Missouri's attorney general said Tuesday that lawmakers must strengthen domestic violence laws so victims are better protected and abusers don't fall through the cracks in court orders of protection.

Chris Koster made the recommendations during a day long rollout of the findings of a special Domestic Violence Task Force he created last year to analyze state laws and recommend improvements in the courts and in law enforcement procedures. Koster put together the task force after advocates pointed out there hadn't been a wholesale review of Missouri's laws in 30 years and the state lagged behind others in its handling of cases.

The report, presented at a news conference in St. Louis and two others around the state, recommended 12 changes.

Some were as simple as requiring all state laws to use the same terminology when defining basic terms such as "domestic abuse," "adult" and "family household member."

Task force member Colleen Coble, director of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said those changes would reduce inefficiency and confusion in the courts and reduce barriers for victims seeking a court order of protection against an abuser.

Other recommendations focused heavily on closing gaps in orders of protection which advocates say currently fail to keep victims safe and abusers at bay. This is particularly the case with teenagers who are not allowed to file orders of protection in court against other teens who are a threat to their safety.

Key recommendations included:

• Giving the juvenile courts jurisdiction over alleged abusers under 17.

• Enabling judges to evaluate whether a victim is being coerced when asking the court to rescind an order of protection.

• Giving the state Division of Probation and Parole the power to authorize and establish quality standards for court ordered batterer intervention programs so they are more effective.

• Allowing courts to order state-supervised probation to abusers guilty of a domestic violence misdemeanor.

• Giving judges the authority to require abusers to return to court to assess whether they are complying with an order of protection.

• Urging judges to set conditions of bond for those that violate orders of protection.

Coble said ultimately the statutes will enable judges to cater orders of protection to individual situations and expand arrestable offenses for those who willfully break orders of protection.

"The impact of the collective recommendations can really enhance every level of response to domestic violence," she said.

Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, pledged Tuesday to sponsor legislation backing the statutory changes. Coble said Task Force members expect similar legislation to be filed in the House next week.