New law makes abusers pay up

Four of the six counties served by Safeplace will begin fining abusers $25 per case.

The fee will be added to other fines and fees assessed by the court. The fee will go to Safeplace, Inc., which serves victims of violence in Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Winton, and Marion Counties.

However, the fee will not be fined in Winston and Marion County.

During the Domestic Violence Response Coalition meeting Wednesday, Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow announced the passing of the bill.

Executive Director Rachel Cabaniss said Safeplace needs more funding because of the increase of victims being serviced in the six counties.

“We cut our budget 17 percent even though we are serving about 18 percent more victims,” Cabaniss said. “We a glad to see this bill passed into law making the abusers more accountable.”

The new law will force abusers to pay $25 per case. The fee will go to Safeplace, Inc.

“We are thankful that Rep. Morrow who helped get this  bill passed,” Cabaniss said. “But, we need to be aware this won’t be automatic. We need to the domestic violence response coalitions to help us push so judges will be aware of the law and assess the fee. It has to be ordered by the judge.”
Cabaniss said once judges realizes this new law is on the books for these four counties, there should be no problem getting the money flowing.

Safeplace exists to break the cycle of domestic violence by providing crisis intervention, housing, counseling, and referral services for survivors and to educate the community in order to prevent future abuse, and to facilitate a coordinated community response to abused persons through networking with other service providers, the criminal justice system, elected officials, civic leaders, and policy makers.