Schumer Reveals: New Police Data Shows an Astounding 19,000 Incidents of Domestic Abuse on Long Island from 2009-2010 - Senator Calls for Passage fo Tough legislation to Combat Alarming Trend on Island

Press Release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on Congress to pass legislation, today, that would give law enforcement and various organizations the necessary tools to fight back against the scourge of domestic violence that continues to negatively impact communities and families throughout Long Island. Schumer's call comes amidst new figures from the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services that show that there were over 19,000 domestic abuse incidents in which law enforcement was called to the scene during 2009 and 2010 on Long Island. The Violence Against Women Act, which was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week on a vote of 10-8, would reauthorize a number of federal programs to ensure that the police, district attorneys and local organizations have the resources to crackdown on domestic violence of all types. The legislation Schumer is pushing, S. 1925, contains Services-Training-Officers-Prosecutors (STOP) grants to help train cops and legal officers in stopping domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The legislation toughens federal anti-stalking laws to ensure that digital stalking and new forms of harassment made possible by the internet and social media are harshly punished. The bill also ensures that victims of domestic violence have the proper resources available, including legal assistance, counseling, a 24-hour hotline and emergency housing.

"In just two years, there were over 19,000 cases of domestic abuse on Long Island -- truly staggering numbers that demand immediate action," said Schumer. "That's why I'm urging passage of the Violence Against Women's Act that would provide law enforcement on Long Island with the tools they need to root out sexual abuse, domestic violence, and internet stalking."

The original VAWA bill, which was authored by Schumer when he was a member of the House, expired one year ago. Many of the programs have continued to receive funding over the last year thanks to continuing resolutions passed by the House and Senate. Since 2006, law enforcement agencies across the state have received over $145 million in federal funds through programs included in the Violence Against Women's Act. The legislation Schumer supports would renew several successful programs and provides funding for training, education and outreach to help state and federal agencies do a better job of preventing violence against women and assisting victims of domestic violence. The legislation also includes new programs designed to specifically combat internet stalking and other uses of social media that can lead to domestic violence. The bill would extend these grant programs and critical protections for an additional 5 years.

During 2009 and 2010, there were 19,417 cases on Long Island in which local, county, or state police officers were called to the scene of a domestic violence complaint, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Specifically, there were 4,119 reported incidents in Nassau County and 15,298 reported incidents of domestic violence in Suffolk County.

Schumer announced he is not only pushing for the reauthorization of the bill, but also for several new provisions that will make it stronger and more helpful for New York law enforcement. A summary of key provisions appears below:

· Updates the criminal provisions of federal anti-stalking laws to capture all forms of electronic communication, and to include intimidation, under certain circumstances, as a prohibited form of conduct. This provision adds the words "intimidate" to two different parts of 18 USC 2261A, the federal anti-stalking law. This would then include (a) travel in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate or place under surveillance with intent to do these things when doing so places the person, an immediate family member, or spouse or intimate partner of the person in reasonable fee or death or causes substantial emotional distress. (b) The provision would also include using the mail or any interactive computer service as a mode of stalking-- and this bill would add "electronic communication system of interstate commerce" to this list of instrumentalities. ·

· Underserved populations now have a specific grant program under this bill for services to adult and youth victims in these communities -- previously the program was exclusively aimed at public education.

· The bill provides for 20 percent of funds (STOP grants) to go specifically to crimes of sexual violence. The STOP Program promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to enhancing advocacy and improving the criminal justice system's response to violent crimes against women. It encourages the development and improvement of effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to address violent crimes against women and the development and improvement of advocacy and services in cases involving violent crimes against women. Although sexual assault has been one of the core crimes addressed by VAWA since its passage in 1994, a smaller percentage of grant funding has gone to sexual violence programming than is proportional to victimization rates (nationwide, the CDC reports that 35% of women in the US are victims of domestic violence and 18 percent are victims of sexual assault -- but historically only 3& of the charges filed by STOP-funded prosecutors were sexual assault and only 13& of victims served by these grants were sexual assault victims).·

· In addition, the STOP grants can now specifically be used for training law enforcement and judicial officers not only the areas of domestic violence and sexual assault, but also dating violence and stalking -- two of the fastest-growing areas of concern.·

· Senator Schumer was a champion of making sure that forensic exam kits were available to victims without ultimate expense to the victims. This bill prevents states that use STOP grants to pay for these kits from charging victims and require them to seek reimbursement -- they must be made available free of charge.·

· There is a new purpose area in the STOP grants for states to inventory forensic exam backlogs and figure out how to fix them. Coupled with the money provided under the Debbie Smith Act, which funds lab testing of forensic exam kits, this program will help ensure swift justice for thousands of victims of sexual violence.·

· College campuses: The bill requires higher education recipients of VAWA grants and other federal funds to collect and make public statistics on, in addition to other crimes that were included in the original VAWA, reports of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies.·

· The critical Court-Appointed Special Advocate program (CASA) has had its funding levels maintained at $12 million -- one of the most effective programs in the country that has helped countless children navigate the court system in abuse and neglect cases.·

· The legislation increases oversight of anti-domestic violence programs by, among other provisions, requiring twice-a-year conferral processes to allow stakeholders to provide input as to how things are working in the field. Stakeholders include state and tribal coalitions and technical assistance providers who receive funding through grants administered by the Office on Violence Against Women, within DOJ, and other key stakeholders. The areas of conferral will include the administration of grants, unmet needs, promising practices in the field, and emerging trends. Also under this legislation, the IG under the DOJ would conduct yearly waste, fraud, and abuse audits of a selected number of grantees each year.

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