Where do we draw the line between victim safety and personal freedom? The civil liberties we all enjoy are the foundations on which our society was built. At what point can we deny some of those freedoms under the guise of protection and safety even for those who did not seek but clearly object to those protections?
As the domestic violence investigator for the Sagadahoc County district attorney’s office, one of my duties is to serve as the court advocate for victims of domestic abuse. Among the tasks required is to share with the victims the bail conditions of the offender in their case. It is worth noting that standard bail conditions in all cases of domestic violence include conditions that the offender have no contact with the victim and not be at or near the victim’s residence or place of work or education.
The premise for these strict conditions should be obvious given the lethality of domestic violence. Historically, half of all of the murders in Maine each year are a result of domestic violence. I don’t believe for a minute that all cases of domestic violence in Maine will lead to a murder nor can I say that any one of the cases that cross my desk will not subsequently lead to a death. That is the dilemma bail commissioners face when they receive a call in the middle of the night from a police officer asking that bail be set on a perpetrator of domestic violence.
Law enforcement officers provide the bail commissioner with the facts of the case along with the perpetrator’s criminal history, which enables them to set the appropriate amount and bail conditions for this offender. Regardless of the severity or dynamics of the case, the bail terms almost always carry a no-contact provision out of sheer caution and consideration for the victim’s safety. Once the bail commissioner sets the amount and conditions, only a judge can change them in court.
Herein lies the dilemma I face.
I cannot recall the number of times I have opened the door to my office on a Monday morning to see the bright red light on my phone lit up indicating I have a voice message. It has become all too consistent to find a call from a pleading woman whose boyfriend or husband was arrested over the weekend for a domestic violence offense demanding he be allowed to return home.
These are rarely pleasant conversations when I return the call and explain there is nothing that I or the district attorney’s office can or will do to relax the bail conditions. Some eventually come to understand the magnitude of the situation and the process that must take place while others go in the opposite direction, which places me in an adversarial position with those for whom I am required to advocate.
At a later time, defendants can apply for relief from some or all of their bail conditions. In some of these cases I have advocated for the victim in support of amending the bail conditions against the person charged with assaulting them. But I don’t do this without considerable investigation into the case or without relying on my gut feelings of the potential harm that may come.
This year, all law enforcement officers have been required to perform an assessment on perpetrators of domestic violence offenses and share those results with the bail commissioner. The assessment results are an indicator of the likelihood this perpetrator will reoffend.
As I have written before, how does one predict human behavior? We in the business of preventing domestic violence are constantly seeking tools, remedies and resources to aid in our effort. This assessment is just that — a tool.
When our office attempts to resolve a domestic violence case in court we do so with considerable conversation with all parties involved, including the victim. We make our best judgment calls with the information available to us. It is neither perfect nor ideal nor rarely to the satisfaction of everyone involved. Ideology and reality are constantly at odds in cases like this.
There is no debate that domestic violence is wrong at so many levels. We all agree the world would be a better place with its extinction. That is the ideology. Here is the reality: Domestic violence exists, and it isn’t going away any time soon.
Domestic abuse comes from a place deep inside a person that can’t be reached by logic, common sense, fear of sanctions or an expectation of accountability. Vigorous debate will no doubt linger on just what is appropriate for domestic abuse as long as we can all agree a behavioral shift is absolutely necessary for any hope of long-term success. Like anything else in life, however, the ability and willingness for change lies within each of us.
Steven Edmondson is the domestic violence investigator for the Sagadahoc County district attorney’s office in Bath.