Article: More Kids Killed By Domestic Violence In 2010

Domestic violence murders jumped 10% in New York last year - and it's kids who are increasingly getting caught in the crosshairs.

Our Glenn Blain reports:

A new report by the state Criminal Justice Services division determined 37 minors were killed in domestic violence incidents in the Empire State last year, up from 17 in 2009.

And the jump appears to be largely city-centric, with 25 kids killed last year, compared with seven in 2009.

"All of those trends are alarming," said Michele McKeon, chief executive officer of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The surge in children's deaths drove the overall number of domestic violence deaths in the state to 144, including 77 that took place in the five boroughs, the report found.

In 2009, domestic violence resulted in 131 deaths, down from 147 in 2008.

The Daily News reported earlier this month that the total reported domestic violence cases in the city rose more than 12% last year. Attacks on women by "intimate partners" went up even more - 17.3%.

Advocates blamed a combination of factors for the increases but pointed to a tough economy and funding cutbacks for prevention and awareness programs as key reasons.

"The sense is that there are more and more requests for service, and certainly less services are available," McKeon said.

McKeon said state funding for domestic violence programs has dropped from just over $3 million three years ago to $510,000 now.

"Unless we are talking about prevention, we are just putting Band-Aids on bullet holes," McKeon said.

Officials told reporters yesterday that the state is undertaking a number of steps to stem domestic violence, including new training programs for police officers.

NYPD chief spokesman Paul Browne argued that last year's figures were an anomaly, noting that so far this year homicides for children ages 9 through 17 are down 27% and that slayings of kids even younger are down 45%.

One bright spot in the state report was a 19% drop last year in homicides committed by the victim's "intimate partner" - 73, down from 90.

The report also showed that 44% of adult female homicide victims in the state were killed by their husband, boyfriend or girlfriend.

"That means the least safe place for a woman in New York State is her own home and that the person that's most likely to kill that woman is a loved one," said acting Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Sean Byrne.