Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4114 – Law enforcement agency responsibilities
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1. Reports. A law enforcement agency shall report all incidents of abuse by adults of family or household members as required by the State Bureau of Identification under Title 25, section 1544.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4114
- Abuse: means the occurrence of the following acts:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4102Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority. Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed. Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, a designee or an authorized representative. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101 Court: means a District Court and, with regard to section 4113, the tribal court of the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the Penobscot Nation. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4102 Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries. Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services and its agents and authorized representatives. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101 Family or household members: means :
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4102Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases. Law enforcement agency: means a state, county, tribal, municipal or University of Maine System law enforcement agency. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4102 Municipality: includes cities, towns and plantations, except that "municipality" does not include plantations in Title 10, chapter 110, subchapter IV; or Title 30?A, Part 2. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72 Order: means :
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 4102Person: means an individual, trust, estate, partnership, association, company, corporation, political subdivision of the State, instrumentality of the State or other entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101 Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law. Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government. state: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101 United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
2. Agency procedures. A law enforcement agency shall establish procedures to ensure that dispatchers and officers at the scene of an alleged incident of abuse or violation of an order are informed of any recorded prior incident of abuse involving the abused party and can verify the effective dates and terms of a recorded order.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
3. Officer training. A law enforcement agency shall provide officers employed by the agency an education and training program designed to inform the officers of the problems of family and household abuse, procedures to deal with these problems, the provisions of this chapter and the services and facilities available to abused family and household members. The amount and degree of officer training, beyond the distribution of information, must be determined by each local law enforcement agency.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
4. Maine Criminal Code enforcement. A law enforcement officer at the scene of an alleged incident of abuse shall use the same standard of enforcing relevant Maine Criminal Code sections when the incident involves family or household members as when it involves strangers.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
5. Arrest in certain situations. A law enforcement officer shall arrest and take into custody the alleged offender when the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that:
A. There has been a criminal violation under section 4113 of an order issued under this chapter or an order issued under former chapter 101; [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
B. There has been a violation of an order issued under Title 15, chapter 12?A; or [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
C. There has been a violation of Title 17?A, section 208?D, 208?E or 208?F. [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
6. Officer responsibilities. When a law enforcement officer has reason to believe that a family or household member has been abused, the officer shall immediately use all reasonable means to prevent further abuse, including:
A. Remaining on the scene as long as the officer reasonably believes there is a danger to the physical safety of that person without the presence of a law enforcement officer, including, but not limited to, staying in the dwelling unit; [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
B. Assisting that person in obtaining medical treatment necessitated by an assault, including driving the victim to the emergency room of the nearest hospital; [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
C. Giving that person immediate and adequate written notice of that person’s rights, which include information summarizing the procedures and relief available to victims of the family or household abuse; [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
D. Arresting the abusing party with or without a warrant pursuant to section 4113 and Title 17?A, section 15; and [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
E. Making a good faith effort to administer a validated, evidence-based domestic violence risk assessment recommended by the Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse, established in Title 5, section 12004?I, subsection 74?C, and approved by the Department of Public Safety. The law enforcement officer administering this assessment shall provide the results of the assessment to the bail commissioner, if appropriate, and the district attorney for the county in which the abuse took place. [PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
7. Law enforcement agency policy. Every law enforcement agency with the duty to investigate, prosecute and arrest offenders of this chapter and Title 17?A shall adopt a written policy on the enforcement of this chapter and the handling of domestic abuse cases in general.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
8. Prosecutorial policy. The Attorney General, in consultation with a statewide association of prosecutors, shall develop a written policy regarding prosecution of domestic abuse cases under the provisions of Title 17?A. The district attorney for each of the several counties within the State shall adopt a written policy regarding prosecution of domestic abuse cases.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
9. Notification of attempted purchase of firearm. When the Department of Public Safety receives notification from a federal agency that a criminal background check conducted under the system established pursuant to 18 United States Code § 922(t) indicates that a potential buyer or transferee is prohibited from receipt or possession of a firearm pursuant to a temporary or final protection from abuse order, the department shall make every reasonable effort to notify as quickly as practicable both the individual intended to be protected by the protection from abuse order and another law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in the municipality in which that individual resides of the information received from the federal agency.
For the purposes of this subsection, notification may be made by the Department of Public Safety to the individual intended to be protected by the protection from abuse order through a law enforcement agency within the county in which the individual resides. When the department makes notification through such a law enforcement agency, that agency then must make reasonable effort to notify as quickly as practicable the individual intended to be protected by the protection from abuse order. If, when notifying a law enforcement agency, the department is informed by that agency that it cannot notify the individual intended to be protected by the protection from abuse order, the department must continue to make a reasonable effort to notify that individual as quickly as practicable, including through a different law enforcement agency within the county in which the individual resides.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
10. Liability for damages. The State, a political subdivision of the State or a law enforcement officer is not liable for damage that may be caused by the failure or inability to inform an individual who is the subject of a protection from abuse order in accordance with subsection 9. This subsection does not prohibit the State or a political subdivision of the State from pursuing legally authorized disciplinary action.
[PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF).]
11. Service of protection from abuse order. Every law enforcement agency shall adopt a written policy on the service of protection from abuse orders that directs that every order issued under this chapter is served on the subject of the order as quickly as possible, including that service of every temporary, emergency or interim order issued under this chapter must be attempted within 48 hours after receiving notice of that order from the court. Service of a protection from abuse order that is not in compliance with a policy adopted under this subsection does not affect the validity of the service or the order.
[PL 2023, c. 75, §1 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. A, §3 (NEW). PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B, §65 (AFF). PL 2023, c. 75, §1 (AMD).