Domestic abuse doesn’t stop on weekends, but Howard County’s overworked and understaffed sheriff’s deputies are struggling to serve protective orders every day of the week, potentially risking the safety of victims.
The Howard Sheriff’s Office only has enough deputies to serve protective orders, warrants and other court documents during 24 hours of each weekday, leaving a 48-hour weekend gap when the Howard police department takes responsibility for serving them, said Maj. George Voll, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
But forcing police officers to juggle the heavy load of serving warrants along with 911 calls for service puts the department at a high risk of slip-ups and could endanger victims depending on protective orders for relief from their abusers, Voll said.
“So far, we’ve been lucky and they all get served ASAP because it’s our priority,” Voll added.
“But this is very urgent.”
Thankfully, Voll said, a recent state grant of more than $53,000 will fund a new deputy to help serve critical court orders and warrants on a timely basis.
The two deputies who are currently serving about 120 court orders each month were pulled from the court division to work a grueling schedule of 24 hours, five days a week, Voll said.
But the grant, which comes from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, will relieve those deputies and allow Howard police to fully focus on calls for service over weekends, Voll said.
Howard Police Chief William McMahon said serving protective orders was always a top priority for officers because they are designed for the victim’s safety, and “a judge signs one because they believe the victim is at risk of further abuse.”
He said concentrating the serving of court orders to one agency would be more efficient and alleviate confusion for victims.
The grant also was supported by Jodi Finkelstein, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, who said she backed the grant because she feared protective orders weren’t always being served on weekends.
“I think it’s amazing just that all of our major agencies are now working together against domestic violence,” she said.
Voll said he planned to hire the new deputy as soon as he could conduct interviews and background checks.
