City of Madras
Police Department
All of our citizens have the right to be free of the fear
of crime and violence. When violence strikes inside the home,
the results are doubly tragic. Our office is committed to
cracking down on domestic abusers. We are powerless without
the voices of victims, though. If you are in a domestic violence
situation, and you look the other way, cover up for the abuser,
or refuse to testify in court, the violence will not stop
without tragic consequences.
What is Domestic
Violence?
Domestic Violence is commonly described as a pattern of learned
behavior in which one person uses force to control another
person or make them do things. This behavior consists of multiple - sometimes daily
- abuses. Criminal behaviors include physical assault (hitting,
pushing, shoving, hair pulling, etc.), criminal sexual conduct
and stalking. Domestic violence includes hurting, threatening or putting someone down or making them afraid. The abuse can get worse over time. Domestic violence can happen between people in a family, intimate partners, or other people who live in the same house.
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Oregon
Statutes define domestic violence as follow:
When an assault has occurred between spouses, former spouses
or adult persons related by blood or marriage or person of
opposite sex residing together or who formerly resided together,
or when one such person has placed the other in fear of imminent
serious physical injury.
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Domestic
Violence can take many forms:
The following are just a few examples of domestic violence:
- Hitting, choking, shoving, slapping, biting, stabbing,
burning or grabbing one's partner.
- Causing one's partner to sustain injuries such as a cut
lip, a black eye, bruises, broken bones and broken teeth.
- Holding, tying down or restraining one's partner.
- Using a weapon to threaten to injure another's partner.
- Threatening to harm or kill one's partner or the partner's
children, friends or family members.
- Destroying household or personal belongings and/or hurting
or killing pets.
- Preventing one's partner from seeing friends or family,
getting a job or going to school. (this may not be a criminal
offense unless other assault activity is present).
- Keeping all the money under one's control and/or refusing
to pay the bills or buy food and necessities. (This also
may not be a criminal act by itself.)
- Physical assaults, stalking and criminal sexual conduct
are against the law, and the abuser can be prosecuted
for committing these crimes.
- Victims of all forms of abuse should contact community
agencies for help. Victims of abuses that are against the
law should report them to the police.
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What
kinds of resources are available for victims of domestic violence?
National toll-free family violence help line
- 1-800-537-2238
* 24 hour local hotlines
- COBRA 1-800-475-1880
* Domestic Violence shelters
- COBRA (Local)
475-1880 / 24 hour hot line 1-800-356-2369
* Legal Aid Clinics
- Legal Aid 1-800-678-6944
* The Jefferson
County District Attorney's Victim/Witness Assistance Program
- 541-475-4452
- 541-475-5620
* Police and Sheriff's Departments
- Madras PD
541-475-2424
- Jefferson County
Sheriff's Office 541-475-6520
- Jefferson County
Dispatch 541-475-2201 or 2202
* Hospitals
- Mountain View
Hospital 475-3882
* Call 911 if you are in immediate danger.
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Other Options
For Protecting Yourself:
* If you have sustained physical injuries, get medical attention.
* Save as much evidence as you can to document the abuse,
including medical records and photographs of injuries and
damage to your property.
* Report domestic violence and stalking to the local police
or sheriff's department.
* Ask the County Prosecutor (Johanna Witzig) to file charges.
* Make a safety plan, which may include figuring out the
'warning signs' which come before abuse:
- Working out
signals with relatives to call the police.
- Asking a friend
or relative to come and stay with you.
- Deciding where
you can go and what to take with you in the event that you
must leave.
- Who you will
be contacting for help.
- Protection and
provisions for you children.
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How
to stop the cycle of violence and abuse:
If you are a victim of domestic violence, and you want to
stop the cycle of abuse, cooperate with police, prosecutors,
and victim-witness assistants.
This means:
1. Reporting the crime to your local police agency.
2. Responding to all subpoenas and requests for interviews.
3. Answering truthfully all of the questions you are asked.
4. Appearing in court to testify, and telling the truth about
the abuser. Lying under oath not only lets the abuser think
they can get away with it; it is also a felony under Oregon
state law.
We want you to know that prosecution does not always result
in a jail sentence. The Judge may order probation with court-ordered
conditions such as treatment for substance abuse or counseling
for abusive behavior. The court may also order and offender
to pay restitution, or to have no more contact with the victim.
You may also find the earliest possible release date of the
offender if there is a jail sentence. You may contact our
Victim-Witness
Program.
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Domestic Violence Facts for 2009
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