By Ryan Keith, The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A new state program aims to help victims of domestic abuse by involving more police in enforcing thousands of court orders that now slip through the cracks.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan, police and victim advocate groups on Wednesday announced a pilot program in 11 counties to simplify the process for delivering orders of protection to accused abusers.
According to the Illinois State Police, about 32,000 court orders forbidding the harassment or abuse of victims had been issued statewide through the end of August. But about 8,500 of those orders couldn’t be legally enforced because the abuser had never been served notice of the order by police, as required under state law.
The new process allows all police officers to serve notice of an order to abusers at traffic stops or accident scenes using a short form of the order letting them know about the restrictions. That will make it easier to prevent abusers from attacking vulnerable women and children again, officials said.
Currently, orders of protection can only be served to abusers in the county in which they are issued, and often sheriffs are the only ones who can issue the paperwork. Issuing the orders can take hours to track down paperwork among law enforcement agencies, officials said.
But under the new system, any police officer can tap into a State Police database and within minutes notify the abuser of the order and advise them that they face criminal prosecution for violating certain conditions.
“Our goal is to ensure that victims who seek help are actually being protected,” Madigan said at a news conference. “Increasing the number of abusers served with an order of protection will improve our efforts to better protect women and children.”
Greg Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, said his group worked hard on developing the program and welcomes the extra help in protecting battered women.
“We need all the help that we can get,” Sullivan said.
Officials said Illinois joins Minnesota as the only states with this program, which cost Illinois $36,000 to get started. It began recently in seven central Illinois counties and will start as early as next month in Cook County and three suburban Chicago counties. Officials hope to take it statewide in a year.
Victim advocates and law enforcement say the program might not catch every undelivered order but it will give victims the confidence to know the legal system is helping protect them.
“There is this additional tool that will be very important for victims,” said Peggy Patty of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. ====