When Restraining Orders Don’t Work…
Email…is GPS the answer? Last night, Vicki Mabrey and producer Claire Pedersen brought us the report below "The Stalkers," about the potential problems of restraining orders and how law enforcement is rethinking the ways they protect those threatened by domestic violence. The segment and extensive ABCNews.com report include the tragic stories of three women — Cindy Bischof (pictured below, with her boyfriend/killer), Tiana Notice, and Vernetta Cockerham — all of whom alerted law enforcement, as well as family and friends, of restraining order violations, but not enough was done before the stalking turned deadly. Now, police in 14 states, including my home state of Massachusetts, where Vicki did much of her reporting, have begun using GPS devices. Certain high-risk offenders are tracked around-the-clock, barred from certain "restriction zones." Something to think about.
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Also to think about: when the abuser goes back to court to try and modify or apply to drop the injunction, the victim does not always receive notice and therefore does not show up in court to object. This is a common lawyer’s trick… send the ‘required’ notification to bad addresses so the victim never really knows it is happening and doesn’t have a chance to have her/his voice heard in court. This is a personal experience. REALLY horrible for the victim to feel like they are denied their opportunity to present their side. Notices should be sent to ALL ADDRESSES in the victim’s file… not just a chosen few or the made-up ones that are close enough to the real address to slide by so that the lawyer can say, ‘Well, we tried to notify them.’ It’s a technicality that falls just inside the letter of the law and a shyster practice that is used to the detriment of the victim and in favor of the perpetrator. This happened to my daughter who had a PERMANENT injunction because of the potential lethality of the situation and how quickly her abuser broke it. Now she has nothing and all advice points to her having to go back to court (if she wants) to try and get another injunction. Given that the original one was several years ago, they are not likely to grant it…but it doesn’t change her fear level or her feeling of vulnerability. The paper can’t stop a bullet, no, but it gives the victim/survivor a legal step they can take and gives them some power in the situation. Anyone who has never been victimized cannot understand the psychological effects and the safety issues they can still experience years later.
Posted by: April Curtis | March 23, 2010, 10:48 am 10:48 am
FANTASTIC segment Nightline – thank you so very much for this story!!!
With aloha,
Dara Carlin, M.A.
Domestic Violence Survivor Advocate
Posted by: Dara Carlin, M.A. | March 23, 2010, 5:37 pm 5:37 pm
Great segment Nightline! Thank you for helping to bring awareness to a problem affecting too many stalking/domestic violence victims!
Posted by: Angela Daffron | March 25, 2010, 10:33 am 10:33 am
Wow..I like this kind of sort.It’s not fantastic but informative..Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Gail Holst | July 15, 2011, 9:00 am 9:00 am