Morris County Sheriff’s Candidate Schievella Recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Democrat Raises Awareness About Gun Violence in Domestic Disputes

ROCKAWAY, NJ (October 24, 2019)—In recognition of October as Domestic Violence Awareness month, William Schievella, the Democratic challenger for Morris County Sheriff , is calling attention to the deadly relationship between guns and domestic violence and the impact on the law enforcement community.

“The presence of a firearm during a domestic violence incident dramatically increases the likelihood of that situation resulting in a fatality,” Schievella said. “It’s crucial that we understand that domestic violence results in gun violence and that the accessibility of guns drives the fatality rate of domestic disputes. It’s a toxic relationship that sends a strong message about the need for gun safety measures that focus on this problem as well as the need to prevent domestic violence before it escalates to tragedy,” he said.

According to statistics, a domestic violence victim is five times more likely to be killed if the abuser has access to a firearm. Research has shown that in half of mass shootings, one of the victims was an intimate partner of the shooter; more than half of the women killed by a gun in the United States were killed by their spouse or intimate partner. Often, domestic violence fatalities include children.

Domestic violence calls are some of the most dangerous for law enforcement officers. According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, 22 percent of police fatalities occurred during domestic violence calls; of police officers who were killed while responding to a domestic violence call, 95 percent were killed with a gun.

“As a career law enforcement officer who is seeking to serve as the sheriff of Morris County, I wanted to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness month by raising awareness about the dangers of gun violence in domestic situations,” Schievella said. “New Jersey has some of the strongest gun safety laws in the country, including very strict laws aimed at taking guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, but awareness is crucial to protecting victims, families and our law enforcement officers. Throughout my three decades in law enforcement, I have always supported the strict regulation of gun ownership and am proud of that record,” he said.

ABOUT William Schievella

During a three-decade career in law enforcement, Bill Schievella has served as a New Jersey State Correction Officer, New Jersey State Parole Officer & Sergeant, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Detectives and as Under Sheriff in the Morris County Sheriff’s Office. He has served on over twelve state, county and criminal justice boards.

​Bill has served as President of the New Jersey Police Community Affairs Officers Association, County Chiefs of Detectives/Investigators Association of New Jersey, and as a National Executive Board Member of Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD), the largest national evidence-based drug prevention program of its kind. He is the founder and president of the Italian-American Police Society of New Jersey, a 5,000-member charitable police organization.

Bill’s many awards and recognitions include: Man of the Year by the Morris County Chapter NAACP, Grand Marshal of the Morris County Columbus Day Parade, Man of the Year by the NJ Asian American Law Enforcement Officers Association and Law Enforcement Achievement Award from the Peace Island Institute, a Muslim-based organization promoting interfaith dialogue and acceptance. He is a past recipient of the NJ Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association Stamler Award and is proud to be a Lifetime Member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Bill’s professional experience includes Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice, Leadership, Terrorism, as well as Homeland Security Task Force Coordinator.

Bill completed his undergraduate degree at Caldwell College and earned a Master of Administrative Science and a post-Masters Certificate in Global Terrorism from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a graduate of the prestigious West Point Command & Leadership Program as well as the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Course at Princeton University. For five years, Bill served as Councilman-at-Large in Rockaway Township.

Bill’s campaign is supported by the NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, NYC Uniformed Firefighters Association, National Coalition of Latino Officers NJ Chapter, Blacks in Law Enforcement Serving the Community (BLESC) and other groups.