We would like to bring to your attention legislation of critical importance, New Jersey Senate Bill No. 115/Assembly Bill No. 299, which requires court to consider the results of domestic violence assessments before dissolving certain domestic violence restraining orders.

It is not a secret that many victims of domestic violence are scared and intimidated by their abusers. Reports of domestic violence can occur repeatedly within a household with the victim repeatedly dropping charges against the abuser.

The problem that arises out of these situations is you may be releasing the abuser back into society and possibly back into the household with a child.

The purpose of this bill is to require defendants who have had two or more charges of domestic violence to undergo, at their own expense, a domestic violence assessment. The finding of this assessment will be forwarded to the court, which can use it at its discretion to determine if the charges should be dropped.

We believe this legislation is needed to protect victims who are too scared to protect themselves.

Sincerely The Undersigned,

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