Welcome to Skagit County
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September 23,
2002 Skagit County Prosecutor Tom Verge announced on Wednesday September 18th that his office had just received word of being awarded a $593,000 Federal Grant to help fight Domestic Violence throughout Skagit County. The grant, which was applied for in January of this year, was received from the U.S. Department of Justice through the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program. According to the award letter, it is designed to help "encourage the treatment of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault as serious violations of the law." "This is a huge opportunity for law enforcement, the prosecutor's office, the courts, and agencies providing services to victims of domestic violence to really make a difference by improving victim safety and offender accountability in this county," said Verge. According to Verge, the grant will pay for a new Deputy Prosecutor and a Legal Assistant devoted exclusively toward prosecuting both Felony and Misdemeanor Domestic Violence cases. The grant will also fund a new position for a Probation Officer in District Court to supervise defendants, both pretrial and post-conviction. The grant includes funding for training 911 operators, law enforcement, prosecutors, probation officers and court personnel. It also includes overtime funds for sheriff's deputies to conduct follow up investigations in domestic violence cases and money to improve the processing of protection orders to make it easier for law enforcement officers in the county to access orders while they are on patrol. Another unique
aspect of this grant is the development of a Domestic Assault Response
Team, or 'DART'. Under this program, Skagit Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault Services will be provided funding to allow victim's
advocates to be able to respond to the scene of domestic violence
arrests to further assist victims immediately after Law Enforcement
officers have completed their investigations. "We look forward
to this aspect of the grant because it provides more services to victims
and it allows my Deputies to get back on the road quicker after we
respond to these calls. Everyone benefits under this DART concept,"
stated Skagit County Sheriff Ed Goodman.
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