Harris County launches 9-member protective order team and warrant co-response unit for domestic violence survivors
Harris County’s top legal officials announced two domestic violence initiatives during the first week of October. One creates a protective order team, and the other pairs Sheriff’s Office deputies with victim services when serving warrants on repeat family violence offenders.
The Protective Order Extended Team, known as POET, was announced Oct. 2 by Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin and Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare. The nine-member team is made up of trained social workers and administrators who will help survivors countywide file protective orders and connect them with relocation help, job resources and financial assistance.
Kamin said Harris County has the largest number of domestic violence homicides in Texas, and nearly one-third of the county’s homicides are domestic violence-related. A 2025 report from the Texas Council on Family Violence found 26 people were killed in intimate partner violence cases in Harris County.
“More people can now have access to counseling, resources and legal protection as we move them towards safety and stability,” Kamin said.
Teare said the team will work at locations throughout the county instead of requiring survivors to seek help downtown.
“Instead of just going through this process downtown, forcing survivors to come downtown to get resources that we had and need, we’re going out into the community and meeting people where they are,” Teare said. “We are starting this very intentionally and plan to grow it over the next few years to be able to service every single community in this vast county.”
Mary McFaden, who oversees the district attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau, said POET services are free and available regardless of background, immigration status or circumstance. She said staff will work with selected referring agencies to contact the survivor and complete a preliminary interview. An advocate will then meet the survivor at a neutral location to walk through the protective order process, create a safety plan and conduct a danger assessment.
McFaden said advocates and staff will file protective order paperwork on the survivor’s behalf and represent the survivor in court at no cost. She said survivors do not need to involve law enforcement to receive help.
“A survivor does not have to call law enforcement for us to help him or her with a protective order,” McFaden said. “We will do that regardless of whether law enforcement or the criminal justice system is involved.”
Funding for the effort comes partly from the $7.5 million Harris County Commissioners Court approved in 2025 to expand the district attorney’s domestic violence and mental health bureaus. McFaden said that funding allowed the office to hire four advocates. She said Kamin’s office has agreed to fund five additional advocate positions.
The announcement came two days into Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is observed throughout October. It also coincided with a separate initiative announced Oct. 1 by Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones.
That program creates a co-response team to serve warrants on family violence offenders while advocates work with survivors and their families. The Sheriff’s Mobile Advocacy Response Team, called SMART, will contact survivors to help secure shelter and immediate safety. The Harris County Violent Persons Warrants Task Force, known as VIPER, will serve the warrants.
Gonzalez said the first phase of the program will target the top 100 offenders wanted on domestic violence charges in Precinct 4.
“SMART takes care of the survivor, and VIPER goes after the person who hurt them,” Gonzalez said. “That’s important because you can’t start rebuilding your life when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder and wondering if your abuser is about to cause more harm.”
The co-response team will include nine VIPER deputies and nine SMART advocates, Briones said. Cases considered dangerous will be referred to the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council’s Domestic Violence High-Risk Team, which works with law enforcement, prosecutors and survivor services to monitor them.
Briones pointed to the recently approved county budget, which includes funding for domestic violence assistance, public safety programs and law enforcement.
“This is something happening in our community every day,” Briones said. “We need to speak up. We need to be good neighbors, good friends, and make sure we’re doing everything we can as a community to respond to support our survivors and make sure we’re making Harris County as safe as it can be.”
Harris County law enforcement agencies receive more than 40,000 domestic violence-related calls each year, according to a news release. Briones said about 30% of the county’s homicides are related to family violence. In unincorporated Precinct 4, family violence calls make up the largest number of calls to the sheriff’s office.
McFaden said the county leads the state in annual intimate partner homicides.
“Domestic violence is not an October crime,” McFaden said. “It’s every month of the year. And every year. And every year after that.”
Survivors seeking a protective order can visit the Harris County District Attorney’s Office downtown on a first-come, first-served basis Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They can also call Protective Order Services at (713) 274-0212 or email filepo@dao.hctx.net. The district attorney’s office said applications are available in Spanish and English and can be emailed to the office. Advocates and staff can communicate with survivors in nearly all languages, McFaden said.
