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Why should I think about getting an order of protection?

While an order of protection cannot guarantee your safety, it can help in several ways.

∙    Police are likely to take your calls more seriously if you have an order of protection. An abuser can be arrested and put in jail if he  or she violates an order of protection - even if he  or she was doing something that would not otherwise have been a crime. For example, if you have a “stay away” order and the abuser comes to your home, the police can arrest him or her without waiting for him or her to actually abuse you first.

∙    Intentionally disobeying an order of protection is a Class A Misdemeanor, and the penalty could be up to a year in jail. If he has previously violated an order of protection, or causes injury or property damage over $250.00, the violation could become a felony, and the penalty could be as much as a 3 to 7 year sentence.

∙    If you do not want to leave your home, and you want the abuser to leave, an order of protection can make him or her leave your home and stay away. If you left, and now plan to live elsewhere, an order of protection can make it easier and safer for you to retrieve your belongings, with a police escort.

∙    If you are not leaving the abuser, an order directing him or her to “refrain from offensive conduct”, may make it safer for you to stay and act as a deterrent. If he or she acts abusively again, he or she is not only harassing you, he or she is also violating a court order, with more serious consequences and the possibility of an immediate arrest. The court could also order him or her to participate in a “Batterers Intervention Program”.

∙    If an abuser violates a “stay away” provision of an Order of Protection, the police must arrest him or her if they witnessed the violation of the order, or if you sign a statement that the violation occurred.  If the order is not against you (you were the respondent), then you cannot violate the order yourself - don’t be intimidated into not calling the police, if you told the abuser it was OK to see you and a disturbance then results.

∙    If you are being stalked or harassed at work, an order of protection can protect you at your job.

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This article provides general information about this subject. Laws affecting this subject may have changed since this article was written. For specific legal advice about a problem you are having, get the advice of a lawyer.  Receiving this information does not make you a client of our office.