455.080. Law enforcement agencies response to alleged incidents of abuse--factors indicating need for immediate response--establishment of crisis team--transportation of abused party to medical treatm

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

455.080. Law enforcement agencies response to alleged incidents of abuse--factors indicating need for immediate response--establishment of crisis team--transportation of abused party to medical treatm

Law enforcement agencies response to alleged incidents ofabuse--factors indicating need for immediateresponse--establishment of crisis team--transportation of abusedparty to medical treatment or shelter.

455.080. 1. Law enforcement agencies may establishprocedures to ensure that dispatchers and officers at the sceneof an alleged incident of abuse or violation of an order ofprotection can be informed of any recorded prior incident ofabuse involving the abused party and can verify the effectivedates and terms of any recorded order of protection.

2. The law enforcement agency shall apply the same standardfor response to an alleged incident of abuse or a violation ofany order of protection as applied to any like offense involvingstrangers, except as otherwise provided by law. Law enforcementagencies shall not assign lower priority to calls involvingalleged incidents of abuse or violation of protection orders thanis assigned in responding to offenses involving strangers.Existence of any of the following factors shall be interpreted asindicating a need for immediate response:

(1) The caller indicates that violence is imminent or inprogress; or

(2) A protection order is in effect; or

(3) The caller indicates that incidents of domestic violencehave occurred previously between the parties.

3. Law enforcement agencies may establish domestic crisisteams or, if the agency has fewer than five officers whoseresponsibility it is to respond to calls of this nature,individual officers trained in methods of dealing with family andhousehold quarrels. Such teams or individuals may besupplemented by social workers, ministers or other personstrained in counseling or crisis intervention. When an allegedincident of family or household abuse is reported, the agency maydispatch a crisis team or specially trained officer, ifavailable, to the scene of the incident.

4. The officer at the scene of an alleged incident of abuseshall inform the abused party of available judicial remedies forrelief from adult abuse and of available shelters for victims ofdomestic violence.

5. Law enforcement officials at the scene shall provide orarrange transportation for the abused party to a medical facilityfor treatment of injuries or to a place of shelter or safety.