As if being beaten within an inch of their lives wasn't enough, now domestic violence victims can be jailed if they have an open warrant and report their beating to the police.

The New York Post reports that NYPD cops are required to run criminal background checks on victims of domestic violence.

Women who report domestic violence are exposing themselves to arrest under a new NYPD directive that orders cops to run criminal checks on the accused and the accuser, The Post has learned. The memo by Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski requires detectives to look at open warrants, complaint histories and even the driving records of both parties. “You have no choice but to lock them up” if the victims turn out to have warrants, including for minor offenses like unpaid tickets, a police source said. “This is going to deter victims of domestic violence . . . They’re going to be scared to come forward.” The directive tells detectives that when they are investigating cases of domestic violence, they should run a search that cross-references all NYPD databases. Beside warrants, a person’s criminal record and history of making criminal complaints should be checked, the directive says. A source said that even if detectives wanted to take pity on someone who was battered by a spouse, they would feel pressure to make an arrest to avoid getting in trouble with superiors. “We have every right to arrest that person at that moment,” the source said. Reacting to the March 5 memo, another source fumed, “There’s a lack of common sense in this department right now.”

A lack of common sense? Yes, also a lack of empathy and some sick desire to see women beaten within an inch of their lives with no sense they deserve the same protection as their attacker will receive. Instead, they can be tossed in jail for daring to ask the cops for protection.

There is no incentive for women to report beatings by their partners. Often the justice system fails them, leaving them out in the cold while their abuser is allowed to get off with a handslap and anger management course.

If anyone should know what kinds of dangers face victims of domestic violence, you'd think it would be cops in a major metropolitan area who actually respond to these calls. Instead it seems as though they're trying to deter victims from calling on them for protection. Protection, it seems, is only for those who pay their traffic tickets on time.

They've lost their minds.