(WASHINGTON, DC) – Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Maryland, is pushing legislation that would support states and law enforcement agencies in preventing domestic violence related homicides across the United States.
The legislation would create a national training and assistance center to standardize the use of the Lethality Assessment Program, a model that quickly identifies victims at high risk of being killed by an intimate partner and connects them with local support services.
“With thousands of these deaths each year, far too often, we miss the signs of intimate partner homicide,” Elfreth said in a statement to Capital News Service, adding that the model “is one of the best tools that law enforcement and community partners have to identify intimate partner violence and save lives.”
Developed in 2005 by the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, the program includes an 11-question screen that helps police and other first responders accurately determine the risk of a domestic violence victim being killed by their partner.
The program has been adopted by more than 600 police agencies in 37 states, but lacks a centralized resource for standardization. The bill would authorize the attorney general to create a national hub that could expand the program and train more responders to use the screen and prevent future violence.
The bill, formally titled the Preventing Domestic Violence Homicides Through Lethality Assessment Training and Technical Assistance Act, was also introduced by Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican from Colorado.
Evans, a former police officer, said he has witnessed firsthand how the Lethality Assessment Program has saved lives. “I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan legislation with [Congresswoman] Elfreth to ensure these proven, essential programs across the country have the tools, training, and resources they need to help prevent tragedies and save lives,” he said in the statement.
The programs’ lethality screen successfully identifies 92% of victims who later experienced near-fatal violence, according to research funded by the Department of Justice. The study also found that victims who participated in the program were more likely to take protective actions and reported reductions in the severity and frequency of abuse.
“Creating a national training and technical assistance center focused on [the Lethality Assessment Program] will ensure this life-saving approach is implemented effectively and consistently across the country,” said Jennifer Pollitt Hill, executive director of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence in the statement. “We already have the tools to make our communities safer. Now we need to put them in the hands of law enforcement everywhere.”
The legislation is also co-sponsored by Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), April McClain Delaney (D-Maryland), Andrea Salinas (D-Oregon) and Derek Schmidt (R-Kansas).