Several domestic violence offenders are participating in a new tracking program that was recently implemented in Clark County as part of a new state law intended to protect victims of domestic violence.
As of Aug. 31, Clark County judges have ordered six offenders into a monitoring program brought on by 2020’s Tiffany Hill Act, a release from the Vancouver Police Department announced. Clark County District Court Probation Services partnered with 2 Watch Monitoring to launch the program on June 7, with the latter providing installation, monitoring and removal services, as well as assistance for protected victims on use of a notification app for the program.
Under the law, judges are allowed to order domestic violence offenders who are released pending trial to wear a GPS ankle monitor which provides real-time alerts to the victim and to police when the offender gets within the set zone of the victim’s home, school or workplace, the release stated. Notifications to the victim can be received through text message, push notification or email.
Clark County is the first county in Washington to implement the program, Clark County District Court Administrative Services Manager Bryan Farrell said in the release. The Tiffany Hill Act gets its name from a Clark County woman who was shot and killed by her estranged husband while picking up her children from Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School in Salmon Creek on Nov. 26, 2019.
Tiffany Hill’s three children were in her car when her husband Keland shot her. He later shot himself following a police pursuit.
The bill, SB 5149, was introduced by Washington State Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, in the Legislature’s 2019 session. It did not initially pass, but came back the next year, bearing Tiffany Hill’s name.
“It’s fitting that Clark County has taken the lead for our state on implementing the Tiffany Hill Act and allowing domestic violence victims to create a zone of protection for themselves, beyond the words on a paper restraining order,” Wilson said in the VPD release.
Keland Hill was out on bail pending a court hearing for domestic violence at the time of the shooting.
Wilson said support from VPD and the greater Clark County criminal justice community was “instrumental” in the unanimous passage of the bill by the Legislature in 2020.
“They, like me, saw how this law could give victims a chance at regaining the sense of self-control that is possible when there’s no more looking over their shoulder,” Wilson said in the release. “This is very encouraging news.”
Both Vancouver Police Chief James McElvain and Clark County District Court Presiding Judge Kelli Osler said they are “extremely proud” to have their respective groups involved with the implementation of the new law.
“To avoid further needless tragedies, it is imperative on all of us in the justice system to make our community a safer place for everyone,” Osler said in the release. “Implementation of this program is a step in the right direction.”
