we have 20 very talented investigators who focus on domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. we recognize the benefit of formalized training offered by post, then we have been diligent and assigning individuals for training as it becomes available. formal training of the members is essential so we don't forget the value mentorship and hands-on training. we have investigators with fast experience and knowledge. our investigators at svu have over 300 years of experience and are able to investigate high-profile crimes efficiently and effectively. a good example of the recent investigation and conviction of the 24th st. quarter rapist.

we have purposefully partnered with the most senior investigations with the new generation of investigators. we have great success with these partnerships passing the knowledge, investigative techniques, and expensive cannot be found in the classroom. another example was a series of cases where suspects preyed on elderly members of the asian committee. investigators have done an excellent job. cases such as these are demanding requiring patience and understanding and compassion for the victims. financial crime members are also responsible for elderly abuse both physical and financial. while the majority of the cases are financial in fiscal year 2011-2012, we served 54 cases of elderly care abuse, in most cases the family member was

identified as a perpetrator. these were difficult cases to prove due to the close relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, along with mental issues. determination has remained consistent in domestic violence investigation; there was a time when law enforcement only focused on investigation. chief suhr recognize importance of having advocacy groups located directly in the special victims unit. family can meet with investigators and have access to services in the system as they move forward. with the efforts of kathy black and -- svu has a children's room available which offers a safe environment for children exposed to family violence. child abuse is one of the

toughest crimes for investigators. children are among the most vulnerable victims. thankfully there are those like kathy baxter who are constantly fighting for the prevention of child abuse. i believe partnership with outside agencies have allowed us to find justice during this complex investigation. another important component of svu is the -- unit. those members solely on internet crimes against children. the cases are complex and require persistent and dedication to identify and locate perpetrators who possess and distribute child

pornography. we are only one of many law enforcement agencies across the region who actively participate in the silicon valley internet crimes against children task force. the investigation resulted in the arrest of four predators who possessed hundreds of images. as you can see we have many moving parts under the svu model, and it is important to recognize the specialist team appointed to investigate crimes in human trafficking. human trafficking is a 32 billion dollar industry. after drug trafficking, human

trafficking is the second most profitable crime. it has attracted participation by organized criminal gangs. innovation and technology has made it possible for the traffickers to recruit their victims. internet has transformed the landscape of human trafficking. the san francisco police department has adopted a victim centered philosophy which prevents victims from being treated like perpetrators. we work closely with advocacy groups such as asian-pacific legal outreach in numerous volunteer specifically trained in helping the victims. partnership with these advocates ensures that the victims have the resources and assistance to rebuild their lives. a -- is a law enforcement tool that allows victims report crimes without fear of

deportation. a u visa is a temporary four-year visa. -- has been designated to issue the visa is by reviewing the applicant's background. the final determination is made by the united states customs and immigration service. in 2011, we received 318 requests for u visas. this year we expect to review 994 cases. the special victims unit leads the way setting the standard for best practices in law enforcement. tvu has several members that our instructors who travel to california to train other law enforcement

agencies. as the commanding officer of svu i stand before you tonight very proud of the caliber of members of the officers assigned to svu. at the same time recognize we are only one piece of the puzzle.under financial

crimes . the 20 are crosstrained in

domestic violence, sexual assault, elderly abuse. it takes commitment and dedication.3 it is not always easy. we have to ourselves forward. sometimes the hardest work has the best reward. >> i know inspector robert -- an inspector who does financial crimes actually taught me -- i don't know how the investigator -- he is an accountant, you have a number of cherished inspectors, everyone in the community would be sad to lose. and we look forward to continuing to work with you guys on that.

(off mic) >> let's not pick sides. >> captain, thank you so much for this report. it is encouraging on so many levels. two things: one, to be clear for folks watching, the u visa, is an acronym for what again? >> i believe it refers to a section in the code. it describes the opportunity for an individual to apply for legal status to say in the u.s., if you're the victim of a crime under certain circumstances. >> to be clear about that. so that everyone watching can

be fully informed. while certainly, and again, thanks to the leadership of chief suhr, yourself, the lieutenant and others, the integration of these areas units seems to make so much sense. it seems there practical on a number of levels and certainly there are similarities and various types of

>> what you to do atribute the tripling of the u visa application? >> maybe the trust was not there. sensitive the word spread that this process could be trusted. the advocacy groups helped. the district attorney. many people that considered to this, it was just a matter of time for people to trust the process and you will see the numbers grow if we are doing it right. it should continue to grow.

>> of those applications, how long does it take for a decision to be made by the custom and immigration service and the percentages of approval . >> takes about six months; i cannot speak about percentages and of the 994 we have denied 20 of them based on background. please understand that the san francisco police department is not the only entity approving u visas. there are law-enforcement across the region, the state is doing it, we are just want law-enforcement agency doing it. >> even the demand for u visas,

there are certain caps. 3 also -- >> i feel like seeing this unit exist, if i would use the word "leveraging" people's expertise, it seems appropriate place for these presentations. it reflects what we are most successful at and when we are seeing the greatest success is when we're not in silos, and partnering with nonprofits, and in some cases for profit community. i know that personnel he i

have had the opportunity to participate in many of the massage parlor inspections. that to me was another example of our city being incredibly innovative in figuring out a way to confront the challenges that we do face particularly in the area of human trafficking on one side. i think it all fits to having this hearing tonight, the work of the family violence council for me - i feel like a broken record, i feel it is a model, the benefit of being both a city and county, in some respects it is easier to bring all partner agencies together by choice or by hook. but i would urge us to

continue to look at regional partnerships and for ways to support this beyond our boundaries. the crimes are not just within our boundaries. >> a want to make this comment before we go into public comment, more question than anything else. in the spirit of how i do business. this is the part of tonight's agenda. i'm not saying it should have been. but tonight looking at the response of domestic violence, the prosecution rates, the query reporting module, and the

other things i'm curious about the status of women. at some point i would like to hear about any progress in prevention of any of these crimes. what we really want to do is go out of business. i never looked at the department as a prevention agency; some people do. they do the practice of police officers. i don't want to leave people feeling that this is inevitable. i am curious. they have conversations with folks about best practices or inroads? i am in the business of stopping young people from doing what adults do. they have meetings on, because obviously we don't want these

things happening the first place. >> we do talk about this doctor marshall. integrating this into the public school curriculum, prevention, what is appropriate behavior, junior high dating, what are the boundaries for young women to set. behavioral models for young men. one thing i wanted to do more about is economic empowerment for women. as you can realize, the department has a small staff. at one time there were as many as 8-10 staff members. now we have 4.5 we sort of move our agenda as is necessary. the prevention -- intervention particularly -- is important to us particularly empowering

women. it is even more difficult when there are financial issues and be able to be gainfully employed. >> this is not a criticism. i don't think - ideal of the same thing with the kids - i am saying, any opportunity that you hear about things progressing? when i talk to kids in school, is it really working? i want to leave it for me since i've had some success with young people i would be willing to offer to help in that area because like i said i don't like the in result. that so they want to stop.

>> >> if anybody has a right to ask a question, that's dr. joe marshall. i am very dedicated and certainly this commission is very dedicated to doing the prevention work and we do need to have a broader conversation about that. i think that as we started out with the discussion, executive director dr. -- indicated that this year so far we have had 0, we have so many days left

in this calendar year, talking calendar year not fiscal year. we have had zero homicides as a result of domestic violence. that is really something to take note of. i don't think that that has occurred by happenstance; it is not a statistical anomaly. i think it is because we are gearing our work more as preventative. preventative - the collaborative effort that we are working with, the various departments, the police department, the various partner agencies is in and of itself becoming more defined preventative. a lot we heard this evening is interventive; as we go forward the fruits of that labor

become more definitively preventative. nonetheless i think that you are absolutely correct and that is correct question that we have to keep asking ourselves day-to-day. how do we behave? how do we make sure that we are moving our resources and directing our resources towards more preventative measures? if anything at all, i think in this particular year and i'll be the one to say it, is this: we have moved the conversation in the city from the idea that one, domestic violence is specifically a woman's issue. is not. that's why i asked the captain in terms of this issue of integration.

it is not a women's issue solely, wholly, or inevitably. it is a community issue. is a social issue. it is a health issue. it is a multidimensional issue. it is not as we know, a private issue. is a community issue and so as we are thinking along that continuum from preventative to intervention to actually ending hopefully our domestic violence, we have to certainly acknowledge the fact that the needle is moving. and that the conversation is broadening and i think we are getting more specific and more expert amongst all the various departments. around the issue of domestic

valiance. i'm very glad that we are having this meeting this evening. that is another milestone in terms of the conversation around how do we view and what are our values not only about intervening but presenting domestic violence in our community and understanding that he cannot, will not, i should not exist in any particular silo. it is not just an ideological issue. it does not belong to a particular class of women or minority; it is everyone's issue and everyone has a role to play. we need to make sure we presented and hopefully and it. prevention is very key. and a driving force in the work that we're doing through -- the department, and the work that we continue

to do in this collaborative and comprehensive partnership. so every department, the police department, the public defenders office, the district attorney, department of public health -- other departments involved, the sheriffs department, all must be involved so we can become more preventative. >> thank you. any further questions for captain flaherty or lieutenant --? we will now move into the public comments section. it says five minutes total. the city attorney suggests that we give 2 minutes per person without a five-minute limit. >> speaker shall address

remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners, or department or occ personnel. neither police or occ personnel or commissioners are required to respond to questions, but may provide a brief response. occ personnel and police shall refrain from entering into a debate with speakers. limit your comments to two minutes. >> as any public comment regarding tonight presentations? there is no comment. before we move to the last item, we will like to adjourn in memory of some folks. i want to thank everyone from

the bottom of my heart for tonight's presentation. a lot of work went into this from the commission staff, members of the commission and this was very important in light of recent events. our goal tonight was to let the public know that the san francisco police department, attorney's office, occ, the commission, we want to assure women and men dickens of domestic violence that we are here to help you. this is the community matter. we want to help break the cycle of violence. the presentations tonight were excellent. the message is very clear. the city and discounting takes domestic violence extreme we seriously. we have a police chief to support it and everyone in the room to support it. i cannot thank you enough.