Adds identity theft, larceny and coercion to those offenses over which criminal and family courts have concurrent jurisdiction when involving family or household members

Summary of provisions

OF BILL:

Sections 1, 2 and 10 of the bill amend § 812 of the Family Court Act, § 821 of the Family Court Act and530.11 of the Criminal Procedure Law respectively, to add as family offenses, identity theft in the firs:, second and third degree, grand larceny in :he third and forth degree, and coercion in the second degree as set forth in subdivisions one, two and three of § 135.60 of the penal law.

Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 amend 9 446 of the Family Court Act, 6 551 of the Family Court Act, 6 656 of the Family Court Act, 842 of the Family Court Act, § 1055 of the Family Court Act, § 240 of the Domestic Relations Law, § 252 of the Domestic Relations Law, S 530.11 of the Criminal Procedure Law,530.12 of the Criminal Procedure Law respectively, to specifically provide for the return of certain identification and financial documents to the protected party as a form of relief when issuing an order of protection or temporary order of protection.

Justification

We know that in addition to physical and psychological tactics, abusers employ economic means to control and otherwise abuse their victim making it harder for victims to secure their safety.

There is broad recognition among mental health service providers, domestic violence prevention advocates and legal practitioners that in fact, economic abuse is a form of domestic abuse. Economic abuse is a tactic commonly used by abusers to control their victim's finances and prevent them from leaving an abusive relationship. The types of conduct encompassing economic abuse range from identity theft and stealing money and documents, to engaging in other conduct that prevents a victim from being self-sufficient, including hampering a victim's ability to secure or retain a job. Such conduct has severe and long lasting consequences on the safety of a domestic abuse survivor.

This proposal incorporates, in statute, this understanding of economic abuse as a foam of domestic abuse. It aims to provide relief and protection to victims from some forms of economically abusive conduct perpetrated by their family or household members that, comprise criminal conduct.

At a hearing on economic abuse as a form of domestic abuse, held on December 5, 2012, by the New York State Assembly Committees on Judiciary and Codes, civil legal service providers, domestic violence prevention advocates and the Office of Court Administration testified how economic abuse frequently accompanies other forms of domestic abuse perpetrated by abusers, in the family violence context, to exercise power and control over their victims and their finances. Among the long list of types of abuse cited included taking the victim's credit card and other documents; incurring debt in the survivor's name through false statements or coercion; perpetrating identity theft or otherwise incurring debt without the survivor's knowledge; preventing the victim from working; stealing the victim's paychecks or forcing the victim to turn them over to the abuser; forging the victim's signature; withholding household finances from the victim; controlling the victim's access to health insurance; exercising control over the victim's immigration status and documents; monitoring the victim's computer access and harassing the victim at work. We heard that these and other forms of economic abuse in the family violence context are common, and the abusers are uniquely positioned with access to their victim's private/personal information to perpetrate economic abuse related crimes. We also learned that seniors are particularly susceptible to economic abuse by family or household members because of their vulnerable status.

Domestic economic abuse perpetrated by family or household members has a long lasting impact. It can take years to recover from the economic harm such as ruined credit that can haunt families by impacting the victim's ability to get credit, secure employment or an apartment, finance a vehicle or obtain a mortgage.

By defining some of the forms of economic abuse that comprise criminal conduct as family offenses, and by granting family court concurrent jurisdiction with criminal court over these crimes, this proposal will enable victims to better address these types of offenses as family offenses. It will allow relief in the form of orders of protection for domestic abuse victims that may also be secured in family court. The legislature has always recognized that the purpose of these civil proceedings is Primarily to protect the physical and emotional safety or the victim, as well as to end the family disruption.

In addition, although the courts are presently authorized to direct the return of items and documents when issuing an order of protection to further the purposes of protection, by specifically permitting the return of documents to victims of abuse this proposal will help provide meaningful relief to overcome some of the barriers to economic self-sufficiency imposed by the abuser.

Legislative history

New bill, 2013.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

Immediately.