Domestic Violence in New Mexico

 

Too Many New Mexicans Experience Domestic Violence

Let's start with an activity. Take a moment to think about the most important people in your life. Now, have any of them experienced any form of domestic violence? Within 30 secs, many of us can think of at least one person who has. In the United States, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime[i].

In 2020, 20,144 domestic violence cases were reported to New Mexico’s law enforcement[ii]. If there are no changes to address the root cause of the issue or increase funding, domestic violence could stay the same or get worse. Based on what the USA pays for domestic violence, it costs New Mexico 26.9 million dollars to deal with the 20,144 cases annually. Numerous efforts are made yearly to address domestic violence.

A barrier when addressing this issue is New Mexico's low prosecution and high dismissal rates of domestic violence cases. To combat domestic violence, New Mexico should adopt a no-drop policy that will require the state to prosecute abusers without the involvement of the victims. The No-Drop Policy takes away the responsibility and option from a survivor of domestic violence to proceed with a prosecution. Prosecutors have the ability to move forward with the evidence obtained by law enforcement when filing a case against the offender without victim involvement. Implementing this policy will result in a decrease in domestic violence[iii].

So why hasn't New Mexico increased its prosecution rates? There are two main components. The first is the current requirement for victims to press charges against their abusers. There are many reasons why survivors do not choose to proceed with pressing charges, this is especially true for those who have children or are related to their perpetrator. For example an mother may be hesitant to report the father of her children in fear that their kids will lose a parent. Removing this responsibility from the victims will ensure that anyone who is arrested or reported for domestic violence will be prosecuted. The second component is the scarcity of prosecutors in New Mexico[iv]. To properly address this issue, New Mexico needs to hire 127 additional attorneys who will be dedicated to prosecuting domestic violence offenders. The cost to hire these professionals is $12 million annually.

There are multiple drawbacks to implementing this no-drop policy at its full extent. It is expensive to hire 127 attorneys. A No-Drop Policy may not be politically supported without concrete evidence that it would lower domestic violence cases in New Mexico. There is also potential harm that may affect men of color who may experience higher rates of convictions. This is problematic specially for New Mexico whose population has many Hispanic and Native American men.
 
New Mexico should pilot a program that hires 6 new attorneys to implement a no-drop policy in Luna County. This would cost the state $570,000 to hire these new prosecutors[v]. Luna county is the #1 county in New Mexico with the highest rate (16.3 incidents per 1000) of domestic violence[ii]. Piloting this program would allow the state to investigate whether a no-drop policy has the impact that is expected.

This initiative would also involve an independent evaluation to investigate the outcomes of this program costing $57,000 per year. Along with investigating if domestic violence decreased, the evaluation would also look at the impact on recidivism and the demographics of those convicted to determine if racial disparities occurred. Evaluations provide an opportunity to learn how expected and actual outcomes can help program implementation.

If domestic violence rates decrease after a year then the state may choose to increase the funding to hire more attorneys and expand its impact. After a five year trial the state could decide to implement this across the state and hire the 127 attorneys to combat domestic violence.

Adopting a no-drop policy would also have a long term impact by sending a message that New Mexico DOES NOT tolerate domestic violence. This would also empower victims' family and friends to report perpetrators since some may choose not to get involved knowing a victim is not willing to press charges.
 

Without higher prosecution rates, too many New Mexican families will continue to experience domestic violence. Saying that New Mexicans do not condone this type of abuse is NOT ENOUGH. New Mexico MUST take ACTION to combat domestic violence. A no-drop policy is a step toward the right direction. New Mexican families deserve to live in a state that will have their back.

 

References:

[i] Smith, S.G., Chen, J., Basile, K.C., Gilbert, L.K., Merrick, M.T., Patel, N., Walling, M., & Jain, A. (2017). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010-2012 State Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-StateReportBook.pdf

[ii] The New Mexico Interpersonal Violence Data Central Repository 2021. “Incidence and Nature of Domestic Violence In New Mexico XIX.” nmcsap.org. DV_Report_2020_Betty_Caponera_122021web.pdf (nmcsap.org) (accessed October 19, 2022) 28-58

[iii] Aizer A. Poverty, Violence and Health: The Impact of Domestic Violence During Pregnancy on Newborn Health. J Hum Resour. 2011 Summer;46(3):518-538. doi: 10.1353/jhr.2011.0024. PMID: 24839303; PMCID: PMC4019993.

[iv] Moss Adams and American Bar Association 2022. “The New Mexico Project: An Analysis of the New Mexico Public Defense System and Attorney Workload Standards.” https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_aid_indigent_defendants/ls-sclaid-moss-adams-nm-proj.pdf (accessed November 15, 2022).   

[v] Using New Mexico’s Sunshine portal the annual income for an attorney in the Child Youth and Families Department is between $75,352 and $114,649. The average between the two incomes, $95,000 is proposed as the hiring pay for newly hired prosecutors to support this policy. Thus, $95,000 x 6 new attorneys is $570,000. Fringe benefits may include more flexibility, office space, and equipment.