The NYPD is launching a new unit dedicated to investigating domestic violence incidents in the city.
The Domestic Violence Unit, set to be the largest of its kind in the nation, will change how the department handles cases and supports survivors, Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
The unit will include about 450 investigators “spread out in every patrol precinct in New York City, solely dedicated to addressing domestic violence,” Adams said.
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The NYPD is launching a new Domestic Violence Unit that will include about 450 investigators dedicated to investigating domestic violence incidents in the city
Previously, precinct and housing officers, along with local detectives, were assigned to handle cases, often duplicating work and requiring survivors to recount their experiences multiple times, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said
Tisch said the shift will ensure domestic violence incidents get “the same focused attention as gun violence or hate crimes”
“That means more resources for victims and more cops bringing abusers to justice,” he said. “Since day one, we have focused on any issue that impacts the safety of New Yorkers.”
The rollout will start next week, according to the mayor’s office. Tisch said the restructuring represents a “long overdue” change in how the NYPD handles domestic violence cases.
Previously, precinct and housing officers, along with local detectives, were assigned to handle cases, often duplicating work and requiring survivors to recount their experiences multiple times.
“This was clearly inefficient, but it was more than that,” Tisch said. “It was retraumatizing survivors by subjecting them to repeated interviews with officers who were working on the same case, but not necessarily in the same ways, and it was eroding the survivors’ confidence in the process.”
“Now, from complaint through prosecution, one team of investigators will handle these cases, and every step will be coordinated,” she added. “This is a survivor-centric, trauma-informed approach with one goal: survivor safety.”
The domestic violence officers and detectives will move from the Patrol Services and Housing bureaus into the Detective Bureau, where they will manage the cases from start to finish, Tisch said.
She added that the shift will ensure domestic violence incidents get “the same focused attention as gun violence or hate crimes.”
“Since 2020, domestic violence incidents in New York City have increased by 41%, and that is based only on the survivors who came forward,” she said. “Domestic violence has remained a consistent driver of overall felony assaults, accounting for nearly 40% of these crimes citywide. This issue is pervasive, and it harms people in every community across our nation.”
In addition to the new unit, the NYPD is creating two new civilian roles: a domestic violence counsel, who will work with the city’s district attorneys, and a domestic violence director of prevention and intervention, who will oversee officer training, according to Tisch.
That training will now include a mandatory two-day, in-person program and virtual follow-ups, so officers “can formally learn to advance investigative skills, peer support, and interrogation techniques,” the mayor’s office said.
The NYPD is also forming specialized “Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Investigation Card,” or “I-Card,” teams — consisting of eight sergeants and 40 detectives and officers — to locate and arrest suspects wanted in domestic violence cases.
Deputy Chief John Corbisiero, a 40-year NYPD veteran, will lead the new unit, reporting directly to the Chief of Detectives.