West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 149 - Crime, Delinquency And Correction › Title 149 - LEGISLATIVE RULE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON CRIME, DELINQUENCY AND CORRECTION › Series 149-07 - Protocol for Law Enforcement Response to Stalking › Section 149-7-4 - Personal Safety Orders

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
4.1. A
				personal safety order is an injunction or other order, issued under sexual
				assault, attempted sexual assault, stalking, or similar laws. A protective
				personal safety order is issued to prevent an individual from engaging in
				violent or threatening acts against, harassment of, contact or communication
				with, or physical proximity to a protected individual. A personal safety order
				may include any or all of the following relief: order the respondent to refrain
				from committing or threatening to commit an act specified in subsection (a) of
				West Virginia Code 53-8-4 against the petitioner; order the respondent to
				refrain from contacting, attempting to contact or harassing the petitioner
				directly, indirectly, or through third parties regardless of whether those
				third parties know of the order; order the respondent to refrain from entering
				the residence of the petitioner; order the respondent to remain away from the
				place of employment, school or residence of the petitioner; order the
				respondent not to visit, assault, molest, or otherwise interfere with the
				petitioner and, if the petitioner is a child, the petitioner's siblings and
				minors residing in the household of the petitioner; order either party to pay
				filing fees and costs. A personal safety order must be issued by a court;
				agency or other entity authorized by law to issue or modify a personal safety
				order.
4.1.a. Stalking offenses occurring in
				the context of intimate partner or other domestic situation may be covered by
				Domestic Violence Protective Orders and Legislative Rule 149 CSR 3 and therein
				governed as other Domestic Violence Offenses.
4.1.b. Protective orders include, but are not
				limited to, Emergency Protective Orders, Temporary Emergency Protective Orders,
				Domestic Violence Protective Orders, Temporary or Final Protective Orders
				issued as a part of Temporary or Final Divorce Orders, or any other terms or
				orders that have a similar purpose.
4.1.b.1.
				Domestic Violence protective orders are considered criminal in nature. Law
				enforcement agencies and officers in the state of West Virginia are responsible
				for the service of all orders and petitions for protection. Service of
				protective and personal safety orders shall be a priority. The law enforcement
				officer shall immediately, but not longer than 72 hours, make every reasonable
				effort to locate respondent for service of protective and personal safety
				orders. Service shall be performed on any day including Sundays and holidays.
				No law enforcement officer shall refuse to serve pleadings or orders in
				personal safety or protective order actions.
4.1.b.2. When the officer serves the order
				upon the respondent, the officer shall file the return of service within 24
				hours to the circuit clerk's office.
4.1.c. When serving the personal safety
				order, the officer shall inform the respondent of the mandatory relief of the
				order.
4.1.d. If the court
				prohibits the respondent from possessing firearms as defined in West Virginia
				Code 53-8-7, then the law enforcement officer should:
4.1.d.1. Inquire about whether or not a
				weapon was used or threatened to be used in the commission of the offense
				predicating the petitioning for the personal safety order;
4.1.d.2. Determine if the respondent has
				violated any prior order as specified in this protocol;
4.1.d.3. Determine if the respondent has been
				convicted of an offense involving the use of a firearm;
4.1.e. The serving officer should request
				that the respondent surrender all of his or her firearms and ammunition to the
				officer or transfer to a qualified third party (a party who is not prohibited
				from possessing firearms under state and federal law).
4.1.f. The serving officer should encourage
				the respondent to make a decision about his or her firearms while the officer
				is present to verify the surrender or transfer; and
4.1.g. If the respondent refuses to surrender
				or transfer his or her firearms and ammunition after the serving officer has
				provided a reasonable opportunity to do so, then the serving officer shall
				arrest the respondent for violation of the personal safety order.