About CT LAP
What is CT LAP?
CT LAP is an innovative partnership with law enforcement that implements nationally recognized risk assessment strategies to better serve domestic violence victims in greatest danger.
Modeled after the LAP that was first piloted in Maryland in 2005, this program is a three-pronged intervention process that uses a specialized lethality assessment instrument and an accompanying referral protocol. Trained police on the scene of an intimate partner violence call assess a survivor's risk for serious injury or death and can then immediately link those at greatest risk to their local domestic violence advocate for support and safety information.
The statewide rollout of the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) began in Connecticut in September 2012.
CT is proud to be the first state to fully and voluntarily adopt LAP as part of their police response in 100% of our towns and communities.
LAP History in Connecticut
In 2010, the lethality assessment program was piloted in Connecticut by then-Ansonia Police Chief Kevin J. Hale, in concert with CCADV member organization, The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services.
In 2011, the Connecticut Domestic Violence Fatality Review Task Force, which CCADV leads, recommended the statewide distribution of a tool that would facilitate the assessment of risk factors with an aim to reduce intimate partner violence homicide in the state. Following that recommendation, CCADV partnered with the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) and submitted a successful grant proposal to Maryland LAP, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), to provide training and technical assistance. Connecticut was one of ten designees selected nationwide to receive guidance and support to implement LAP.
Finally, in September 2012, the statewide expansion of LAP was initiated with 14 additional police departments and 8 CCADV member domestic violence organizations. Since that time, LAP has gradually been expanded across the state.
We are proud to report that, as of November 2017, 100% of Connecticut cities and towns are utilizing the lethality assessment program.
The successful statewide implementation of LAP has had a significant impact on connecting intimate partner violence victims in Connecticut to domestic violence services at a critical time while also shaping policy to strengthen the state’s response to domestic violence. This has been measured and observed from both a data and experiential viewpoint.
Law enforcement will initiate a LAP screen when…
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An intimate relationship is involved, AND they believe an assault has occurred
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They sense the potential for danger is high
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Names of parties or location are repeat names or locations
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They believe a screening should be conducted
In short, CT LAP is about
keeping those in danger safe.
Connecting survivors of intimate partner violence to services is a key intervention to increase their safety. Certified domestic violence counselors are able to assist victims in formulating a safety plan that accounts for even the most minor details of daily life activities that victims may not, on their own, view as potentially dangerous.
How officers conduct a LAP screen:
The CT LAP screen is introduced after law enforcement has concluded their investigation of the intimate partner violence incident. Law enforcement will ask the survivor if they mind answering additional questions on the CT LAP screen to better understand what has been happening in their relationship.
1. The officer will advise the survivor that the responses to the CT LAP screen questions could be used in civil or criminal court processes.
2. The officer will ask the survivor each of the eleven questions and check off the response as a yes, no, or did not answer. The officer will then ask if anything else worries them about their safety.
3. After all questions are answered, the officer will review the Yes answers.
4. If any of the first three questions were answered with a Yes, or if any four of the remaining eight were answered Yes, the officer will initiate the high-danger screen protocol. The officer will advise the survivor that they are concerned for their safety because other people who have answered Yes to similar questions have been seriously injured or killed. The officer will then call the local domestic violence organization to speak with an advocate.
5. After providing the advocate with the Yes responses, the officer will give the phone to the survivor so they can discuss immediate, tailored safety planning and offer additional resources.