General Advice for Victims of Domestic Violence
- During or immediately after a violent incident, call 911. If the police don't come to you, go to the station and make a voluntary statement concerning the incident.
- Get medical treatment (urgent care/hospital/doctor).
- Collect/preserve evidence of the domestic violence:
- Take photographs of property damage and of your physical injuries (soft tissue injuries, such as swelling and bruising, show up best 1 to 2 days after the incident).
- Get signed statements from people who saw/heard the violence happen, saw your injuries, or saw the damage to your property (witnesses).
- Keep broken pieces of property, torn or bloody clothing, and weapons used by the other party in this incident to show the police and prosecutor.
- Get a Protection Order Against Domestic Violence from Family Court, located at 601 N Pecos, Las Vegas, NV 89101 (phone number: 702-455-3400).
- Get a cell phone from a DV agency (free to victims). Keep the cell phone and your protection order with you at all times.
- Report violations of your Protection Order:
- If your abuser violates your TPO, call 911. Get/make a police report of the violation.
- Collect/preserve evidence of the violation (same as #2 above).
- Make tape recordings of phone calls or threats (first tell them that you're recording the conversation).
- Copy all notes/letters and the envelopes they came in.
- Videotape visits/drive-bys including the date/time they occurred (you can film newspapers, television programs, or phone caller ID to verify the date/time of the video).
- Keep a record of all phone calls, improper visits, missed child support payments, or problems with visitation.
- Get medical treatment for injuries and keep a copy of the medical records.
- Enforce your Protection Order. Once the other party knows that there's a Protection Order against them, they may not violate the terms of that Order.
- Criminal enforcement: Violation of a protection order is a crime. Call the police and make a report—they may be criminally prosecuted.
- Civil enforcement: File an Order to Show Cause in Family Court. You should have some evidence of the violation so that a judge can find the other party in contempt. Just saying it happened is usually not enough.
