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Amid Budget Concerns, Topeka Decriminalizes Misdemeanor Domestic Violence
On Tuesday, the Topeka City Council voted 7 to 3 to repeal the local law against domestic violence.
Different arms of government representing the same people are in disagreement over who should pay for prosecuting people accused of misdemeanor domestic violence. Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor has handed off many cases to the city, claiming that due to budget cuts, he needed to focus his resources on felonies. County leaders are accusing Taylor of using abused women as pawns to negotiate funds for his office.
The move by the City Council Tuesday night was intended to force Taylor to prosecute the cases because they would remain a crime under state law.
Eighteen people have been arrested on domestic violence charges and released without charges since September, because no agency is accepting new cases. Advocates for victims of domestic violence have expressed concern and alarm over the releases. Becky Dickinson, a program director with the Y.W.C.A., which is the primary provider of services for victims of domestic violence in the county, said that the lack of charges for those arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence would encourage retaliation. "Our biggest concern is the safety of the victims," she said. "We need to get this resolved as soon as possible."
Kansas has fared much better than much of the country in the economic crisis, but there are still fiscal strains. Shelly Buhler, chairwoman of the Shawnee County Commission, asked all departments to propose 10 percent cuts, and Taylor asked for an increase. "We had hoped that he would not put that group of victims at risk, that he would find some other way to absorb the cuts," she said.
Taylor's announcement that he would immediately stop prosecuting misdemeanors in Topeka (though the budget cuts do not go into effect until next year) came as a surprise, though Buhler has said that she does not expect him to follow through with his threat.
Critics have pointed out that even as local governments are cutting deeper into crucial services, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing a sweeping tax cut plan.
