Domestic Violence & Police Response in Oregon
What survivors may expect when Oregon police respond to DV calls.
What Happens After Police Respond to a Domestic Violence Call
What Police Usually Do at the Scene
Police actions can vary by province or territory, but there are some common steps officers may take when responding to a call about relationship or family violence.
- Separate people involved to hear each version of events and reduce tension.
- Check for immediate safety issues, including injuries, weapons, and children present.
- Look for evidence such as photos of visible injuries, damaged property, recordings, or messages.
- Identify possible offences (for example, assault, threats, mischief, harassment) based on what is reported and what they observe.
- Speak with witnesses, which can include neighbours, family members, or other people on scene.
- Run database checks for prior police calls, existing court orders, or warrants.
Police in many parts of Canada follow “pro-charging” or “zero tolerance” policies in intimate partner cases. This can mean they may lay charges even if the person experiencing harm does not want to press charges.
Arrest vs Citation (Promise to Appear or Summons)
When police believe a criminal offence has occurred, they may either arrest someone or decide to release them with paperwork requiring a court appearance. Exact terms differ by province and police service.
When Police May Arrest
- There are concerns about immediate safety of anyone at the scene.
- The person is violent, threatening, or trying to flee.
- There is an existing court order (like a no-contact or protection order) that may have been breached.
- There is a previous history of similar incidents or outstanding warrants.
After an arrest, police may:
- Hold the person for a bail hearing in front of a justice or judge.
- Release the person with conditions (for example, no contact, not to attend a certain address).
When Police May Use a Citation-Type Release
Instead of holding someone in custody, police may issue documents such as a summons, an appearance notice, or a promise to appear. These usually:
- Order the person to attend court on a specific date.
- May include conditions, such as staying away from certain people or locations.
- Can sometimes be changed or reviewed later in court.
Even when someone is not held in jail, release documents can still include conditions that affect your safety, housing, and communication. Asking a legal clinic or duty counsel to explain any conditions in plain language can be helpful.
No-Contact Orders in the Criminal Process
No-contact directions can come from several places in the criminal system. They are usually meant to reduce the risk of further harm or intimidation while a charge is being dealt with.
Types of Criminal No-Contact Orders
- Police or bail conditions: After an arrest, release may include rules like no contact, not attending your home, workplace, or school.
- Bail orders by a judge or justice: At a bail hearing, the court can set or change conditions, including no-contact or “no-go” zones.
- Probation orders: If there is a conviction, a probation order may continue no-contact rules for a set period.
What “No Contact” Usually Means
While wording differs, no-contact often includes:
- No in-person contact at home, work, or in public.
- No phone calls, texts, emails, or social media messages.
- No contact “through a third party” (for example, asking friends or relatives to pass messages), unless the order clearly allows specific exceptions.
- Sometimes, limited or supervised contact for parenting reasons, depending on the order and the court’s decision.
Only the court can change a criminal no-contact order. Telling police you want contact again does not automatically cancel the order. Until it is changed in court, both people can be affected by a breach.
Understanding FAPA and Other Protection Orders
Some provinces, such as Saskatchewan, use a law called the Victims of Interpersonal Violence Act or Victims of Domestic Violence Act. Other provinces and territories have similar civil protection order laws with different names.
Under these laws, a survivor can usually apply for a civil protection order (sometimes called an emergency intervention order, protection order, or similar term). This type of order is separate from criminal charges and can exist even if there is no criminal case.
These orders may include conditions such as:
- No contact or communication.
- Not attending your home, work, or school.
- Temporary possession of the family home, even if the other person is on the lease or title.
- Restrictions on weapons, depending on the law in your province.
Names and specific rules for civil protection orders vary across Canada. Local legal clinics, duty counsel, or community-based victim services can often explain the options in your area.
How Criminal No-Contact Orders and FAPA-Type Orders Interact
It is possible to have both a criminal no-contact order and a civil protection order at the same time. They are separate, and each remains in force until changed or ended by the appropriate court.
If the Orders Say Different Things
- Sometimes one order is stricter than the other (for example, the criminal order has no contact at all, and the civil order allows limited contact about children).
- In practice, people often follow the stricter conditions to reduce risk of a breach allegation.
- Police normally enforce criminal orders directly and may also enforce civil protection orders, depending on provincial law.
If there is confusion between orders, a court may need to:
- Clarify or change the criminal bail or probation conditions.
- Amend the civil protection order.
- Confirm how parenting arrangements can safely happen while orders are in place.
Contact for Parenting and Children
Many people need to manage parenting arrangements while protection orders exist. Courts sometimes:
- Allow specific, limited contact about children (for example, only by email, or only through a parenting app).
- Direct that all exchanges happen through a third party or at a supervised access centre.
- Use wording that lists clear exceptions to a general no-contact rule.
If court orders are unclear about how contact for parenting is supposed to work, you can ask duty counsel, a legal clinic, or a family law information centre how to request clarification from the court. Until it is clarified, it is usually safer to assume that stricter no-contact wording applies.
Planning Around Orders and Changing Needs
Your needs and safety concerns can change over time. Some people want stricter no-contact, and others later want contact for practical or parenting reasons.
- You can tell victim services or the Crown (prosecutor) how conditions are affecting you, but only the court can change them.
- You can usually apply to vary or cancel a civil protection order in the same court that granted it, subject to provincial rules.
- Support workers, legal clinics, and duty counsel can help explain what is realistic in your situation, without pressuring you in any direction.
Additional support options across Canada, including information on protection orders and safety planning, can be found through resources listed at DV.Support.