If you are experiencing an emergency or life-threatening event please contact 911 immediately.

FORMS:
To be notified of a criminal proceedings:

CLICK HERE

To provide details of restitution and impact crime had on your life:

CLICK HERE

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a pattern of intimidation and abuse that is used by one partner to establish and maintain control over the other partner. The abuse can be physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, and financial. While it can take different forms, the abuse may become more frequent and intense over time. Domestic Violence hurts everyone. It crosses all boundaries of age, race, ethnicity, religion, economic background, physical ability and sexual orientation. It can occur in any type of relationship, including past and present spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, step-parents and step-children, foster parents and foster children or others living in the same home. The damage to body and self-esteem inflicted by domestic violence has been linked to homelessness, suicide, crime, teen pregnancy, premature births and miscarriages.

The Solicitor-General’s prosecutors and victim advocates keep in close contact with victims through all phases of the prosecution and provide information, resources and critical support. Working with other law enforcement agencies and community organizations, it is our goal to:

  • Increase victim safety
  • Stop the violence
  • Diligently prosecute Domestic Violence crimes
  • Hold abusers accountable
  • Give victims a voice
  • Ensure victims are informed of their rights pursuant to the Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights
  • Assist victims with Crime Victims’ Compensation application as applicable

If you feel you are in immediate danger, call or text 911.

GEORGIA DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: 1-(800) 33-HAVEN (1-(800) 334-2836) Voice/TTY 24-hour hotline automatically connects callers to the nearest shelters based on their phone number exchanges.

Resources Page

Does your partner…

  • Call you names or use other insults?
  • Destroy or damage your property?
  • Threaten to harm you or others, including pets?
  • Insist on controlling family finances?
  • Criticize your abilities as a parent, threaten to take the children away?
  • Become jealous of your friends and the time you spend with them?
  • Control how often and where you interact with friends and family?
  • Hit, shove, kick, grab or use other forms of physical violence toward you?
  • Make unwanted advances or force you to perform sexual acts?
  • Threaten to commit suicide if you leave?

 

If so, you may be experiencing abuse.

  • Talk with a trained professional, keep a diary of every contact with the individual, file incident reports with the police so you can show a pattern of activity, vary your routine and route, consider letting your employer know so that security measures can be taken. Also, let your childcare provider know.
  • Most importantly, trust your instincts.
  • Talk with a trained advocate who can develop a safety plan with you that is particular to your circumstances. (See helpline links below.)

Elder/Disabled Abuse

Elder abuse or abuse of a disabled adult is usually defined as the physical or psychological mistreatment of a senior or disabled adult, and can include taking financial advantage of, or neglecting the care of a senior (age 65 or older) or disabled adult (anyone 18 or older with a physical or mental disability). A National Elder Abuse Incidence Study suggested that more than 500,000 Americans aged 60 and over were victims of domestic abuse in 1996. This study also found that only 16 percent of the abusive situations are referred for help, while 84 percent remain hidden. While a couple of studies estimate that between three percent and five percent of the elderly population have been abused, the Senate Special Committee on Aging estimates that there may be as many as five million victims every year. Victims of elder abuse are often embarrassed to reveal that relatives or caregivers are abusing them. Victims also fear retaliation from the abuse or being placed in an institution. Sometimes the abuse is accompanied by threats from the perpetrators so the victim is fearful of reporting the crime.

Neglect/Abandonment:

Failing to feed, bathe, or properly medicate an elder or disabled adult can constitute neglect. In summary, this is a failure to provide care to an elder or disabled adult.

Financial Abuse:

This includes stealing money, lying about how much care an elder needs, or cashing the elder’s or disabled adult’s checks without permission.

Emotional/Psychological Abuse:

A person may treat the elder like a child or call him or her names. An elder or disabled adult may seem unusually depressed or may talk badly about himself or herself.

Physical/Sexual Abuse:

This can include hitting, punching, kicking, slapping and pushing. Physical abuse may or may not leave visible marks on the victim’s body. Sexual abuse involves non-consensual contact of any kind

⦁ Frequent unexplained injuries (bruises, broken limbs, welts, cuts and grip marks)
⦁ Fear and edginess in the presence of the caregiver or family member
⦁ Exclusion of an elder from discussions about major issues/decisions
⦁ Social isolation, either physically or emotionally imposed
⦁ Withholding of the elder’s mail
⦁ Verbal assault
⦁ Absence of emotional warmth toward the elder
⦁ Standard of living not appropriate for elder’s income level
⦁ Sudden sale of property belonging to elder
⦁ Sudden revision of elder’s will, naming a new beneficiary
⦁ Decline in elder’s personal hygiene
⦁ Malnutrition

National Center on Elder Abuse:
National resource center dedicated to the prevention of elder mistreatment
1-(800) 677-1116

Georgia Dept, of Human Services, Adult Protective Services:
1-(888) 774-0172 or (404) 657-5250 within the metro area

Georgia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program:
Seeks to improve the quality of life for residents of long-term care facilities, personal care homes, and community living arrangements
1-(888) 454-5826

Coweta County Family and Children Services:
County agency committed to protecting vulnerable children and adults
(770) 830-2178

Atlanta Legal Aid Society:
Referrals and free civil representation to victims of elder abuse
1-(404) 657-5258

Domestic Violence Resources

(770) 254-7300

Coweta County DA’s Office

(770) 254-2646

Coweta County Solicitor’s Office

(770) 834-7273

West GA Rape Crisis

(770) 834-1141

Carroll County Emergency Shelter

(678) 675-6799

H.A.R.P 24hr. Hotline

More Victim Resource Links

(404) 657-1956

Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
(Victim Compensation Information)

(404) 656-3300

Georgia Attorney General’s Office

1-(800) 593-9474

Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole (Victim Services)

(478) 992-5261 (General Information)
(404) 656-4661 (Inmate Information)

Georgia Department of Corrections

 

1-(800) 799-7233

National Domestic Violence Hotline
Staffed 24 hrs. a day by trained counselors

1-(800) 879-6682

National Organization for Victim Assistance

(770) 282-6300

Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia

Coweta County Solicitor’s Office

VICTIM GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

The Coweta County Solicitor’s Office Victim Witness Assistance Program does not discriminate against individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.  If you believe you have been the target of discrimination, you have the right to file a civil rights complaint.  Information on how to file a civil rights complaint can be found on the Office of Justice Programs website.

http://www.ojp.gov/about/ocr/complaint.htm

Georgia Crime Victim’s Rights Notification

The Georgia Constitution (Art. 1, Sect. 1, Paragraph XXX) and the Georgia Crime Victims Bill of Rights (O.C.G.A. 17-17-1, et seq.) declare that victims of certain crimes and delinquent acts be accorded certain basic rights. These rights include, but are not limited to:

  • The RIGHT to be treated fairly and with dignity by the criminal justice system.
  • The RIGHT to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of the arrest, release, or escape of the accused.
  • The RIGHT to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any scheduled court proceedings.
  • The RIGHT not to be excluded from scheduled court proceedings involving the alleged act.
  • The RIGHT to be heard at any scheduled court proceedings involving the release, plea, or sentencing of the accused.
  • The RIGHT to be informed of ALL rights included within the Georgia Crime Victims Bill of Rights.
  • The RIGHT to restitution and compensation as provided by law.
  • If a victim’s constitutional right is denied, the RIGHT to assert these rights by filing a motion with the same court that is handling the criminal or delinquent proceeding. (Marsy’s Law (Article I, Section I, Paragraph XXX)).

It is the RIGHT and the RESPONSIBILITY of any victim who desires notification under this chapter or any other notification statute to “OPT IN” to the notification process and KEEP ALL CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES INFORMED OF CURRENT CONTACT INFORMATION.

The goal of the Coweta County Solicitor’s Office Victim Witness Advocate Program (VWAP) is to assure that all victims of crime receive accurate and timely information regarding their rights pursuant to the Georgia Crime Victims Bill of Rights, O.C.G.A. 17-17-1 and Georgia Constitution Art. I, Sect. I, Paragraph XXX)

If you need guidance on how to file a civil rights complaint, you may contact the Solicitor General by sending an email to cowetasolicitor@coweta.ga.us.  Please reference in the subject line “Grievance Assistance.” Please allow the office 10 days to address your complaint.

If, due to the nature of the grievance, you would feel more comfortable communicating with someone outside of our agency, please feel free to contact the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council at (404) 657-1956 or 104 Marietta St., Suite 440 Atlanta, GA. 30303 and ask for the Program Director of the Victim Assistance Unit.