Victims of Domestic Abuse :: Legal Issues, Politics, Social Issues

Currently, protective orders are only provided during regular court hours to victims of domestic abuse. However, the occurrence of violence has no time frame – it does not only take place or transpire on a nine to five time clock. Therefore, I propose that legislation should be pushed forward which allows District commissioners the authority to put temporary restraining orders on people accused of domestic violence. It is important to note that victims may not receive full protection until the existing false impressions, held by some judicial and public safety officials, about the proper issuance and enforcement of protective orders are rejected. It is often considered that a protective order, being a civil order, should not be handled or enforced by police. This type of power should not be distributed, uncontrollably, to police officers. Since a court issues a protective order, some mistakenly believe that the police should not be able to arrest a person who violates the protective order because the person is in contempt of court – not disobeying the law. The proposed legislation would destroy these misconceptions by changing the state constitution to allow District commissioners to not only grant protective orders but also at night and on the weekends to safeguard â€Å"victims† of domestic abuse. Domestic violence is defined as threatened or actual abuse from someone in the victim’s immediate family or in his/her home or with whom she/he has a close relationship. Temporary restraining orders are issued by a court to restrict the conduct of a person while providing a victim with protection from the activities of an abusive person.