1.Reports.
A law enforcement agency shall report all incidents of abuse by adults of family or household members as required by the State Bureau of Identification under Title 25, section 1544.
2.Agency procedures.
A law enforcement agency shall establish procedures to ensure that dispatchers and officers at the scene of an alleged incident of abuse or violation of an order are informed of any recorded prior incident of abuse involving the abused party and can verify the effective dates and terms of a recorded order.
3.Officer training.
A law enforcement agency shall provide officers employed by the agency an education and training program designed to inform the officers of the problems of family and household abuse, procedures to deal with these problems, the provisions of this chapter
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1.
Reports.
A law enforcement agency shall report all incidents of abuse by adults of family or household members as required by the State Bureau of Identification under Title 25, section 1544.
2.
Agency procedures.
A law enforcement agency shall establish procedures to ensure that dispatchers and officers at the scene of an alleged incident of abuse or violation of an order are informed of any recorded prior incident of abuse involving the abused party and can verify the effective dates and terms of a recorded order.
3.
Officer training.
A law enforcement agency shall provide officers employed by the agency an education and training program designed to inform the officers of the problems of family and household abuse, procedures to deal with these problems, the provisions of this chapter and the services and facilities available to abused family and household members. The amount and degree of officer training, beyond the distribution of information, must be determined by each local law enforcement agency.
4.
Maine Criminal Code enforcement.
A law enforcement officer at the scene of an alleged incident of abuse shall use the same standard of enforcing relevant Maine Criminal Code sections when the incident involves family or household members as when it involves strangers.
5.
Arrest in certain situations.
A law enforcement officer shall arrest and take into custody the alleged offender when the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that:
6.
Officer responsibilities.
When a law enforcement officer has reason to believe that a family or household member has been abused, the officer shall immediately use all reasonable means to prevent further abuse, including:
7.
Law enforcement agency policy.
Every law enforcement agency with the duty to investigate, prosecute and arrest offenders of this chapter and Title 17‑A shall adopt a written policy on the enforcement of this chapter and the handling of domestic abuse cases in general.
8.
Prosecutorial policy.
The Attorney General, in consultation with a statewide association of prosecutors, shall develop a written policy regarding prosecution of domestic abuse cases under the provisions of Title 17‑A. The district attorney for each of the several counties within the State shall adopt a written policy regarding prosecution of domestic abuse cases.
9.
Notification of attempted purchase of firearm.
When the Department of Public Safety receives notification from a federal agency that a criminal background check conducted under the system established pursuant to 18 United States Code, Section 922(t) indicates that a potential buyer or transferee is prohibited from receipt or possession of a firearm pursuant to a temporary or final protection from abuse order, the department shall make every reasonable effort to notify as quickly as practicable both the individual intended to be protected by the protection from abuse order and another law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in the municipality in which that individual resides of the information received from the federal agency.
10.
Liability for damages.
The State, a political subdivision of the State or a law enforcement officer is not liable for damage that may be caused by the failure or inability to inform an individual who is the subject of a protection from abuse order in accordance with subsection 9. This subsection does not prohibit the State or a political subdivision of the State from pursuing legally authorized disciplinary action.
11.
Service of protection from abuse order.
Every law enforcement agency shall adopt a written policy on the service of protection from abuse orders that directs that every order issued under this chapter is served on the subject of the order as quickly as possible, including that service of every temporary, emergency or interim order issued under this chapter must be attempted within 48 hours after receiving notice of that order from the court. Service of a protection from abuse order that is not in compliance with a policy adopted under this subsection does not affect the validity of the service or the order.