Unfortunately, it is not yet accepted as self-evident that domestic violence is criminal behavior, and batterers are violent criminals who should be punished. Yes, counseling may be the right sentence for some offenders who have not been arrested before, and who have caused very minor injuries. Batterers who cause injuries like these belong in jail, and batterers who commit repeat offenses belong in jail. For prosecutors and police, a crucial improvement would be a commitment to prosecuting domestic violence without relying on the testimony of the victim. Policies of victimless prosecution have been established in other cities, such as San Diego and Nashville, with extremely successful results, because police and prosecutors cooperate to build strong cases against batterers.
Police use instant cameras to photograph victims' injuries.
Police officers are trained to record the victim's excited utterances and to interview other witnesses. If a victim is then afraid or unwilling to testify in the prosecution of a batterer, the state can and will prosecute the case on its own, using the evidence gathered by police. The conviction rates for jurisdictions using these techniques show that juries are as willing to convict batterers based on independent evidence as they are to convict based on victim's testimony. Victimless prosecution should be New York's policy as well. Every police car should be equipped with a camera, and the Police Department's crime reports should have spaces for officers to record the victim's statements, the defendant's statements, and relevant observations made by police officers at the crime scene.