State Rep. Eric Pettigrew is prime-sponsoring legislation providing more discretion for Washington courts in prohibiting domestic abusers from having contact with their victims after the abusers are released from custody.
The court would retain discretion in issuing no-contact orders. An order might not be issued, for example, if the court determines that good reason exists not to issue it.
"Law officers respond to thousands of domestic-violence calls every year in our state," said Pettigrew, D-Seattle. "We have a responsibility to provide stronger protection, any way we can, for the victims of domestic violence."
Pettigrew's bill also states that a court must order electronic monitoring as a condition of a defendant's release unless the court has good reason not to order the electronic monitoring. The county, for instance, might not have access to sufficient electronic-monitoring devices.
"If a no-contact order is issued or extended," according to the language of Pettigrew's bill and current state law, "the court shall also include in the conditions of release a requirement that the defendant submit to electronic monitoring, unless the court finds good cause why the electronic monitoring should not be ordered."
The measure (House Bill 2154), which has been referred to the House Juvenile Justice and Family Law Committee, allows the court to issue the no-contact order by telephone. If the order is made by telephone, it must also be issued in writing as soon as possible.
Pettigrew said that the courts "need the additional tool because, sadly, there is frequently a likelihood of repeated violence against the victim."
A no-contact order prohibits a person who has been charged or arrested in a domestic-violence allegation from entering a specific area that is reserved for the victim. The order ends if the defendant is acquitted or if the charges are dismissed.
Nearly two-thirds of female victims of violence are related to or know their attacker, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 10 times as many women as men experience violence at the hands of a so-called loved one or some other close acquaintance.
It has also been estimated that a quarter of the work-place difficulties (absenteeism and lower productivity, for example, as well as turnover and excessive use of medical benefits) happen because of family violence.
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