Travis County District Attorney’s Office Encourages 71 Family Violence Victims to Come Forward

Family violence cases conviction rates dramatically increased TCDAO updates victim policies to continue to address & center the needs of victims

Travis County, TX — Today, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office encouraged 71 family violence victims to come forward. In addition, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that our conviction rates for family violence cases have dramatically increased since the beginning of our administration. Finally, our Victim Services Division leaders announced our updated victim policies to ensure victims are treated with dignity and respect during their experience with the criminal justice system.

This afternoon, our office encouraged family violence victims with pending cases who have not responded to our communication requests to come forward. Our office currently has 71 cases where the victim has not responded to our requests. The victim’s participation is critical to holding people who commit violent acts accountable.

In the next few months, our office will present 245 family violence cases to a grand jury where the victim’s communication and participation are vital to prosecuting these cases.

How to Contact the Travis County District Attorney’s Office Victim Services Division.

In addition, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that the conviction rates for family violence cases increased from 40% in 2018 to 83% in 2022.

FELONY FAMILY VIOLENCE CASES 2018 – 2022
YEAR INDICTMENT RATE CONVICTION RATE
2018 95% 40%
2019 94% 51%
2020 98% 38%
2021 97% 45%
2022 96% 83%

Since 2021, our office has prioritized family violence cases by implementing policies and investing in resources to meet the needs of victims and survivors of crime, which include:

• Our budget for victim services increased from $1,219,966 to $2,300,344, an 89% increase.
• Staffing in victim services increased from 15 full-time employees to 23 full-time employees + interns.

At the start of our administration, our victim counselors averaged around 400 cases per counselor. Currently, they average around 260 cases per counselor.

Finally, our Victim Services Division leaders shared our updated victim policies for engaging with victims and addressing and centering their needs in several key ways, including:

• Prioritizing the prosecution of violent crime, knowing that gender-based violence and crimes against marginalized
  communities have been historically under-investigated and under-prosecuted.
• Including a referral for free legal representation to every victim to assist them with criminal justice advocacy and
  to ensure they have an advocate with whom conversations are protected and confidential. If a victim chooses to
  bring their advocate to meetings with our office, we will communicate with the advocate directly if the victim so
  requests.
• Our staff will use the initials of child victims in all indictments in child abuse cases to protect their anonymity.
• Our staff will use the pronoun that the victim has requested for us to use when referring to the victim during
  conversations and in court to ensure all members of our community feel accepted by our office and during their
  experience with the criminal justice system.
• Both prosecutors and victim counselors will discuss the limits of confidentiality with victims.

Our updated victim policies go into effect immediately.

“It’s difficult for some victims to go through the criminal justice system since it can be a re-traumatizing experience,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza. “If you have a pending felony family violence case, I hope you will come forward and work with us to resolve your case. We have worked hard to prioritize survivors of family violence and want to work hard to earn your trust.”

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