The two men who were charged with the first two domestic-violence murders on O'ahu this year were on parole at the time of the killings.

But the convicted felons were being monitored by a state agency that did not provide domestic-violence training to all its parole officers.

The family of one of the murder victims, Jenny Hartsock, says the Hawai'i Paroling Authority's inability to recognize signs of domestic violence in her troubled marriage to parolee Roy Hartsock was a factor in her murder — a charge the agency denies.

But since the two homicides, the paroling authority has decided to establish a formal domestic-violence training program for its officers.

"I'm not saying we could prevent (these incidents)," said paroling administrator Max Otani. "But more training is always good."

The authority's experience underscores a common weakness among many Hawai'i agencies and organizations that frequently deal with domestic violence victims.

Few of the organizations provide their employees with training on recognizing and understanding the complicated dynamics of what is a pervasive problem in the Islands. And for the ones that do provide training, the level often is inadequate, victim advocates say.

Sufficient training is important because many victims are reluctant to acknowledge they are being abused, often preventing them from getting the help they need. That means front-line professionals, such as medical workers, police officers and church pastors who come in contact with victims must be able to recognize symptoms and know how to respond appropriately.

"We're lagging behind in that regard," said Nanci Kreidman, chief executive of the Domestic Violence Action Center.

To illustrate the point, Kreidman said a hospital contacted the center to ask if staff could be assigned to the hospital emergency room. The hospital said the ER was seeing more domestic-violence cases but was ill equipped, beyond the medical needs, to handle them.

Unable with her existing staff to take on the hospital project, Kreidman planned to apply for a grant to fund it, but the hospital later nixed the idea.

Hawai'i laws that help healthcare providers assist domestic violence victims have received poor marks historically in one national survey.

In the Family Violence Prevention Fund survey from 2000 and 2001, the state received D grades for its healthcare-related domestic-violence laws; in the training category, Hawai'i received zero points, the lowest possible rating.

"We definitely should be doing more training," said Dr. Shay Bintliff, a Big Island ER physician who has taught domestic-violence-related courses before.

At Hawai'i Pacific Health, which operates four hospitals, including Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, employees are required each year to take a one-hour training course online and pass an exam.

Bintliff said that training probably is more than the majority of other hospitals here require, and she suspects some provide no training at all.

Advocates refer to other professions, including the clergy, that need better training.

Religious leaders are particularly important because some victims will only confide in their pastors about their abuse.

"Yet most clergy are ill-equipped to deal with intimate partner violence," said the Rev. Al Miles, coordinator of hospital ministry at The Queen's Medical Center and a nationally recognized expert on the topic. Miles conducts clergy training around the country.

Many pastors will cite religious doctrine to counsel victims to keep their marriages intact, even if the relationships have become physically abusive, according to Miles and others.

Cristina Arias, a victim advocate at the action center, recalled four clients who all were in abusive marriages, belonged to the same church and were told by their pastor they would be ex-communicated if they divorced their husbands.

The pastor instead advised the four to attend his marriage counseling sessions.

For all four women, the church was an important part of their lives, but their marriages were so abusive they pursued divorces, Arias said. All four were excommunicated from the church.

Some churches acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and provide training accordingly.

Jack Hoag, a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawai'i, said its bishops have periodic training about recognizing signs of domestic violence and then train others who work for the church. Their main goal: protect the innocent.

Hoag said church leaders have been talking about this issue for years. "It's a national problem, not just within the church," he said.

Judges, particularly per diem ones, and police officers also are other groups commonly mentioned.

Both groups receive domestic-violence training, but advocates question whether the sessions are sufficient, given the feedback they get from victims on how they were treated in the criminal justice system.

Kata Issari, program director for the Family Peace Center, which provides three hours of training to police recruits here, said she used to give a full day of training to recruits in Michigan. Although she stressed that she wasn't criticizing the Honolulu Police Department, she said more training would bring substantial benefits.

"Three hours is just the tip of the iceberg," Issari said. "It's not sufficient time to understand the dynamics of domestic violence."

But police officials say the three hours are just part of at least 13 hours of domestic-violence-related classroom sessions recruits get during the six-month course, plus other training outside the classroom.

"We feel our program is one of the best in the country," said Maj. Carlton Nishimura, head of HPD's criminal investigation division.

A Judiciary spokeswoman said Family Court judges get domestic-violence training "fairly regularly." As recently as September, a Mainland judge who conducts such training nationwide was here to give a course.

"Domestic violence dynamics are complex and tricky," the Judiciary spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. "Cases are often exacerbated because many victims simply cannot afford good legal representation or any legal representation."

The training gap at the paroling authority became evident after the back-to-back homicides at the beginning of the year.

Jenny Hartsock was discovered with a knife in her chest just outside her Kalihi apartment in early January, and Janel Tupuola was beaten to death with the butt of a shotgun about a week later in a Kailua street. Each had been in a stormy relationship with a parolee.

Roy Hartsock, who was on parole for burglary and assault, was sentenced in September to life in prison for his wife's death.

Alapeti Siuanu Tunoa, who was on parole for robbery, was charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in connection with the death of Tupuola, his former girlfriend. His case is pending.

In the Hartsock case, the victim's sister and co-workers said the paroling authority was fooled into believing a stabbing incident several months before Jenny Hartsock's murder was an accident. Roy Hartsock, who was on the highest level of parole-monitoring status and had a history of domestic abuse, told authorities he accidentally tripped while carrying a knife in the bedroom where his wife was sleeping. The knife went through one of her legs and into the other.

Had the parole officers understood the dynamics of domestic violence, they would have been much more skeptical of his explanation and more intensely questioned and monitored him, the sister and co-workers said. Had they done that, they added, the officers would have learned that Jenny was showing up to work with bruises and a black eye in the week or two before her murder.

Tracey Uejo, Jenny Hartsock's sister, told her killer at his sentencing that he should expect to stay behind bars a long time.

"There will be no more hope, no chance, no more slipping through any crack that will set you free from prison," she said. "Not even an expert con artist like you will be able to fool the parole board again."

Otani, the administrator, disputed that the paroling authority missed red flags in monitoring the two parolees. But with back-to-back killings, the agency wanted to become more versed in domestic violence to better recognize the signs and understand how to respond accordingly, he said.

Gaps in training and other areas of the domestic-violence safety net exist in part because the community hasn't made tackling the problem a high enough priority, advocates and other say.

The action center's Kreidman said society has invested millions of dollars in anti-smoking efforts, which have been hugely successful.

"But we haven't seen that same kind of effort and investment in preventing violence against women and children," she said.