A1769

An Act concerning the training and oversight of domestic crisis teams established or participated in by law enforcement agencies, and amending P.L.1991, c.261.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 4 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-20) is amended to read as follows:

4. a. (1) The Division of Criminal Justice shall develop and approve a training course and curriculum on the handling, investigation and response procedures concerning reports of domestic violence and abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled. This training course and curriculum shall include procedures to be followed in activating the services of domestic violence crisis teams established or participated in by law enforcement agencies pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection b. of this section.

(2) The domestic violence crisis team shall be activated in response to any incident related to domestic violence unless any of the following circumstances apply, in which case activation of the domestic violence crisis team is in the discretion of the law enforcement agency:

(a) any dispute concerning child custody or parenting time that does not result in an act of domestic violence;

(b) if the victim is intoxicated, under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance, or otherwise incoherent;

(d) if the victim exhibits behavior that is violent, combative, or abusive and may put the responder at risk;

(e) if a party is a victim of sexual assault that requires the activation of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program (SANE) or Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) at an approved SANE or SART location; or

(f) if the victim will not be returning to law enforcement headquarters or another designated area.

The training course and curriculum shall be reviewed at least every two years and modified by the Division of Criminal Justice from time to time as need may require. The Division of Criminal Justice shall distribute the curriculum to all local police agencies.

[(2)] (3) The Attorney General shall be responsible for ensuring that all law enforcement officers attend initial training within 90 days of appointment or transfer and annual in-service training of at least four hours as described in this section.

b. (1) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall develop and approve a training course and a curriculum on the handling, investigation and response procedures concerning allegations of domestic violence. This training course shall be reviewed at least every two years and modified by the Administrative Office of the Courts from time to time as need may require.

(2) The Administrative Director of the Courts shall be responsible for ensuring that all judges and judicial personnel attend initial training within 90 days of appointment or transfer and annual in-service training as described in this section.

(3) The Division of Criminal Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide that all training on the handling of domestic violence matters shall include information concerning the impact of domestic violence on society, the dynamics of domestic violence, the statutory and case law concerning domestic violence, the necessary elements of a protection order, policies and procedures as promulgated or ordered by the Attorney General or the Supreme Court, and the use of available community resources, support services, available sanctions and treatment options. Law enforcement agencies, under the supervision of the Division of Criminal Justice, shall: [(1)] (a) establish domestic violence crisis teams or participate in established domestic violence crisis teams, which, in the discretion of the law enforcement agency, may be made available to victims whenever law enforcement responds to reports of domestic violence and to reports of abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled related to domestic violence; and [(2) shall] (b) train, in accordance with the training course and curriculum developed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section, all individual officers participating in domestic violence crisis teams in methods of dealing with domestic violence and neglect and abuse of the elderly and disabled. The teams may include social workers, clergy or other persons trained in counseling, crisis intervention or in the treatment of domestic violence and neglect and abuse of the elderly and disabled victims.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.433, s.1)

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill concerns the training and oversight of domestic crisis teams established or participated in by law enforcement agencies. Domestic crisis teams may include social workers, clergy, or other persons trained in counseling, crisis intervention, or treating domestic violence victims, or elderly or disabled victims of neglect or abuse.

The bill would require that procedures for activating domestic violence crisis teams would be included in the training course and curriculum on handling, investigating, and responding to reports of domestic violence and abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled, that was previously prepared, and is revised from time to time as needed, by the State’s Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety. With respect to the new response procedures to be developed, the bill as amended would establish greater uniformity for future domestic crisis team responses. Currently, there are inconsistencies in how and when the services of domestic crisis teams are made available to victims.

The bill provides that the training course and curriculum would include procedures to be followed in activating the services of domestic violence crisis teams.

Under the bill, the domestic violence crisis team would be activated in response to any incident related to domestic violence unless any of the following circumstances apply, in which case activation of the domestic violence crisis team would be in the discretion of the law enforcement agency:

(a) any dispute concerning child custody or parenting time that does not result in an act of domestic violence;

(b) if the victim is intoxicated, under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance, or otherwise incoherent;

(d) if the victim exhibits behavior that is violent, combative, or abusive and may put the responder at risk;

(f) if the victim will not be returning to law enforcement headquarters or another designated area.

The bill would also strengthen oversight over domestic violence crisis teams by providing that law enforcement agency actions to (1) establish or participate in a domestic violence crisis team, and (2) train all individual officers participating in a team, would be done under the supervision of the State’s Division of Criminal Justice.

The bill provides that, in the discretion of the law enforcement agency, domestic violence crisis teams may be made available to victims whenever law enforcement responds to reports of domestic violence and to reports of abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled related to domestic violence.

The bill also correct several technical references to the teams, changing the term “domestic crisis team” to the more precise “domestic violence crisis team.”

This bill embodies recommendation 9 of the Report of the Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on Domestic Violence issued June 2016.