Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, presented the Morgantown Police Department (MPD) and the Rape & Domestic Violence Information Center (RDVIC) Tuesday with $2000 for continuing maintenance of the Judy King soft interview room.
Soft interview spaces are set up in law enforcement facilities to document victims’ stories. According to Texas-based Project Beloved, a nonprofit that helps police departments install soft interview rooms, a space that is comfortable rather than stark allows the participant to feel physically and emotionally safe and can have a significant impact on the interview process.
The Judy King Soft Interview Room first opened five years ago to the day on April 5, 2017.
RDVIC Executive Director Alexia Jennings said it gives “a safe space to survivors to tell their stories and to ensure that as a community we are providing trauma informed victim centered services to survivors in Mon County.”
According to Tuesday’s presentation, Morgantown’s soft interview room is the first of its kind in West Virginia.