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Attorney
General Lockyer's Task Force on
Domestic Violence holds Hearing in Los Angeles
June 2004
(LOS ANGELES) - Attorney General Bill Lockyer's Task Force on Local
Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence in Los Angeles held
its third regional hearing on local policies and programs related
to domestic violence.
"California leads the nation in its efforts to stop the cycle of
domestic violence, yet we still have too many cases of abuse in
the home," Lockyer said. "These regional hearings are providing
valuable information on what is happening at the local level. The
task force will work to standardize and strengthen local practices
so we can stop the violence in our homes."
During the hearing, testimony and public comments were taken on
four issues: How domestic violence restraining orders are obtained
and enforced; how law enforcement agencies respond to mandated reports
of domestic violence by health care practitioners; how courts, probation
and batterer intervention programs hold batterers accountable; and
how prosecutors' offices handle misdemeanor domestic violence cases.
The task force has been meeting throughout the state since December
2003 to examine how well local criminal justice agencies respond
to and deal with domestic violence issues, identify programs that
work well and determine how to improve efforts to protect and prevent
family violence. Among those scheduled to testify today were experts
from criminal justice agencies, the medical field and victim-advocacy
groups in the Los Angeles region.
Lockyer's decision to appoint the task force was prompted in part
by the findings of a recent study he and Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa
Monica, commissioned to determine the effectiveness of laws and
practices aimed at reducing domestic violence. Published in June
2003, the 51-page Senate Office of Research report showed that while
California has taken critical steps to protect domestic violence
victims, a comprehensive assessment of those efforts is still needed.
The 25-member task force is composed of representatives of local
and state law enforcement agencies, probation officers, prosecutors,
public defenders, judges, domestic violence victims' advocates and
public health officials. The task force will submit a report to
the Attorney General describing current practices, identifying critical
needs, highlighting successful approaches and proposing possible
legislative changes.
Domestic violence statistics collected by Lockyer's Department of
Justice show California local law enforcement agencies received
196,569 domestic violence-related calls for assistance in 2002.
During that same year, there were 153 murders committed as a result
of intimate partner violence and 50,479 juveniles and adults were
arrested for spousal abuse under Penal Code section 273.5.
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Additional information about the Attorney General's
efforts to combat domestic violence is available at the
Crime and Violence Prevention Center web site at:
www.safestate.org
A list of the task force members may be viewed at
http://www.safestate.org/index.cfm?navid=386
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