Sheriff High Joins Vice President Joe Biden for Domestic Violence Initiative

Sheriff Melvin C. High joined Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., Senator Ben Cardin, Governor Martin O’Malley, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, and other public safety executives last Wednesday for the unveiling of a domestic violence initiative aimed at reducing domestic violence related homicides.

Sheriff High was invited to the event, held at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building in Rockville, MD, which announced the awarding of 2.3 million dollars in grants to local governments across the country. Vice President Biden said, "We have to do everything in our power, everything in our power to keep these tragedies from occurring. We believe that this will save lives; it’s saved lives in the state of Maryland already.”

Sheriff High said, “The prevention of domestic violence has always been a top priority for our Office, and we hope that the grant dollars awarded will help serve the most vulnerable victims across America’s communities. We look forward to furthering our relationships with Local, State and Federal partners as we provide assistance to those who need it the most,” High continued.

Last month Congress voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which provides 659 million dollars in grant funds over the next five years. The Federal grants under this program will be distributed to California, Vermont, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.