Res. No. 1321 Title A resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the New York City Council to hold a hearing on the policy of each of the City's District Attorneys regarding domestic violence complaints. Body By Council Members Lopez, Freed, Linares, Quinn and White; also Council Members Clarke, Cruz, Eisland and Michels Whereas, Domestic violence remains a serious issue, as indicated by the 266,890 domestic incident reports prepared by the Police Department in Fiscal 1999 and the 3, 734 arrests for violating orders of protection in Fiscal 1999; and Whereas, At an October 1999 joint hearing of the Public Safety, Welfare and Women's Committees, many advocates testified regarding the difficulties encountered by victims of domestic violence; and Whereas, Victims of domestic violence often feel intimidated not only by their batterers but by the criminal justice system; and Whereas, According to Anne Connors, Executive Director of the Coalition of Battered Women's Advocates, police are arresting domestic violence victims a day or two after a batterer files a cross-complaint, without applying the "primary aggressor" factors of Criminal Procedure Law § 140.10 or investigating whether the complaint is retaliatory; and Whereas, These dual arrests are sent to the offices of the five District Attorneys as cross complaints, which by their nature are difficult to prosecute; and Whereas, Although the issues surrounding police response to domestic violence articulated at the October 1999 hearing are important, it is also imperative to understand how the Police Department and District Attorneys coordinate domestic violence cases, and how the District Attorneys respond to domestic violence complaints and cross complaints; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the appropriate committee of the New York City Council hold a hearing on the policy of each of the City's District Attorneys regarding domestic violence complaints. LS#2653