SAN ANTONIO — County Commissioners could approve domestic violence prevention plan next week. The multi-million dollar proposal would pay for more prosecutors, victims’ advocates, and investigators.
Bexar County Commissioners could adopt a comprehensive plan to address San Antonio’s exploding domestic violence problem on Tuesday.
County leaders say too many domestic violence cases are stuck in the legal process. An Express-News investigation found that San Antonio courts dismiss more family violence cases than any other urban community in Texas.
Just 21 percent of cases end in a conviction, the paper found.
As of Oct. 1, 2021 there are 13,192 misdemeanor family violence assault cases that have yet to be resolved.
“We owe it to the victims, to the survivors, and to the next generation to have our systems in place,” said Marta Prada Pelaez, CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services.
Prada Pelaez works with victims she says can become jaded when the system doesn’t work as intended.
It’s one reason, she says, victims may not come forward.
“Whatever the law can help them with, that is their best hope,” she said. “When that hope is not realized or met by action… there is a dissolution.”
To help correct course, County Commissioners could spend as much as $6 million to add staff to the district attorney’s office and a civil court.
District Attorney Joe Gonzales requested 41 extra staffers, including 11 prosecutors, 8 victims’ advocates, 11 investigators, and two workers to help high-risk victims navigate legal and societal safety net programs.
In addition to extra staff, the county budget department recommended opening two temporary courts, staffed with traveling judges. These courts would exclusively handle misdemeanor domestic violence cases.
“It has to be comprehensive,” Prada Pelaez said. “No band-aid approach is effective when you are dealing with something so insidious”.
Commissioners meet at 9:30 Tuesday to consider which elements to fund. Money from the latest federal Coronavirus relief package would cover the costs.