City seeing spike in restraining orders that outpaces population growth

Maricopa residents are filing more restraining orders than they have in previous years.

That’s according to an annual Maricopa Municipal Court report given to the city council Tuesday by Presiding Judge Stephen F. McCarville.

“We have, I believe, 120 cases already this year. We’re averaging, unfortunately, about six per week,” he said during a regular meeting. “If this trend continues, we will most likely end up somewhere between 280 and 300 cases for this year.”

McCarville said last year the court saw 124 filings for orders of protection and 82 for injunctions against harassment. The previous year saw 106 and 29 filings, respectively.

That’s a 53% rise in restraining order filings in the course of one year. During the same period, the population grew only 7%.

What’s the difference?

An order of protection is a “civil court orders prohibiting a specific person from coming near your home, work site, school or other locations,” according to the city court webpage. The two parties must be presently or previously married, have lived together or have a familial relationship.

An injunction against harassment is issued for coworkers, people who dated but did not live together or have another relationship.

Together, the two types of filings are colloquially known as restraining orders.

Why has there been such a stark increase in filings?

McCarville said he wished he had a better answer than, “I don’t know.”

“It’s a growth that’s outgrowing or outpacing [the population] growth,” he said. “Where we’re experiencing a 16% growth from 2022 to 2023 … if we reach the mark of 280 or 300 for this year, that’s a 35 to 40% increase and I don’t know what is driving that.”

Resources for people experiencing domestic violence in Maricopa

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233)