NC attorney general pushes for new tool to prevent domestic violence homicides

Attorney General Josh Stein is pushing to further roll-out a tool to prevent domestic violence homicides.

The Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) gives law enforcement a research-based checklist of factors to consider when responding to a domestic violence incident.

If an officer determines a victim is at risk of injury or death after an 11-step questionnaire, the officer will immediately connect that victim to a local domestic violence service provider for support.

The program was started by Interact in 2012 in Wake County.

"It's working in Mecklenburg County, it's working in Wake County and it's working in Buncombe County," said the attorney general. "It's in about five or six counties in North Carolina. I want to see this in every county that there's a domestic violence service provider."

Interact is the only provider of domestic violence and sexual assault services in Wake County.

"This questionnaire is a screening tool to help assess lethality for victims," said Keri Christensen, associate executive director at Interact. "This helps connect victims to resources immediately. So rather than a victim searching for resources or figuring out where to go when law enforcement responds to the scene, they're able to connect them immediately to Interact."

Interact has trained a number of different departments in Wake County including the Garner Police Department. They've even trained people at Wake Med Hospital.