We Walk Like MADD, we Race for a Cure, and we also walk for electronic monitoring. At least that’s what residents of Dexter, Maine, did June 17th when they held the second annual Amy, Coty, Monica, Memorial 5k Race/Walk to End Domestic Violence, as reported in the Bangor Daily News.
Amy Lake and her two children, Coty and Monica, were murdered by her estranged husband, Steven, in their home last June. Steven Lake then killed himself.
In response to the tragedy, State Representative Kenneth Fredette (R-Newport) helped get an electronic monitoring fund put into the supplemental state budget with a funding pot of $500. The intent was for private donations to supplement the fund, which will work to support tougher domestic violence laws in the state, including laws that would require ankle monitoring for domestic violence defendants who have protection from abuse orders issued against them by the courts.
Maine Governor Paul Lepage, himself a victim of childhood abuse, is a champion of enhanced domestic violence legislation. In response to the Lake family tragedy, the state legislature passed tough new laws, with bipartisan support, that require risk assessments of alleged abusers, that bail be determined by a judge, and that funding be increased for victims compensation programs, ensuring they’re notified when their abusers are released on bail.
Event Organizer Kelly Gay, a kindergarten teacher at Ridge View Community School in Dexter, where Amy Lake taught, stated, “If that particular device was around, it could’ve saved all three of them.”
At AMS we are the first to remind communities that no technology can fully prevent someone from committing a violent act (just like a Continuous Alcohol Monitoring bracelet cannot stop someone from drinking). But research does show that there is a substantial deterrent effect when wearing a monitoring bracelet. According to Exit Surveys conducted of nearly 10,000 offenders who have been monitored with our system, SCRAMx, 87.8% reported that wearing the bracelet helped deter drinking, and nearly 80% of those monitored were fully compliant the entire time they were wearing the bracelet. Offenders report that the continuous presence of the bracelet can be powerful. With the criminal justice system stretched thin, and in a world where jail is unlikely to be an option, even for domestic violence offenders, electronic monitoirng in all forms no doubt plays an integral part in keeping offenders accountable when they’re in the community.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 75% of all cases of domestic violence involve an offender who was drunk at the time of the offense.
Last year’s event raised $19,000 among 700 participants. This story is a great example of a small town making a substantial impact on an entire state. Way to Make a Difference, Dexter, Maine!
