STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1768

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.C.R. No. 65
                                        H.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.C.R.
No. 65, H.D. 1, entitled: 

     "HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
     TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK AT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
     POLICIES AND PROCEDURES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ON
     OAHU AND IDENTIFY GAPS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this Concurrent Resolution is to request the
Attorney General to convene a working group to look at domestic
violence policies and procedures in the criminal justice system.

     Your Committee finds that despite the growing awareness of
domestic violence in our community, this problem continues to
impact the lives, health, and economic viability of women and
their children.  A sobering statistic that dramatically
illustrates the severity of domestic violence in our State shows
that Hawaii's domestic violence murder rate is double that of the
national rate.  This abnormally high rate is consistent with
reports that reveal the majority of women murdered in Hawaii are
killed by their partners or boyfriends.

     Experts believe that this startling reality can be changed
beginning with a comprehensive review of the criminal justice
system to identify gaps that result in inadequate services to
victims of domestic violence.  Accordingly, this Concurrent

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1768
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Resolution requests that review by a working group convened by
the Attorney General that will provide a report of its findings
and recommendations to the Legislature before the 2000 regular
session.

     Your Committee received favorable testimony from the
Attorney General, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of
Women, the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, the Hawaii State
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Hawaii Lawyers Care, and
Child and Family Service.  The Judiciary took no position on the
Concurrent Resolution.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 65,
H.D. 1, and recommends its adoption.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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