Why won't police lock up abuser?

Marvinator	What you need is legal advice, not the advice of people who merely agree with y ou. Contact a lawyer, even the Public Defender's office and ask where you can get answers.

Lady Ice	There are domestic violence places she can go to and file a report with them. They would help her with the police reports to prosecute.

levindis	There is what you know and what you can prove. Unfortunately the only charge so far the police can substantiate that is reckless driving which is not a considered a major offence. The best thing you can do for now is protect her yourselves, do not let her be alone and possibly provide mace or pepper spray. The reality is we have created and funded our police departments to react to crime and not prevent crime. That being said your local law enforcement does not have the manpower or funds to protect your daughter so this falls to you her family. If you want this to change then you must galvanize your community to change how law enforcement operates.

John D	What state are you in? In Texas, she can easily get a protective order, which will subject him to arrest for all the things you have mentioned.

David's Roast - Fuji Master	Make an appointment with the DA and go see him/her. Carry copies of the detials & dates of the officers you have talked with previously. Most communities have a doestic abuse advocate. If the DA does not help call the local battered womens shelter or call a large church if you need help finding one in your area. The shelter specializes in helping in cases like this.

elaeblue	Take your daughter and run. Move to another state and dont contact him at all. Or your daughter can go to a domestic violence shelter -they have stringent safety records and they provide counseling and all kinds of assistance to the women who come there. They will help her to get a court order to keep him away from her or get arrested. Look under domestic violence in your local phone book -I highly recommend your daughter go and talk to these people they can help her a lot.

gilliegrrrl	She needs to file charges against him and have him arrested and taken to court.

mr_crankypants	She personally needs to file assault charges against him! If she doesn't do this he will stay a free man. You need to provide her with protection and counselling or do some sort of intervention to help her see that this guy needs to go to jail.

DaveFrost	no matter what happens, if she says it didn't happen and he says it...there is nothing they can really do. You are going to have to provide some concrete evidence such as a videotape.

msi_cord	You can do nothing right now. Your daughter has to step up and press charges or get a restraining order. The police can do absolutely nothing if your daughter does not press charges or get a restraining order.

pacer	You can solve the two biggest problems she has at the current time by paying for the best Psychologist you have in your area. Most PFA's just keep the police working overtime, with not much result, but they don't get much pay either.

Goofy	She made a huge mistake when she lied and said nothing ever happened. Now in the back of the police officers minds they'll remember that forever and think "will she lie again, is trying to help worth our time?" Though she felt she was forced to lie she shouldn't have. He would have gone to jail then and like someone said short of killing the beast you and her (or at least her) has to run and get as far away from him as you can. Protective orders and other so called protective things of that nature are just paper and won't help when he comes and beats in your door. Leave the state if you can, no forwarding address and no mail to friends with your new address on it (even postmarks can be used to track you). Telephone only the friends /family you leave behind for a good while. Maybe one day he'll find someone new to pick on or someone will finally kill him and do the world some justice. Good luck.

Funny Girl	I have read all of the answers so far and there is a lot of good advice. Any or all of the things mentioned would be taking a proactive step toward protecting your daughter. She needs to make sure that she files charges. If not, what can they do. It's unfortunate, but it's reality. Don't stop asking for help. Contact the district attorney in PA. and camp on their doorstep if you must until they listen to you. I think getting the media's attention would really help, as well. Take out an ad for help. Someone is bound to want to run with this story. I think if she runs, he'll find her. Stay on home ground where all of the documentation (police and hospital records) are easily accessible. Don't give up!