Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money
October 13, 2011 in Archive, Domestic Violence, Uncategorized
Reposted from ThinkProgress
Faced with their worst budget crises since the Great Depression, states and cities have resorted to increasingly desperate measures to cut costs. State and local governments have laid off teachers, slashed Medicaid funding, and even started unpaving roads and turning off streetlights.
But perhaps the most shocking idea to save money is being debated right now by the City Council of Topeka, Kansas. The city could repeal an ordinance banning domestic violence because some say the cost of prosecuting those cases is just too high:
Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.
Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, facing a 10% budget cut, announced that the county would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors, including domestic violence cases, at the county level. Finding those cases suddenly dumped on the city and lacking resources of their own, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing the part of the city code that bans domestic battery. [...]
Since the county stopped prosecuting the crimes on September 8th, it has turned back 30 domestic violence cases. Sixteen people have been arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery and then released from the county jail after charges weren’t filed. “Letting abusive partners out of jail with no consequences puts victims in incredibly dangerous positions,” said Becky Dickinson of the YWCA. “The abuser will often become more violent in an attempt to regain control.”
The YMCA also said that some survivors were afraid for their safety if the dispute wasn’t resolved soon. Town leaders and the district attorney all agree that domestic abuse cases should be prosecuted — but no one would step up to foot the bill. The city council is expected to make its decision on decriminalizing domestic violence next week, but the back-and-forth over funding has already put battered women and their families at increased risk of harm. Read the rest of this entry →
We recently completed the initial analysis of the 2010 Minnesota Crime Victim Survey and presented them at the United Against Violence Summit. The Crime Victim Survey is the result of a partnership between Greater Twin Cities United Way and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs. This is the second time we’ve done the survey (the first was in 2007). Data was collected January-April of 2011, asking about experiences with crime in 2010. Using a mail survey methodology with a random sample of residents throughout Minnesota, we obtained a response rate of 60% (which is excellent for a mail survey and represents more than 6,000 completed surveys).
