Victims of domestic violence need all the help they can get. The last thing they need is a surprise knock on the door from the person at whose hands they suffered abuse.
A program that alerts victims when their abuser is being released from jail has been used in the King County Jail for several years and might be making its way up here. County officials should seriously consider making financial room for the Victim Information and Notification Everyday program in Snohomish County.
Providing victims with a clear plan for checking on the status of their abusers is an excellent way to prevent more crimes against women. These women have already lived at least part of their lives in fear. Mustering the courage to get out of that situation and report their abuser to police was difficult enough. Now these women need to be equipped with more information so they can continue to take care of themselves and their children.
Snohomish County Jail spokesman Jim Harms was right when he told a Herald reporter that VINE should be part of our county’s domestic violence reduction program. And Tammy McElyea, the Mountlake Terrace Police Department’s domestic violence coordinator, was right when she said money will be the biggest roadblock.
This program is worth exploring within the context of keeping our criminal justice spending under control. Start-up costs are $36,000 and it will take another $42,000 a year to keep VINE running.
For some women, this program could be the difference between a quick escape or a beating. For others, life and death. That’s the nature of domestic violence — the victim never knows when or how it will ever end.
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