Originally posted by 7

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I guess I completely heard the opposite. What a joke. Not to mention we're one of the most conservative states in the US, damn this place is annoying politically.

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Originally posted by The Kansas City Star

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To save money, Topeka repeals law against misdemeanor domestic battery

TOPEKA | The Topeka City Council on Tuesday voted to repeal the city’s law against misdemeanor domestic battery, the latest in a budget battle that has freed about 30 abuse suspects from charges.

One of the offenders was even arrested and released twice since the brouhaha broke out Sept. 8.

It started when Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor announced that a 10 percent budget cut would force him to end his office’s prosecution of misdemeanor cases, almost half of which last year were domestic battery cases.

With that, Taylor stopped prosecuting the cases and left them to the city. But city officials balked at the cost.

Tuesday’s 7-3 vote to eliminate the local domestic violence law was designed to force Taylor to prosecute the cases because they would remain a crime under state law.

The matter has gotten Topeka national attention — and scorn.

“I absolutely do not understand it,” Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said after the vote. “It’s really outrageous that they’re playing with family safety to see who blinks first. People could die while they’re waiting to straighten this out.”

Victim advocates fear more such drastic moves as cities and counties face tight budgets at a time when advocates say domestic violence is increasing with the stress of economic hard times.

“I just hope it doesn’t spread,” said Sharon Katz, executive director of Safehome in Johnson County. “There needs to be a higher priority for people who are going to start getting killed.”

At the council meeting, several speakers, including some council members, attacked repealing the city law if only for the message that sends.

Claudine Dombrowski of Topeka threw dice at the podium. That’s what the council is doing with people’s lives, she told them.

She asked: What if the city repealed their law and Taylor still does not prosecute the crime?

“What a way to honor victims and survivors on the 24th anniversary of domestic violence survivors month,” she said.

Taylor could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

“What this tells me … is domestic violence must not be a priority for anyone” in Topeka, Kathryn Wood said.

Council member Denise Everhart argued that repealing the city ordinance was the wrong message to send.

But the majority supported the position of City Manager Dan Stanley, who said the repeal strengthens the city’s position in negotiations with county commissioners, which he will start immediately.

“I’d like to focus the mind over at the county as to where the responsibility lies,” he said.

He hopes the matter can be settled soon and will probably involve the city paying the county some of more than $200,000 it would need to resume the prosecutions.

Shawnee County prosecutors have handled both misdemeanor and felony domestic violence cases since 2000. City officials say they don’t have the prosecutors, courts, staff, programs or even a jail to suddenly take on the work.

Councilwoman Karen Hiller said earlier Tuesday that it would cost the city $800,000 a year to hire the staff and rent jail space for the new caseload, but only about $200,000 for the county to increase Taylor’s budget enough to resume prosecutions, Hiller said.

Years ago, Shawnee County’s domestic violence program was known to be so excellent that Johnson County copied it for aspects of its program.

In Johnson County, every domestic violence case goes to county court, and the county is joining others in dealing more aggressively with domestic violence even in times of tight budgets, Katz said.

In July, police in Johnson County started questioning every domestic violence victim to see whether she is at high risk for injury or death. If she is, an officer will call a shelter and put the phone right in her hand.

Sarah North, a spokeswoman for the Rose Brooks shelter in Jackson County, said domestic violence is a community problem with long-term costs in damage to the mental and physical health of victims and their children.

“There is a cost … that I don’t think the public realizes,” she said. “We need to go up on the list of priorities.”

Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association, said that around the country, prosecutors are being forced to prioritize certain types of cases, but these decisions are rarely discussed in public.

“Usually no one comes out and says that starting today I’m not going to prosecute that crime, which sends a message of failure and tells the community you’re free to commit that crime,” he said.

Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence, said the situation in Topeka demonstrates that its politicians need to give domestic violence a higher priority.

“For the city and county to say this is about economics seems disingenuous to me,” she said.

And what if the Shawnee county prosecutor continues his stance now that the city has repealed its law?

“I can’t really imagine that anyone would say that is OK,” Grover said, “including the voters.”

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Originally posted by 7

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Topeka/KC sucks.

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Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money

Faced with their worst budget crises since the Great Depression, states, and cities have resorted to increasingly desperate measures to cut costs. State and local governments have laid off teachers, slashed Medicaid funding, and even started unpaving roads and turning off streetlights.

But perhaps the most shocking idea to save money is being debated right now by the City Council of Topeka, Kansas. The city could repeal an ordinance banning domestic violence because some say the cost of prosecuting those cases is just too high:

Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.

Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, facing a 10% budget cut, announced that the county would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors, including domestic violence cases, at the county level. Finding those cases suddenly dumped on the city and lacking resources of their own, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing the part of the city code that bans domestic battery. [...]

Since the county stopped prosecuting the crimes on September 8th, it has turned back 30 domestic violence cases. Sixteen people have been arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery and then released from the county jail after charges weren’t filed. “Letting abusive partners out of jail with no consequences puts victims in incredibly dangerous positions,” said Becky Dickinson of the YWCA. “The abuser will often become more violent in an attempt to regain control.”

The YMCA also said that some survivors were afraid for their safety if the dispute wasn’t resolved soon. Town leaders and the district attorney all agree that domestic abuse cases should be prosecuted — but no one would step up to foot the bill. The city council is expected to make its decision on decriminalizing domestic violence next week, but the back-and-forth over funding has already put battered women and their families at increased risk of harm.

Domestic violence is still at epidemic levels in the United States, and too few cases are prosecuted as it is. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence. And domestic abuse is a crime that damages entire communities, not just women. Witnessing violence between one’s parents is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next: boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partner when they grow up.

And while not prosecuting domestic violence cases may seem to save money in the short term, it actually has staggering financial consequences. The health-related costs of domestic violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year. Nearly $4.1 billion of that is for direct medical and mental health care services, and nearly $1.8 billion are for the indirect costs of lost productivity or wages. Victims lost almost 8 million days of paid work because of the violence.

It should go without saying, but apparently doesn’t, that preventing domestic abuse is essential to promoting communities’ economic and social well-being. That the Topeka City Council would even consider such action is a heartbreaking illustration of the consequences of austerity.

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