Relates to the protection of victims of domestic violence act

Summary of provisions

Section one: of the act amends the executive law by adding a new article 22-A, containing sections 636 and 537 of said law.

Section 636 of the executive law provides that this legislation shall be entitled "the protection of victims of domestic violence act.

Section 637 of the executive law provides that if a judge releases a defendant charged with domestic violence, who is subject to conditions reasonably necessary to protect one or more named persons and such conditions are made part of a protective order, he or she shall be subject to arrest without a warrant and/or may have his/her bail forfeited or revoked if such conditions are violated.

Section 637 additionally provides that a court may order a defendant in a domestic violence proceeding to carry or wear a global positioning system (GPS) device as a condition of his/her release and, upon the informed consent of the victim, the court may require such defendant to provide the victim with a receptor device capable of notifying the victim if the defendant is in proximity to such victim (as is determined by the judge in consultation with the victim). The GPS device shall he Paid for by the defendant, unless such defendant opts to perform commu- nity service instead of paying for such device.

Finally, section 637 explicitly does not limit the ability of the judge to impose other protective or release conditions allowed under other areas of the law.

Section two: This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall have become law.

Justification

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice, 25% of women have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime. (See, Patricia Tjaden & Nancy Thoennes, EXTENT, NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, findings from the National Violence Against Women Study, USDOJ, National Institutes of Justice, Center for Disease Control, July 2000.) Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, to as many as 1.3

million women who are physically abused by an intimate partner each year.(See, U.S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data On Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends and Girl- friends, March 1998.)

Nearly 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that person, and roughly 31% are also sexu- ally assaulted by that person. (See, Patricia Tjaden & Nancy Thoennes, "Stalking in America," National Institute for Justice (1998). Finally, the estimated cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year, more than 70% of which is for direct medical and mental health services. (See, "Costs of intimate partner Violence Against Women in the United States," 2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Domestic violence affects hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually. Each year, an estimated 400,000 domestic violence incidents are reported to law enforcement in New York, and roughly 300,000 calls are received by hotlines throughout the State.

Domestic violence is also a chronically under reported crime. While there are many theories, one possibility is a perception that the neces- sary precautions needed to protect victims of domestic violence are insufficient, or rarely implemented in a comprehensive manner. One example is the use of orders of protection, which are often unable to adequately protect individuals (and their children) from abuse, which creates a sense of helplessness and leads to unreported incident. (See http://www.ncadv.org/files/New%20York%20new%202.09.pdf). Furthermore, after the victims seek the protection of the police or courts, their batterers often lash out at the victim in what is labeled retribution assault." There is an obvious need, therefore, to close this gap in the protection extended to victims of domestic violence.

There are currently 387 monitoring devices in use within New York State by the Division of Parole. Five are older technology radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, and 382 are Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. These GPS devices have multiple uses, among which is the monitoring of sexual offenders and parolees and, potentially, domestic violence offenders.

The use of GPS technology to track domestic abusers has been imple- mented, or is in the process of being adopted, by multiple states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, and the District of Columbia. (See, Maura Kelly, "Tracking Device: How about using GPS monitoring to stop batterers?" Slate, May 4, 2007.)

In Massachusetts, judges have statutory authority to order offenders who have violated an order of protection to wear a GPS device. (See H.B. 30, 184th Gen. Ct., Reg. Sess. (Mass 2008), cited in Diane L. Rosenfeld, "Correlative Rights and the Boundaries of. Freedom: Protecting the Civil Rights of Endangered Women," 43 Harv. C.R.-C.L.L. Rev. 257, 261

(2008). The legislation also allows judges "to establish as a condition of probation, geographic exclusion zones, which can include the victim's residence, place of work, children's schools, or other places frequented by the victim." (Rosenfeld, Id. at 261.)

Although it is difficult to generalize, the Massachusetts experiment with GPS tracking of domestic abusers has reportedly shown very positive results. Between 2005 and 2007, domestic violence linked homicides increased 3009,1, but in the city of Newburyport, where the most concen- trated effort to use GPS tracking has been implemented, there were no such homicides during those two years. (See, Ariana Green, "More States Use GPS to Track Abusers," The New York Times, May 9, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/us/09gps.html? r=1). Such a result implies the need for New York to adopt such a program with regard to domestic abusers.

The effectiveness of GPS tracking of domestic violence perpetrators can be enhanced by instituting bilateral monitoring as an additional safe- guard for victims of domestic violence. (See, Edna Erez, Peter R. 'harry, Norman Lurie, "Electronic Monitoring of Domestic Violence Cases A Study of Two Bilateral Programs," 68-Jun Fed. Probation IS (2004). Bilateral monitoring provides the victim with a GPS enabled device that will detect the presence of the defendant when he or she enters a defined radius, warn the victim, and immediately contact law enforce- ment. (See, Erez, Ibarra, Lurie, Id. at 16.) Because bilateral monitor- ing has been shown to increase the protection offered to victims of domestic abuse, this legislation includes such a program.

This legislation will give courts new tools to protect victims of domes- tic violence, and will give victims an enhanced manner of enforcing protective orders, and greater protection from batterers who violate such orders of protection.

Legislative history

2011-12: S.1489/A.613 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crimes and Corrections/ referred to Gov't Ops 2010: S.6867 Reported to Codes A.10336 Referred to Governmental Operations

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall become law.