Senator Nozzolio Recognizes October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Continuing his aggressive efforts to protect victims and raise awareness of violence against women and children, State Senator Mike Nozzolio is recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and  is encouraging victims of domestic violence to register to receive life saving alerts through the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification Network (SAVIN).  

“Domestic violence is a tragic crime that crosses all ethnic, age, religious and socioeconomic boundaries.  Every year, more than six million women are abused - more than 192,000 in New York State alone,” said Senator Nozzolio. “That is why I am working aggressively to help protect victims of domestic violence by making them aware of the life saving SAVIN alert system.”

SAVIN allows victims of domestic violence to receive alerts when Family Court orders of protection are served through the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification Network (SAVIN) system.   This system instantly notifies victims with information designed to help protect their safety.  SAVIN sends instant notification to victims via text message, email, fax and automated phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Currently, this service is available in all counties outside of New York City. 

Individuals can register to receive SAVIN alerts by visiting www.nyalert.gov and clicking on the “Orders of Protection” box on the left menu. When registering with SAVIN, victims also can identify additional individuals to be notified when orders of protection are served, such as advocates, attorneys, friends or family members.  

Additionally, Senator Nozzolio is sponsoring and working to enact,“Brittany’s Law”, which  would create a publicly accessible, online registry of violent criminals. This measure is named in memory of Brittany Passalacqua who was brutally murdered along with her mother,  Helen Buchel, at their home in Geneva. The perpetrator was John Edward Brown, a violent convicted felon who had been released from prison early after serving only 2 ½ years for brutally assaulting his infant daughter in 2003.  Brown had been released on parole just months before he committed the murders.

“During the past legislative session, the State Senate took a tremendous step forward in adopting a tougher stance against violent crime by enacting “Brittany’s Law”.  All we need now for the violent offender registry to become a reality is for the State Assembly to join the Senate in adopting “Brittany’s Law”. As State Senator, I will continue my aggressive efforts to enact tougher sentencing guidelines for violent criminals, reinforce laws to protect women and children from domestic violence, and strengthen the rights of crime victims to prevent future tragedy from occurring,” said Senator Nozzolio. 

“Brittany’s Law” would establish tougher penalties for violent offenders so they can no longer threaten the lives and safety of innocent people in our communities and would require all individuals convicted of a violent felony to register with the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) upon their release from prison and when they move.  The registry would be accessible to the public, similar to the registry of sex offenders that the State currently has in place.