Behavior Creates Results
A call to 911 on you means it’s too late. You have gone too far. You are over the “line.” When the police arrive, someone is usually taken into custody.
An arrest for domestic violence triggers a series of immediate and costly procedures. When the police are called, these consequences happen automatically. Someone goes to jail regardless of whether the other person wants to press charges or not. The dominos begin to fall.
Summary
1. Detention and Booking
You are immediately handcuffed and taken to jail. Fingerprints, photographs (mug shot), and personal information are entered into a permanent law enforcement database, along with a police report giving a legal interpretation of what happened by the responding officer.
2. Automatic Protection Orders
The judge will issue a mandatory protection order (MPO) or no-contact order (NCO). No contact means exactly that — NO CONTACT. NONE. The NCO prohibits all forms of communication with the alleged victim, including phone calls, texts, and even third-party messages. This will be true even if they want to speak with you. An NCO bars you from returning to your own home and from talking to anyone associated with your offense. You will also need to find other living arrangements. You may need a police escort (a “civil standby”) just to retrieve essential items like medicine or clothing.
3. Immediate Impact on Parental Rights
If children were present or involved, you could immediately be barred from seeing or speaking to your children, too. Your arrest triggers an automatic notification to the Department of Children Services, who can open an additional investigation into the household’s general safety.
4. Firearm Prohibitions
As a condition of release from jail, you will be required to surrender all firearms and ammunition to law enforcement or a licensed dealer. Even a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction could lead to a lifetime ban on owning a gun.
5. Professional and Financial Costs
Because these arrests are public record, employers can see them immediately. For some professions an arrest will trigger an immediate administrative suspension. The “victim” cannot drop the charges — only the prosecutor or a judge has the authority to dismiss the case. Lawyers are also a very costly expense.