Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday signed a domestic and family violence reform bill that she said will help prevent abuse and assist victims "by addressing and strengthening numerous programs in criminal justice, social services and education."
The bill sprang from the recommendations of the bipartisan Speaker of the House of Representatives' Task Force on Domestic Violence.
Using $140,000 in federal stimulus money, the law establishes a pilot program for GPS monitoring of high-risk domestic violence offenders in Bridgeport, Danielson and Hartford.The bill also calls for domestic violence cases to be heard in three additonal criminal courts that don't hear them now; nine of the state's 22 criminal courts now have domestic violence dockets.
Also, the bill would improve the enforcement of protective orders and allow prosecutors to take into consideration all previous domestic violence offenses, including those committed out of state, for persistent offenders.