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The high volume of cases
involving family violence are a challenge to prosecute.
The Family Violence Unit specializes in handling these
difficult cases with the goal of curbing the number and
severity of future offenses. The Unit is staffed by a
court chief, one felony attorney, three misdemeanor
attorneys, one investigator, and three support staff. |
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Tim Curry's office works
closely with community organizations to fight the rising
problem of family violence. In 1997, we joined members
of the community and the Tarrant County Commissioners’
Court in urging the Texas Legislature to create County
Criminal Court Number 5 in Tarrant County. This
misdemeanor court hears family violence cases on a
full-time basis to ensure that they are handled
effectively and efficiently. |
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Our office has a number of
policies directed at limiting future occurrences of
family violence. Since 1991, our "no drop" policy has
prevented family violence cases from being routinely
dropped, even if the victim requests dismissal. We
initiated this policy because many victims request
dismissal of their abuser’s cases only to become repeat
victims of family violence. |
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Additionally, our office
works closely with Women’s Haven and Women’s Shelter to
refer family violence victims to special counseling
programs to help them understand their rights and their
alternatives to living in abusive relationships. The
Family Violence Unit has a victim coordinator to assist
victims with everything from crime victim compensation
to social service referrals. |
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Our office also uses the
"pretrial diversion program," which is run by the judge
of the family violence court. The program is aimed at
certain first-time offenders who can benefit from
intensive counseling programs. Defendants who are not
suited for the program often are placed on probation
with strict conditions, including the successful
Batterers Invention Program, anger control counseling,
parenting classes, and alcohol and drug treatment, when
appropriate. |
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Finally, by aggressively
prosecuting first-time offenders, we hope to reduce the
number of repeat offenders. When that plan fails, Mr.
Curry's office will prosecute repeat offenders to the
full extent of the law as felons. |
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