“Purple Ribbon” a Symbol of Support for Victims of Domestic Violence

Upper Marlboro, MD… The Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office launched its “Purple Ribbon” initiative last week as a way of continuing to drive awareness around the crime of domestic violence and to remind victims that there is support and help available. The purple ribbon is a universal identifier of the fight against domestic violence, and has been adopted internationally as a symbol to raise domestic violence awareness. 

The focus of the initiative is a purple ribbon that will be displayed on Sheriff’s marked emergency vehicles with the caption “End Domestic Violence” and the email address to the Office of the Sheriff’s blog page.  The easily accessible blog page www.pgsheriff.blogspot.com  includes phone numbers for the Domestic Violence Intervention Division (DVID) Special Victim Assistants (SVA) who are available to provide information and resources to victims of domestic violence.

                                                                               

The Sheriff’s Office DVID provides a comprehensive response to domestic violence; pre-intervention with the service of protective orders, on-site intervention by responding to 9-1-1 calls for service in Police District III and aftercare or post intervention response by the Special Victim Assistants who help victims countywide navigate the court process and/or direct them to the services and resources they need.

“The battle against this crime is a very important one and there is a great deal of cooperation among law enforcement, the courts and professionals in domestic violence to raise awareness around domestic violence crime and to help victims become survivors,” said Sheriff Melvin C. High. “The model of response we’ve developed over the years in domestic violence response has been recognized by industry professionals and the assessment of an independent expert; we will continue to share that model with community, families and partners whenever we can. “ 

For more information contact the Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff’s Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-8637.                                                                               ###