DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION RELEASES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TASK FORCE REPORT

City will invest $7 million to better apprehend abusers, ensure support for survivors

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray today released the Domestic Violence Task Force Report, recommendations to reduce domestic violence in New York City. The city will invest nearly $7 million to better apprehend abusers as well as ensure support for survivors. Domestic violence crime is rising in New York City: the number of intimate partner homicides rose from 26 in 2015 to 37 in 2016, and the number of domestic violence incident reports rose from 74,684 in 2015 to 91,617 in 2016.

Convened in November 2016, the Task Force was charged with developing a coordinated response to this persistent problem that included both criminal justice and social services intervention.

The summary of recommendations can be read here.

“Domestic violence is disturbingly common, and affects every neighborhood in NYC.  It’s only by confronting this crime that we will end the vicious cycle that perpetuates it,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This report sends a loud and clear message – we will not tolerate domestic violence, survivors have the City’s full support, and abusers must be held accountable. We will do everything we can to ensure that New York City is safer for everyone, everywhere, at all times.”

“There is no simple, one-size-fits-all solution to domestic violence but there are actions we can take to provide pathways to safety for survivors and hold abusers accountable," said First Lady Chirlane McCray, co-chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force and the Commission on Gender Equity. “The new investments we are announcing will help us leverage bold innovations that support families, help them heal, and address root causes of abusive behavior.”

“We believe that these investments will enable us to further reduce crime and violence, particularly with the victims of domestic violence,” said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill.

 In 2007, 4.8% of all major crimes in the City were related to domestic violence, broadly defined to include offenses involving members of the same family or household as well as those related to intimate partners. By 2016, that percentage had reached 11.6%. Domestic violence now accounts for one in every five homicides—and two in every five reported assaults—citywide.

The Task Force conducted an in-depth review of current City programs and investments to enhance the delivery of social services to victims, evidence gathering and other law enforcement tactics. The new approach focuses on intervening as early as possible, enhancing pathways to safety for survivors and ensuring swift, effective and lasting enforcement to hold abusers accountable. Recommendations include:

• Expanding the Child Trauma Response Teams: Expanding the program to an additional location will provide immediate intervention for more victims of child trauma who have witnessed domestic violence in their homes, which has been shown to reduce the odds of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by 65% for children who have witnessed violence.

• Investing in enhanced evidence gathering:  Purchasing state-of-the-art technology, including alternative light source cameras, which can reveal evidence of strangulation often missed by traditional cameras, and mobile evidence gathering technology, which can be a critical source of information in stalking cases. Forensic evidence can help validate a victim’s experience by substantiating abuse in a way that can be used to support criminal prosecution, inform victims of domestic violence of available options, and increase the strength of a criminal case to hold the abuser accountable.

• Expanding the Early Victim Engagement Program: Expanding this early engagement program to an additional two locations will provide critical information to more victims at the time of an offender’s arraignment enhancing safety, access to resources and prosecutions. An evaluation of the EVE program in Brooklyn found that it increased the conviction rate in cases of intimate partner violence prosecuted by 9%, from 23.6% vs. 32.6%.

• Providing Immigrant Legal Services: Linking domestic violence services with immigration legal services to ensure that survivors can seek help without fear or immigration consequences.

Additionally, the strategy devotes resources to the continued work of the NYC Domestic Violence Task Force to improve data collection, integrate domestic violence reduction resources into the ThriveNYC network, and develop additional strategies to prevent domestic violence.

Co-chaired by First Lady Chirlane McCray and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, the work of the Task Force is directed by the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Elizabeth Glazer, and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, Cecile Noel and Executive Director of the Task Force Bea Hanson. The Task Force is comprised of experts from inside and outside government as well as survivors.  

Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Elizabeth Glazer said, “In a city in which violent crime has fallen by 75 percent in 20 years, domestic violence remains a challenge, accounting for 40 percent of citywide assaults and 20 percent of homicides. The significant investments announced today importantly knit together both sharp crime fighting and evidence-based interventions, an ambidextrous approach that offers the greatest promise of interrupting cycles of violence, implementing smart prevention and ensuring that abusers are held accountable.”

“The work of the NYC Domestic Violence Task Force was accomplished through the unique partnership of government, community-based organizations and survivors,” said Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence Commissioner Cecile Noel. “These recommendations represent innovative and solutions-based approaches to reducing domestic violence in our City, and are proof of the amazing work that can be done when a multidisciplinary approach is applied to an issue. Through these recommendations, New York City will be able to expand and enhance services for survivors, prevent and intervene in domestic violence incidents earlier, strengthen criminal justice responses, support communities and improve coordination citywide. I am grateful to Mayor de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, Task Force Executive Director Bea Hanson and my Task Force co-chair, Liz Glazer, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, for spearheading this is important endeavor.”

“New York City has a long history of leading the nation in innovative responses to domestic violence, said Bea Hanson, Executive Director of the NYC Domestic Violence Task Force, formerly Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director of the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. “The Task Force expands the ways that communities, the criminal justice system, city agencies, social service organizations, and survivors collaborate. Together, we will educate New Yorkers about the signs of domestic violence; intervene early so that we can stop the escalation of abuse; and improve victim-centered interventions that understand the impact of trauma on the lives of those affected.”