. >> i think that i would have to attribute that to a joint effort by the scu unit as well as the district attorney's office. the first point of real contact that dv victims have are the inspectors and svu. once inspectors make the initial contact that is where the trust begins. once that trust is established it is turned over to our office where our attorneys try to maintain that trust. honestly, with a number of attorneys that we have it is very difficult to maintain that. as we know it is not just the perpetrators who continue to have power and control over the victims but there are families and relatives out there for the defendants who also apply a lot of pressure on the victims. i think that one of the most crucial points in prosecuting dv cases is when the victim begins to turn away from us, the prosecution. i honestly believe t we need more resources because at that point in time it is not a matter of us letting these cases go. i think we have defined other means to be able to pursue these cases even when victims don't always cooperate or even when they don't come in to testify i h