A new tool that's used to lower the amount of domestic violence-related deaths has been gaining traction in Davidson County.
According to the district attorney, the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) helped identify nearly 3,878 high risk domestic situations in 2017 alone. Implemented in November of 2016, the program is a simple questionnaire with "yes" and "no" responses to 12 questions. The answers help law enforcement and the DA's office decide whether or not a domestic violence victim is in danger of violence or death.
"Every situation is not the same. All of them are not created the same," said assistant district attorney Chris Buford, who works in the domestic violence unit of the office. "From those questions and from those answers, it gives those people who are interested in domestic violence and part of the domestic violence system an opportunity to figure out, 'Hey, this is a high lethality situation, and we need to take some extra measures.'"
It's implemented by police officers and sheriff's deputies in the county to domestic violence victims after a situation has been de-escalated.
"Other cities are coming to Nashville to understand how we're handling these high risk cases," said Diane Lance of the Metro Office of Family Services. Friday, Lance addressed a group of police officers in the Metro Police Department Madison Precinct. These officers have been using the questionnaire for a year, but they get a refresher from those in charge of the program from time to time.
Here's the questions on the form:
1. Has he/she ever used a weapon against you or threatened you with a weapon?
2. Has he/she threatened to kill you or your children?
3. Do you think he/she might try to kill you?
4. Does he/she have a gun or can he/she get one easily?
5. Has he/she ever tried to choke you?
6. Is he/she violently or constantly jealous or does he/she control most of your daily activities?
7. Have you left him/her or separated after living together or being married?
8. Is he/she unemployed?
9. Has he/she ever tried to kill himself/herself?
10. Do you have a child that he/she knows is not his/hers?
11. Does he/she follow or spy on you or leave threatening messages?
12. Is there anything else that worries you about your safety? (If "yes") What worries you?
According to data collected from the Metro Office of Family Safety, in 2017 there were 7,399 total LAP forms collected. Of those cases, 52 percent were labeled high risk.
