Restraining Orders

NOTE, THIS IS WRITTEN ABOUT VIOLATION OF A PROTECTION ORDER - FOR OTHER CRIMES, JUST SUBSTITUTE THE WORD “CRIME” WHERE APPROPRIATE

Often times, when the police are not responding to reports of violating the protection order, a victim may be able to work his/her way up the chain of command within the police department until someone takes the necessary action. The positions within the police hierarchy may be called different names depending on the state’s police force but often above a police officer is a sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and chief (again, there may be more positions in-between those or they may be called something different depending where you are from). Keeping records of each person spoken to, the time/date, and what they say/do can be useful to try to make out a case that nothing is being done.

Sometimes it can help to have a professional (an attorney or a domestic violence advocate) with you who has regularly dealt with the local police because s/he might know a specific police officer who cares about domestic violence, and/or the police may be more conscientious about doing their jobs if there is a professional involved. Here is a link to lawyers and advocates in STATE so that you can reach out and try to get help in enforcing the violations if you choose to do so. [LINK TO FINDING HELP]

Also, in some states, there may be a specific “domestic violence unit” within the police or at least one domestic violence officer who hopefully may be more knowledgeable about domestic violence - perhaps you may be able to deal with that domestic violence officer if there is one.

You may also want to contact the State Coalition Against DV in your state [LINK TO STATE ORGS] to see if they know about similar problems with police inaction in your community and to see if they can refer an advocate or lawyer who may be willing to approach the police with you.

Also, often times when the police are not acting on a criminal complaint, a person may be able to go directly to the prosecutor’s office. As you may know, when a person files a report with the police, the police are supposed to pass whatever information they have along to the prosecutor’s office when the police have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. (Depending on your area, the prosecutor may be called the “district attorney” or the “county attorney.”) The prosecutor’s office then decides if there’s enough evidence to bring the case in front of a judge and prosecute. Sometimes, when a criminal case isn’t going forward, it’s because the police aren’t passing the information along to the prosecutors, or they’re not passing the right information along. Sometimes, the prosecutor’s office is choosing not to go forward – for example, they might believe there’s not enough evidence to move forward. Sometimes if a victim speaks to the prosecutor and shows the evidence that s/he has along with the records of police inaction, s/he can see if the prosecutor may be willing to get involved.

Another possible similar outlet may be going to the US Attorney’s office or the attorney general of that state if a person feels that the prosecutor is failing to reasonably act. You may want to get legal advice on whether either of these legal offices may be appropriate to go to in your state and based on your situation. Here is a link for lawyers in your state. [HYPERLINK]

[THIS IS ONLY IF IT’S ABOUT A VIOLATION OF AN RO] Also, another option that a petitioner may have if a respondent is violating a protection order is to file a violation petition in the civil court that issued the order. Having a lawyer to represent a petitioner on the contempt motion (violation petition) may be helpful. If the defendant is violating a criminal court order, a victim may want to directly contact the prosecutor’s office and talk to the district attorney on the case to report it to him/her to see if the DA can act even if the police aren’t.