This report presents information on lethality assessment programs and how to implement them, and highlights experiences from States and localities that have implemented the program.
This report, compiled by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, presents information on lethality assessment programs (LAP) and how to implement them, and highlights experiences from States and localities that have implemented a LAP. A LAP involves the use of risk assessment tools to provide law enforcement personnel and other first responders with a simple, consistent method for measuring the level of danger that a victim of intimate partner domestic violence is in given their current situation. The goal of the LAP is to prevent domestic violence homicides, serious injury from domestic violence, and re-assault of victims by encouraging victims to use the services offered by domestic violence programs. This report describes how the LAP works and presents information on how localities can prepare for the implementation of the program. Areas that need to be considered when implementing a LAP include training, staff resources, the arrangement of partnerships between all concerned agencies, ensuring that the leadership of all concerned agencies is in agreement with implementation of the program, and program maintenance.