As Incident Reports Rise, City Officials Seek New Answers to Combat Domestic Violence
Increases in reports of domestic violence have gotten the attention New York City officials, from Mayor Bill de Blasio to the NYPD to members of the City Council. The de Blasio administration has taken a series of steps to address the problem and is promising more; while new legislation is expected to soon pass in the City Council.
On Monday, the Council’s Committee on Courts and Legal Services will hold an oversight hearing on New York’s Domestic Violence Courts and Integrated Domestic Violence Courts, which dedicate specific judges, counselors, and other resources to domestic violence cases. The committee, chaired by Council Member Rory Lancman, has indicated the hearing comes “as the number of domestic violence crimes in New York City continue to rise and domestic violence has become the leading cause of homelessness in the City.”
In 2016, the New York Police Department reported 35,152 instances of domestic violence citywide, up from 33,808 in 2015. There were 59 intimate partner homicides in New York City in 2016, up from 49 in 2015. There was a decline in 2015 from the 34,405 reports in 2014, and the uptick is thought to be a result of victims’ increasing willingness to report incidents thanks to several education and resource initiatives by the city. There were 32,324 domestic violence reports in 2013. . .