RADFORD (WSLS 10) - The Radford Police Department is teaming up with the Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley to protect victims of domestic violence.
Together, they have launched a new initiative called the Lethality Assessment Program.
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When Radford police officers respond to a domestic violence call, they will now present victims with a questionnaire that will determine if that person is at an increased risk for homicide.
If the risk is there, a women's resource center representative is immediately notified, and they reach out right away to the person in need.
On average, departments across the country that have implemented this program are seeing a 48 percent decrease in domestic violence homicides.
In southwest Virginia, there have been 19 domestic violence homicides from 1999-2014. Nationally, there are around 1,500 domestic violence homicides each year. For every homicide, there are eight to nine near-death domestic violence attacks. On average, only four percent of those killed were involved with any assistance program before their death.
This program will not only apply to traditional families, but also to same-sex partners and couples who are dating but living separately.