New Law Helps Officers Arrest Suspects Of Domestic Assault And Battery Who Might Be Hiding Out

Police say a new law will help them arrest domestic violence offenders even when they try to hide in someone's house, like a friend or relative.

Police can now serve a search warrant on the suspect even if they're at a home that's theirs and not related to the crime.

Before now, police had to wait and get the person another way.

Tulsa Police officers are the reason the law got changed. They realized there was a loophole that was letting violent criminals hide from arrest.

TPD Robbery Lieutenant Justin Ritter was part of the push at the state capitol to change the law to make it easier to protect victims of violent domestic assaults.

"If we see that suspect in a third-party residence, now we can write a search warrant for that residence, listing the subject, the suspect, as what we're looking for,” said Ritter. “Instead of looking for evidence in a crime, we're actually listing the person with the felony warrant as the item we're searching for."

Ritter says in the past, if a suspect went to a buddy's home or relative's home, officers would either have to wait for them to leave or try to get a search warrant for possible evidence.

He says this roadblock has been a problem for years.

"We should be able to write a search warrant, we know this guy's in here,” said Ritter. “This has been on the books in other states for years, so it's not something new to the United States."

Jack Thorp, the District Attorney for Wagoner, Adair, Cherokee, and Sequoyah Counties, says streamlining the process between the courts and law enforcement means victims can get justice faster.

"We always want law enforcement to use search warrants as much as possible and we want them to rely on that process,” said Thorp. “But it also gives law enforcement on the street the ability to get the information to a court real quick and be able to make arrests rather than individuals being able to hide out."

Thorp says search warrants help prosecutors get the evidence they need the right way so it’s accepted in court.

"We're always thankful for the legislature to give us the law, the tools that law enforcement needs in order to protect victims, enforce the law, and mostly secure the evidence we need in order to make these criminal cases more effective,” said Thorp.

Ritter says this applies to felony warrants for domestic assault and battery, not minor crimes, like a missed traffic ticket.

He says this law can protect victims of these violent crimes by taking suspects into custody faster.

"Obviously victims of these crimes, talking about domestic violence, violent felonies, they want us to arrest these people,” said Ritter. “So it also is an advantage for victims in these types of crimes."

The law will go into effect on Nov. 1.

District Attorney Matt Ballard, who represents Craig, Mayes, and Rogers Counties issued the following statement about the new law:

“I applaud the officers and legislators who worked together to make this important change to the law. It closes a loophole people who commit domestic assault and battery have used for a long time. 

People who victimized the people closest to them figured out they were mostly safe from arrest as long as they stayed somewhere other than their residence or the place where the domestic assault took place. 

SB 1660 is a valuable tool our partners in law enforcement can use to get people off the streets who pose a continued threat to victims and the general public.”