Osceola County Protective Injunctions

• Osceola County Sheriff's Office Policy and Procedures concerns protective injunctions.
• The effective date for the policy is 10/04/16.

Purpose

• Establishes guidelines for the service and enforcement of domestic, repeat, dating, sexual violence, stalking, and cyber stalking injunctions.

Policy

• Sworn members must serve and enforce domestic, repeat, dating, sexual violence, stalking, and cyber stalking injunctions according to law and policy.

Definitions

• Cyberstalking involves communicating words, images, or language electronically, directed at a specific person, causing substantial emotional distress without legitimate purpose.
• Dating Violence is violence between individuals with a significant romantic or intimate relationship, determined by factors like the relationship's duration (within the past 6 months), expectation of affection/sexual involvement, and interaction frequency.
• Violence in casual acquaintanceships or ordinary fraternization is excluded.
• Domestic Violence includes assault, battery, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of a family/household member by another family/household member.
• Domestic Violence Temporary Injunction is an order from a judge imposing temporary restrictions on a respondent until a formal hearing.
• Normal Business Hours are defined as 0900 - 1800, Monday - Friday, for this policy.
• A Petitioner is a victim of or a person in fear of violence who petitions for a protective injunction.
• A Respondent is the person to be served with and bound by the injunction.
• Repeat Violence consists of two incidents of violence or stalking by the Respondent, one within 6 months of filing the petition, directed against the Petitioner or their immediate family.
• Sexual Violence includes:
  • Sexual violence as described in chapter 794 F.S.S
  • A lewd or lascivious act in chapter 800 involving a minor under 16 years of age
  • Luring or enticing a child under chapter 787 F.S.S
  • Sexual performance by a child under chapter 827 F.S.S.
  • Any other forcible felony where a sexual act is committed or attempted, regardless of whether criminal charges were filed.
• Stalking involves willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following, cyberstalking, or engaging in conduct directed at a specific person causing substantial emotional distress without legitimate purpose.

Procedures for Injunctions

• After the Court issues an injunction, it is forwarded to the Sheriff's Office for service.
• A worksheet completed by the victim (Petitioner) provides information on the person to be served (Respondent), including name, home address, and work address (if any).
• Other physical description or miscellaneous information may also be provided.

Processing and Entry

• During normal business hours, a Civil Unit member enters injunction information into FCIC and the agency database.
• An injunction service packet is created by completing a Return of Service worksheet and attaching a certified injunction copy to the worksheet.
• After normal business hours, a Communications Section teletype operator does the data entry and a sworn member is notified to serve the injunction.

Service Guidelines

• Sworn members must verify the injunction's existence, effective date, and service status before attempting service.
• Certified Copy: Serve the Respondent with a certified copy of the injunction and the original petition for protection, reading any restrictions to the respondent and returning the Injunction Worksheet.
• Petitioner's Copy: Serve the Respondent with the Petitioner's certified copy if the original is unavailable, following the same service steps.
• Scanned Copy (Osceola County Injunctions): If the Respondent is present and a copy is unavailable, serve a printed copy of the scanned injunction.
• The copy must be printed from the agency database and stamped as a true copy by the Sheriff's Office Communications Section (or marked True Copy)

Other Florida County Injunction Service (Non-Osceola)

• A sworn member can serve an injunction issued from another Florida county following the same service steps, after performing a computer check with the Communications Section teletype operator.

Out-of-State (foreign) Injunctions

• Sheriff's Office members are required to serve out of state injunctions.
• Full faith and credit should be given to valid out-of-state injunction needs to be served

Notification of Service

• During normal business hours, the Civil Unit must be notified immediately after service
• After hours, the Communications Section teletype operator is notified.

Enforcement - General

• No person other than the issuing judge may excuse, waive, or modify the injunction. Sworn Members shall enforce irrespective of concessions made by the Petitioner, as the Petitioner is not bound by the injunction, only the Respondent.
• Any injunction issued in Florida is enforceable in Osceola County and throughout the state; sworn members must verify its existence, effective date, and service status before taking action.
• Child visitation violations are NOT criminally enforceable; custody issues must be addressed through civil action.

Out-of-State (foreign) Injunctions

• Protection orders from other states, territories, or districts must be given full faith and credit if the issuing court had jurisdiction and reasonable notice/opportunity to be heard was given to the Respondent.
• F.S.S. 741.315 states residence or registration of foreign injunctions is not required for enforcement.
• Sworn Members must enforce all terms except child custody, visitation, and support unless they relate to child safety issues, as child custody and support must be domesticated first.
• Before enforcing a foreign order, confirm the parties' identities and review the order for expiration
• A certified copy is not required unless there is a conflicting court order; use "reasonable efforts" via Petitioner's oath, NCIC/FCIC data, or contact with original jurisdiction to verify service, with liability protection for good faith enforcement.

Cautions

• It is a misdemeanor per F.S.S. 741.315(5) for the Petitioner/Respondent to knowingly provide a false copy or deny service.

Injunction Assistance

• Sworn members with questions may contact the on-call Civil Unit member with supervisor approval.

Federal Enforcement

• Under 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 922 (j) (8), it is a federal crime for a respondent to ship, transport, possess, or receive any firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce. Any federal violation shall be documented, reported, and the Special Operations Captain notified.

Investigation

• Sworn Members are required to investigate complaints of domestic, dating, sexual, repeat violence, stalking, and cyberstalking injunction violations
• Determine if an injunction copy is available to establish terms and confirm its existence, effective date, and service status with a teletype operator before enforcement

Protective Injunction Violations

• Violations of an injunction against repeat violence, sexual violence, dating violence, stalking, or cyberstalking under F.S.S. 741.30, 784.046, or a foreign protection order under F.S.S. 741.315 are a misdemeanor of the first degree.
• Violations include refusing to vacate a dwelling; being within 500 feet of protected locations; committing stalking, domestic, repeat, sexual, or dating violence; committing any other intentional violation of the injunction through an unlawful threat, word, or act of violence; contacting the Petitioner (unless indirect contact is allowed); knowingly being within 100 feet of the Petitioner's motor vehicle; defacing or destroying the Petitioner's property; or refusing to surrender firearms/ammunition.

Enforcement Action

• Sworn officers should arrest anyone for a criminal violation of injunction under Chapter 741 F.S.S (domestic violence injunction), or 784 F.S.S. Repeat violence, sexual violence, dating violence, stalking, or cyberstalking injunctions.
• F.S.S. 741.315(5) addresses intentionally providing false information about an order of protection.
• Sworn members may not arrest for civil violations
• Only violations listed in statute can be enforced criminally, and the Petitioner should be referred to the Clerk of Court for civil violations.

Documentation

• The sworn member must complete an Offense Incident Report entitled "Violation of Injunction for Protection" and a complete account of what occurred with any physical evidence that may prove or disprove the violation
• There must be justification of why an arrest was not made, if appropriate
• Signed statements from the victim(s) and witnesses along with a charging Affidavit Form (SO-03-07).
• If a suspect cannot be found, submit the report to the Crimes Against Persons Unit.

Potential Danger Assessment

• Any supervisor reviewing an injunction violation report must assess the potential danger to determine the immediate need for arrest and/or victim services.
• Criteria include the violent nature of the violation, the suspect's history of violence, and any continuing violations involving violence or threats.