The enhancing investigations and prosecution of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (EIP) encourages law enforcement agencies and/or prosecutors offices to expand and…

The Department of Attorney General Maine was awarded a $499,752 Project Grant by the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (CFDA 16.590). The grant, awarded on October 1, 2024 with a completion date of September 30, 2027, will fund two key activities: 1) Hiring an Interpersonal Violence Prosecutor to support prosecutors across Maine, adjudicate cases using trauma-informed practices, and mentor less experienced prosecutors; and 2) Assessing current gaps, challenges, and positive practices across Maine's eight prosecutorial districts in adjudicating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases. This grant aims to enhance Maine's capacity to effectively investigate and prosecute these crimes, supporting victim safety and autonomy, holding offenders accountable, and promoting agency trust within the surrounding community.

The enhancing investigations and prosecution of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (EIP) encourages law enforcement agencies and/or prosecutors offices to expand and improve their capacity to effectively investigate and/or prosecute domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and in so doing, support victim safety and autonomy, hold offenders accountable, and promote agency trust within the surrounding community. The EIP project by the maine department of attorney general, in partnership with the maine coalition to end domestic violence and the maine coalition against sexual assault, to implement across the state of maine, addresses EIP purpose areas: 2 and 3. Additionally, this project addresses OVW priority area 1: access to justice; priority area 2: services to sexual assault survivors. Specific activities include: 1) hire an interpersonal violence prosecutor to support prosecutors across the state, accept and adjudicate cases using trauma-informed practices while mentoring less experienced prosecutors; and 2) assess current gaps, challenges and positive practices across maines eight prosecutorial districts adjudicating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases.