News

'Domestic violence kiosk' aims to save citizens in Wash. town

January 21, 2004

TACOMA, Wash. -- It's just a lone computer sitting in a little alcove at Gig Harbor City Hall. But it just might make the difference between violence and safety, fear and peace of mind for women and men in abusive domestic relationships, city and county officials believe.

According to an article in The News-Tribune, the county's first "domestic violence kiosk" opened at Gig Harbor City Hall last week. The computer, combined with the help of domestic violence advocates or Gig Harbor Municipal Court employees, will allow users to get temporary protection orders from abusers or potential abusers without driving to the County-City Building in Tacoma.

People who apply for a temporary protection order from the remote location will have their request quickly signed by a Superior Court commissioner and the order en route to being served on the alleged abuser, said Craig Roberts, domestic violence coordinator for Pierce County, in the article.

"It will be just as if you were down here in our (Tacoma) office," he said. Depending on how busy the commissioners are, getting an order signed "could be a matter of minutes or it could take an hour," he added. "But we're pretty much looking at the same day."

Roberts, who's worked on the plan for several months, said officials hope to put kiosks in Lakewood and East Pierce County soon, as well. In Gig Harbor, court employees will verify the identity of a person seeking a protection order, just as court officers would if the request were made in Tacoma.