The NYPD is assigning hundreds of officers to a brand new unit focused solely on domestic violence cases and helping to protect victims, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Thursday.
The Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) will be the largest of its kind in the nation, Adams and Tisch say, with 450 cops tasked with investigating perpetrators of abuse as well as aiding survivors and ensuring they receive resources while protecting their interests. It is one of the largest organizational changes within the department in the last three decades, as Tisch pointed out.
“For the first time in more than 30 years, the NYPD is making fundamental changes to how we respond to, investigate, and follow-through on domestic violence cases,” Tisch said during an Oct. 16 press conference at City Hall. “Domestic violence is as devastating as it is pervasive, and these complex cases require specialized training, skills, and investigators who will approach them with the care and compassion they demand.”
The top cop said the unit’s approach will be “a survivor-centric [and] trauma-informed,” with a clear focus “on survivor safety, taking violent predators out of our communities, and preventing the next incident before it’s too late.”
The announcement comes during the national observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. Law enforcement sources said that domestic violence cases have increased across America since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020; the NYPD reports that nearly 40% of all felony assaults in the Big Apple stem from domestic violence incidents.
Adams noted that women of color are 2.4 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence, adding that this is not a mere statistic: “They are real people.”
The DVU will be led by Deputy Chief John Corbisiero.
Why the NYPD formed the Domestic Violence Unit now
In response to what police themselves have dubbed a growing crisis, the 450 officers joining the unit will be reassigned from the Patrol Services Bureau and Housing Bureau to the Detective Bureau, where they will lead domestic violence investigations.
Before the DVU was created, police officials said, domestic violence cases were often individually assigned to cops working out of the NYPD housing stations and local police precincts, often resulting in duplicated work — with multiple officers re-interviewing survivors repeatedly, and having them relive the trauma.
The DVU’s creation enables the NYPD to streamline the process, allowing members to focus more on domestic incidents and ensure they have the capacity to work with survivors throughout the challenging investigation and recovery processes.
“Why now? Public safety is a continuous evolution of protection, and the worst thing you could do is remain stagnant when you identify what changes could take place. And hats off to the police commissioner for seeing that and instituting new methodologies to address the issue of violence in our households,” Mayor Adams said. “This new investigative unit will handle the entire domestic violence process for victims, which means more resources to help victims and more cops to bring abusers to justice. New Yorkers can rest assured knowing the full force of the law is coming after those who perpetrate these crimes.”
The NYPD states that officers assigned to the DVU will also undergo a mandatory two-day training supervised by domestic violence organizations. Additionally, law enforcement will be working with all five district attorneys to prosecute perpetrators.
“This is just common sense, and it is long overdue,” Commissioner Tisch added.
“As one of the most common crimes in New York and in the nation, intimate-partner and domestic violence demands innovative, comprehensive solutions,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “Centralizing domestic violence arrests and investigations and supporting the development of expert personnel will help keep survivors’ safe and ensure more offenders are held accountable.”
The NYPD will also establish Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Investigation Card (“I-Card”) Teams — comprised of eight sergeants and 40 detectives and police officers. These teams will be tasked with tracking down and apprehending suspects wanted for domestic violence incidents.
