"Domestic Violence: a City Responds," a special reporting project in the Fall 2012 edition of the San Francisco Public Press, exposes holes in the tracking of criminal cases and the rate of prosecution for abuse within the home. The issue made headlines this year with a contentious criminal case against Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. But we found that the District Attorney's Office prosecutes fewer cases per capita than in any county in the Bay Area, and police say they cannot be sure of the accuracy of at least eight years of investigative records. The project will roll out online through early October.

Domestic Violence

Poor Record Keeping Hinders Analysis of Domestic Violence Policing Practices

Kevin Stark, SF Public Press — Sep 26 2012 - 9:01am

As statistics go from tick marks to laptops, police struggle to make sense of trends

The San Francisco Police Department cannot precisely measure the number of domestic violence cases it handled before 2011, because investigators in the Special Victims Unit hand-tallied monthly records, and used changing and inconsistently understood categories of crimes. This story appeared as part of a special report on domestic violence in the Fall 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.

San Francisco Trails Bay Area in Domestic Violence Prosecutions

Christopher Peak, SF Public Press — Sep 24 2012 - 11:48am

Far fewer charged than across the region, even with strongly worded ‘no-drop’ guidelines

Though San Francisco’s so-called “no-drop” policy requires pressing domestic violence charges when evidence is sufficient to convict, the District Attorney’s Office pursued just 28 percent of cases through to trial or plea bargaining over the last 6 years. This story appeared as part of a special report on domestic violence in the Fall 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.

Domestic Violence Record-Keeping Still Flawed, but Police Say Fix Is Near

Tay Wiles, San Francisco Public Press — Apr 29 2013 - 11:04am

Some cases were not referred immediately to Special Victims Unit

This story appeared in the Spring print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.

Nine months after the San Francisco Police Department fully implemented a new digitized case management system, inspectors were still finding as many as 20 domestic violence cases per month that were not immediately referred to the Special Victims Unit for investigation, said a lieutenant in charge of the domestic violence team.

City makes move to increase awareness of domestic violence

Lissette Alvarez, SF Public Press — Oct 15 2012 - 4:54pm

Supervisor Eric Mar Monday unveiled new efforts to raise awareness about domestic violence. Working with the Department on the Status of Women, Mar focused on working through the city’s workforce to educate the public and to help those city employees who are victims themselves.

Q&A: The Role That Culture Plays in the Response to Domestic Violence

Ruth Tam, Public Press — Oct 8 2012 - 1:03pm

Orchid Pusey, interim director of the Asian Women's Shelter in San Francisco, says cultural differences can have a big influence on the attitudes and responses to domestic violence. She talked with San Francisco Public Press reporter Ruth Tam about the challenges facing service providers in the city. This story appeared as part of a special report on domestic violence in the Fall 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.

Mirkarimi Case Brought Spotlight to Domestic Violence in San Francisco

Christopher Peak, Public Press — Oct 4 2012 - 9:56am

As the city’s Ethics Commission debated whether Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was fit to hold his elected position this past June, the complex game of personality, politics and procedure eclipsed larger policy questions about the city’s approach to handling thousands of cases of domestic violence each year. But advocates for victims said the hearings generated wider awareness of the problem of domestic violence.

District Attorney to Examine Low Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases in San Francisco

Noah Arroyo, SF Public Press — Oct 3 2012 - 2:37pm

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said he is looking into why office’s prosecutions for domestic violence crimes was the lowest per capita in the Bay Area. His remarks came after a special report in the San Francisco Public Press on the handling of such cases by police and prosecutors.

Different Person, Different Life: A Survivor’s Account of Domestic Violence in San Francisco

Dan Archer, Public Press — Sep 20 2012 - 1:35pm

An illustrated account of one domestic violence survivor’s story of abuse and rescue in San Francisco, which appears in the Fall 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press. Dan Archer did the illustration and reporting, with reporting and research help by Ruth Tam.

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