Protection orders and peace orders affectiveness on victims

In Princess Anne a mother and her two children were left in critical condition after a brutal attack.

25-year-old Airealle Sells filed for a protective order against her ex-boyfriend, Sharef Hayward.

Airealle filed a protective order and according to the Somerset County Sheriff's Office, she and Hayward both appeared in court to make it official on December 5th, the day before the attack.

47 ABC looked more into what these protective orders actually do.

While speaking to the Wicomico Sheriff's Office, we found out, that in the state of Maryland, the term "restraining order" does not exist.

They refer to them as peace orders and protective orders, which are slightly different from one another.

A protective order will apply to individuals that are involved in any domestic situation or family type of situation and the peace order is something that will be people out side that, as it applies to somebody having problems with the neighbor or co-worker.

Lieutenant Tim Robinson from the Wicomico Sheriff's office tells us that putting an order in place helps them to assist the victim much easier.

Lieutenant Robinson tells 47 ABC, both orders are legally binding and if someone does violate the conditions of those orders, they could get arrested.

Any victim can come to the district courthouse, come inside and get a peace order form or a protection order form and the judge will see them that exact same day.

Lieutenant Robinson tells us anytime an individual goes to the courthouse to obtain one of these orders, they're notified immediately. He states when these things are finished, a deputy is in route to the court house to pick that up and make an immediate attempt to get these things served.

Once the person is served, they have one week to respond.

Officials say they serve these orders on a daily basis, but one or twice a month somebody is in violation of those orders and they do arrive and place the individual in violation under arrest.

And the one thing Lieutenant Robinson points out is that they highly recommend that anyone putting in these orders, should contact the life crisis center immediately after.

The life crisis center offers services at no charge to women, men, and children who are victims of abuse, such as domestic violence.

This center provides a secure and confidential location with a 19 bed safe home for women and children.

For men, they will provide a safe accommodation.

The life crisis center also provides counseling for these victims. They also offer legal representation and help victims carry out peace orders or protective orders.

The life crisis center gives these victims the ability to feel safe and most importantly love.