Copyright © 2003 NLThomas
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TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - The Cherokee Nation Marshal Service recently received a grant to help enforce protective orders and increase arrests.

The $471,332 grant from the United States Department of Justice will assist with the salary expense for an investigator, a sergeant, a marshal, and a victim witness coordinator for two years.

"The victim witness coordinator will be a huge asset", said Sharon Wright, captain with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service. "This person will be someone who makes sure that the victim does not fall through the cracks."

The victim witness coordinator will work with a victim who has filed a protective order against another person to make sure that the appropriate law enforcement agency serves the order and enforces it and the victim is adequately prepared for court. The victim witness coordinator will be available to assist with protective orders filed through the Cherokee Nation court system and the courts in areas where the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service is cross-deputized.

"A lot of the time the victim does not realize the documentation that they will need to make the charges stick when they go to court", Wright said. "We hope to be able to help them with that and be able to put more offenders behind bars."

Related contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org