Marion County is taking extra steps to end the cycle of domestic violence.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office unveiled a new electronic monitoring program Monday called Surviving Harmful Interactions through Electronic Location, or S.H.I.E.L.D., for short.
Here's how the program works: If a previous offender comes too close to a victim, the Sheriff's Office will be notified and dispatch deputies to the offender and victim.
The program is personal for Sheriff Chris Blair, who lost his sister to domestic violence, and for Cpl. Michelle Wright, who led the charge to help victims.
"Before I became a deputy, I was a victim. I have been severely beaten and abused," said Wright.
"I can assure you, a lot of our victims are going to get a good night's sleep because they are going to know where that offender is, and they are going to know when they've come into the exclusion zone," said Monica Bryant, family violence prevention coordinator with the Marion County Children's Alliance.
Marion County made more than 900 domestic violence arrests last year. Six people were killed.
So far, 25 monitoring devices have been ordered.