Domestic Violence: Albuquerque

 Isaiah Torres 

11/26/22 

Public Policy Seminar 

Policy Blog 

Introduction 

When I was an undergraduate at New Mexico State University, my communications professor assigned my group to help create an advertising campaign for La Casa Inc. , a nonprofit organization that focuses on domestic violence prevention and support. Having the experience of working with an organization serving domestic violence victims made me understand the severity of domestic violence in New Mexico.  

Many laws and organizations respond to domestic violence after the fact. Although this is beneficial, this certainly still presents its own set of challenges. The challenge for policy initiatives tailored around domestic violence is figuring out how to prevent DV incidents from happening in the first place.   

 

Status of domestic violence in Albuquerque  

In 2020, Albuquerque had 8,532 domestic violence incidents, which is equivalent to almost 14 incidents per 1000 people. This graph presents how Albuquerque is above the statewide average of 10 per 1000 individuals.  

 

 

In the same year, however, only 2,817 adult victims sought services. What is alarming is not only the sparse number of adults and children served by service providers, but the egregiously small number of offenders being served by domestic violence services as well. New Mexico must prioritize providing instant support for victims and expanding rehabilitation initiatives for offenders. 

 

 

According to the most recent data available, there is an egregious low percentage of survivors enrolled in transitional housing and an excessively high number of survivors in shelters or living with a friend/relative. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, between 22 and 57 percent of women and children who are homeless is because of domestic violence. 38 percent of all victims experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives are due to domestic violence (NNEDV, 2022). When a victim or a survivor wants to leave their abusive partner, safe and affordable housing is one of the barriers. When a victim has a child or children, this adds upon the existing barrier. Therefore, having housing tailored to financial independence is crucial. 

 

Short-term & Long-term policy options  

The short-term option would be to increase criminal penalties for abusers. NM Statute 30-3-15 & 16, address battery and aggravated battery against a household member.   

 

According to the statue, a person who commits the act of battery is guilty of a misdemeanor. What constitutes battery, under the NM Statue 30-3-15, is if a person intentionally touches or applies force to a household member. Under this statue, an offender is required to participate in a Children Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) approved DV treatment or intervention program. Offenders charged with a misdemeanor must serve more than six months but less than a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. The probation period can extend to 364 days but cannot extend to two years. If the offender violates the conditions of parole, the court can impose an additional sentence and will not receive credit for time served. 

 

According to the statue, a person who commits the act of aggravated battery is guilty of a misdemeanor or a third-degree felony. What constitutes aggravated battery, under NM Statute 30-3-16, is the unlawful touching or application of force to the person of a household member with intent to injure that person or another. Offenders are guilty of a misdemeanor if harm causes temporary disfigurement or temporary loss or impairment of the functions of any member or organ of the body. Aggravated battery could be upgraded to a third-degree felony if the act committed (1) inflicts great bodily harm, (2) involves a deadly weapon, (3) involves strangulation or suffocation, (4) and great bodily harm or death could be inflicted. Offenders charged with a third-degree felony must serve up to three years in prison and a possible fine of $5,000. The condition for probation for aggravated battery is like battery. 

 

These penalties need to be strengthened as follows:  

 

First, all aggravated battery charges should be considered third degree felonies. Instead of offenders serving up to three years, this charge would require offenders to serve a minimum of one year in jail for the act of aggravated battery.  

 

Second, for the acts of battery and aggravated battery, offenders are required to participate in domestic violence intervention/program while incarcerated. The current statute only requires offenders to participate in domestic violence intervention/program during probation and not while incarcerated.  

 

Third, current under New Mexico Statue 30-3-17 , if an offender commits four or more offenses of battery or aggravated battery against a household member, they would be guilty of a third-degree felony. This proposed change would change would implement a minimum of three offenses that would constitute a third-degree felony charge instead of four.  

 

Increasing criminal penalties would serve as a signal to offenders that domestic violence is not tolerated. Increasing criminal penalties would be used as a deterrence and for potential offenders to understand the consequences associated with domestic violence. The major concern with increasing criminal penalties is the potential for increasing the incarceration rates, in which New Mexico’s incarceration rate is above the national average. Increasing criminal penalties increases the number of people in jail. The increasing the incarceration rate for domestic violence offenders has two potential consequences: (1) convicting more DV offenders can lead to not having enough domestic violence providers to effectively run their intervention programs and (2) DV offenders reoffending and causing more harm to the victim based on their criminal sentence. Domestic violence tends to be the precursor to escalating the abuser to inflict more harm to a victim. For example, according to last year’s report from the Albuquerque Police Department, 20% of homicides were associated with domestic violence.  

 

The long-term option would be to create domestic violence housing focused on building financial independence. The focus is to (1) provide free housing for up to a year, (2) provide meals, toiletries, and clothes, and (3) being enrolled in financial dependency training. This approach would foster a community of people who have shared experiences and guarantee safety for victims and their families. This would not be emergency housing; this would be an approach for victims to be in a safe environment for a prolonged period to become financially independent from the offender. This program would cost a total amount of $11.5 million dollars: $10.5 million dollars for the facility and $1 million for staffing. 

 

The consequences associated with this policy option are having victims commit to this program for an extended period and the hiring of highly qualified individuals for the program. Although many survivors may understand the benefits of this initiative, each person will consider if this life-altering decision is best for themselves and their family. Also, not having enough caseworkers in the facility can present challenges of running a functional and effective program. 

 

Why this needs to be addressed 

It is important to note that domestic violence does affect everyone. There is a preconceived notion, which has merit, that women are more disproportionately affected than anyone else. According to the City of Albuquerque, 1 in 3 women are victims of domestic violence in their lifetime and domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to a woman. But the fact of the matter is that men and children are also prone to being affected by domestic violence. 1 in 7 men, in their lifetime, are also victims of domestic violence (CABQ, 2022). But what is more alarming is the effect domestic violence has on children. According to the Bernalillo County Domestic Violence trends and the second graph presented earlier, there is a high volume of children enrolled in domestic violence services. Child who experiences domestic violence may still feel unsafe even when the abuser is not present. Even worse, children who witness domestic violence can replicate these abusive behaviors and create the next generation of offenders.  

However, there is a great deal of optimism for the future of DV policy initiatives. During the duration of this project, my group and I were able to meet with New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NMCADV) and the APD Criminal Investigation Unit. During these interviews, the one theme that was presented was the importance of educating young people about the issue of DV. Reflecting on my project, the one policy option that should have been included was prioritizing and implementing curriculum in schools that focused on the topic of DV. “Knowledge is power”. Teaching young people about the severity of the issue of DV can foster a new generation of people. This new generation of people can be the ones who can limit the number of DV incidents from occurring, but also become the people who actively advocate for victims and their families.       

 

References 

Caponera, B. (2020) Incidence and nature of domestic violence in New Mexico XIX - NMCSAP, Incidence and Nature of Domestic Violence. The New Mexico Interpersonal Violence Data Central Repository. Available at: https://nmcsap.org/wp-content/uploads/DV_Report_2020_Betty_Caponera_122021web.pdf 

National Network to End Domestic Violence (2017) The impact of safe housing on survivors of domestic violence, NNEDV. United Way. Available at: https://nnedv.org/spotlight_on/impact-safe-housing-survivors/  

New Mexico Statutes (2022). 

Shepard, M. (1999) Evaluating coordinated community responses to Domestic Violence, Evaluating Coordinated Community Responses to Domestic Violence. Applied Research Forum. Available at: https://vawnet.org/sites/default/files/materials/files/2016-09/AR_CCR.pdf  

Tim Keller, M. (2019) DVSA Commission ordinance 2022, City of Albuquerque. Available at: https://www.cabq.gov/help/documents/dvsa-commission-ordinance.pdf/view 

Informant Interviews