, and that includes domestic disputes.

Chief Lowers sends his praise to the folks at DeWitt County DOVE. He believes those individuals do great work for the victims of domestic violence for DeWitt County and the Decatur and Macon County communities.