7/30/2007
By: Veronica Castelo
NEWS 8 AUSTIN

Thomasina Olaniyi-oke remembers the night she left her husband.

"I was black and blue and bruised and beat pretty badly," she said.

She filed a protective order against him to protect her children
and herself.

"I was afraid something else could happen," Olaniyi-oke said.

In the past, notifying Olaniyi-oke that her protective orders had been served would have taken an hour or longer.

The Instant Protective Order Alert System is changing that. It’s a computer program installed in portable computers located inside Precinct 5 Constable cars in Travis County.

Precinct 5 County Constable Bruce Elfant said the program has been in place for two months.

"What we are noticing is communications is so much faster for the county attorney, for other prosecutors and for victims of domestic violence," said Elfant.

The County issues approximately 2,000 protective orders each year. Precinct 5 deputies like J.C. Callis are charged with serving them all.

Callis said perpetrators are often angered when he arrives.

"What the individual wants to do is retaliate on the individual that did this to them. If we have enough time to notify that person and say, ‘Look out, he’s been served, and he’s not feeling too well right now,’ then that person has enough time to hopefully seek out a safe place," Elfant said.

The system wasn’t around when Olaniyi-oke was dealing with her husband. Her husband didn’t retaliate. Elfant said that’s not always the case. "We’ve had instances where the protective order is served and the next thing we know the victim is seriously hurt or killed," he said.

Callis said the new system gives him peace of mind.

"I feel really good when I go home at the end of the day and I have served a protective order and the next day I don’t hear something happened," he said.

Callis said he hopes the program gives women one more reason to come forward and protect themselves, just like Olaniyi-oke did.

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