City launches new NYPD domestic violence unit to better protect survivors
The new unit will include about 450 investigators spread across every precinct in all five boroughs.
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New York City is changing how police handle domestic violence cases.
Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced a new NYPD Domestic Violence Investigative Unit — the largest of its kind in the country — aimed at giving survivors more support and bringing abusers to justice faster.
The new unit will include about 450 investigators spread across every precinct in all five boroughs. Instead of having different officers handle the same case, these investigators will follow each one from start to finish. City leaders say that will mean less confusion, quicker action, and fewer survivors having to repeat painful details.
The officers will work under the NYPD’s Detective Bureau and receive expanded training focused on how to talk to survivors with compassion, recognize early warning signs, and connect families with services that can help. The department will also create teams dedicated to tracking down people wanted in domestic violence cases.
Mayor Adams said the goal is simple — to keep people safe at home.
“This new unit will handle the entire domestic violence process for victims,” he said. “That means more resources to help victims and more cops to bring abusers to justice.”
The announcement comes during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and just weeks after a domestic-related police shooting in East Flatbush — a case News 12 covered that started as a dispute between a man and a woman.
City officials say this new approach is meant to prevent situations like that from turning deadly. The program is set to roll out next week.
If you or someone you know is in danger, call 911 or the city’s 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673).
