DVRO/ERPO Data (North Carolina State Highway Patrol)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Records containing the following data on Domestic Violence Restraining/Protection Orders, preferably in a machine readable format (e.g. .xslx, .xls, .csv, etc.) from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023, broken down by year and county, ideally at an individual case level:

1. The total number of Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) petitions filed
2. The total number of DVROs granted, broken down by ex-parte and final orders
3. The total number of DVROs denied, broken down by ex-parte and final orders
4. The total number of DVROs that prohibit respondents from possessing firearms, broken down by ex-parte and final orders
5. The total number of DVROs that require relinquishment of firearms, broken down by ex-parte and final orders
6. The total number of DVROs where firearms were successfully relinquished to a law enforcement agency
7. The total number of DVROs where firearms were successfully relinquished to a licensed firearm dealer, a licensed commercial armory, or eligible third parties, broken down by each receiving entity (if applicable)
8. The total number of DVROs where no firearms were relinquished due to the respondent stating they don’t have any
9. The total number of DVROs where firearms were ordered to be relinquished but were not relinquished
10. The total number of firearms relinquished to law enforcement
11. The total number of firearms relinquished to FFLs
12. The total number of firearms relinquished to third parties
13. The total number of firearms returned after the expiration of the order
14. The total number of firearms that were not returned after the expiration of the order because the respondent was prohibited from firearm possession

I greatly appreciate any help you can provide.

At a minimum, I am looking for the number of orders granted and how many required relinquishment of firearms, irrespective of whether you have or are able to share any of the other requested information.

If there is any information listed above that you do collect and can share, we will take whatever you are able to provide.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Mackey O'Keefe