Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement a training course for law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic violence complaints and to develop guidelines for officer response to domestic violence. Existing law requires the course to include instruction on specified procedures and techniques for responding to domestic violence, including, among others, the signs of domestic violence, and techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim.

This bill would require the course to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations.

Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement a training course for law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic violence complaints and to develop guidelines for officer response to domestic violence. Existing law requires the course to include instruction on specified procedures and techniques for responding to domestic violence, including, among others, the signs of domestic violence, and techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim.

This bill would require the course to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations.

Existing law defines the qualifications and duties of an individual who is a peace officer. Existing law defines the circumstances under which reserve peace officers have the powers of a peace officer.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Date of Hearing: June 27, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1331

Author:(Jackson) – As Amended Ver:April 2, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to include procedures and techniques for assessing signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations in the existing training course for law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic violence complaints.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Minor and absorbable costs to POST to ensure the content of an existing course includes training on assessing domestic violence lethality.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. All new peace officers in California must complete a 664-hour basic training program established by POST. In addition, peace officers and dispatchers must complete continuing education by taking POST-certified training classes on an ongoing basis.
2. Purpose. According to the author:

Lethality assessments are protocols designed for law enforcement first responders. Excessive jealousy, having threatened suicide or homicide in the past, heavy drug or alcohol use, or previous cases of choking a victim are tied to increased risk of lethality. Victims are asked a series of questions based on research on factors linked to lethality; certain victims’ responses trigger the “protocol referral,” which is an immediate connection with a local advocacy program.

1. Related legislation.

AB 2504 (Low) requires POST to develop a course on sexual orientation and gender identity and requires this course be included in the required basic training for peace officers. AB 2504 is currently pending hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 2992 (Daly) requires POST to develop a course on commercially exploited children and victims of human trafficking. AB 2992 is currently pending hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Peters / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 12, 2018

Counsel: David Billingsley

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1331

Author:(Jackson) – As Amended Ver:April 2, 2018

SUMMARY:

Requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to include procedures and techniques for assessing signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations in the existing training course for law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic violence complaints.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires POST to implement a course of instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in California in the handling of domestic violence complaints and also develop guidelines for law enforcement response to domestic violence. (Pen. Code, § 13519, subd. (a).)
   
2. Specifies that the course of instruction and the guidelines shall stress enforcement of criminal laws in domestic violence situations, availability of civil remedies and community resources, and protection of the victim. (Pen. Code, § 13519, subd. (a).)
   
3. Requires that the course of basic training for law enforcement officers to include adequate instruction in specified procedures and techniques, including:
   
   1. The legal duties imposed on peace officers to make arrests and offer protection and assistance including guidelines for making felony and misdemeanor arrests;
      
   2. Techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim;
      
   3. The nature and extent of domestic violence;
      
   4. The signs of domestic violence;
      
   5. The legal rights of, and remedies available to, victims of domestic violence;
      
   6. The services and facilities available to victims and batterers; and,
      
   7. Emergency assistance to victims and how to assist victims in pursuing criminal justice options.
      
4. Specifies that whenever there is an alleged violation or violations of specified domestic violence or sexual assault, the law enforcement officer assigned to the case shall immediately provide the victim of the crime with the "Victims of Domestic Violence" card. (Pen. Code, § 264.2, subd. (a).)
   
5. Specifies that the “Victims of Domestic Violence” card which shall include, but is not limited to, the following information: (Pen. Code, § 13701, subd (c)(9).)
   
   1. The names and phone numbers of or local county hotlines for, or both the phone numbers of and local county hotlines for, local shelters for battered women and rape victim counseling centers within the county, including those centers specified in Section 13837, and their 24-hour counseling service telephone numbers;
      
   2. A simple statement on the proper procedures for a victim to follow after a sexual assault;
      
   3. A statement that sexual assault by a person who is known to the victim, including sexual assault by a person who is the spouse of the victim, is a crime; and,
      
   4. A statement that domestic violence or assault by a person who is known to the victim, including domestic violence or assault by a person who is the spouse of the victim, is a crime.
      
6. Requires every law enforcement agency in this state shall develop, adopt, and implement written policies and standards for officers’ responses to domestic violence. (Pen. Code, § 13701, subd. (a).)
   
7. Specifies that the written policies shall encourage the arrest of domestic violence offenders if there is probable cause that an offense has been committed. (Pen. Code, § 13701, subd. (b).)
   
8. Provides that these policies shall discourage, when appropriate, but not prohibit, dual arrests. Peace officers shall make reasonable efforts to identify the dominant aggressor in any incident. (Pen. Code, § 13701, subd. (b).)
   
9. States that the policies shall be in writing and shall be available to the public upon request and shall include: (Pen. Code, § 13701, subd. (c)(1)-(9).)
   
   1. Emergency assistance to victims, such as medical care, transportation to a shelter, or a hospital for treatment when necessary, and police standbys for removing personal property and assistance in safe passage out of the victim’s residence;
      
   2. Assisting victims in pursuing criminal options, such as giving the victim the report number and directing the victim to the proper investigation unit; and
      
   3. Furnishing written notice to victims at the scene, including, but not limited to, all of the following information:
      
      1. A statement informing the victim that despite official restraint of the person alleged to have committed domestic violence, the restrained person may be released at any time;
         
      2. A statement that, “For further information about a shelter you may contact ____.”;
         
      3. A statement that, “For information about other services in the community, where available, you may contact ____.”;
         
      4. A statement that, “For information about the California Victims” Compensation Program, you may contact 1-800-777-9229.”;
         
      5. A statement informing the victim of domestic violence that he or she may ask the district attorney to file a criminal complaint;
         
      6. A statement informing the victim of the right to go to the superior court and file a petition requesting any of the following orders for relief:
         
         1. An order restraining the attacker from abusing the victim and other family members;
            
         2. An order directing the attacker to leave the household;
            
         3. An order preventing the attacker from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the victim;
            
         4. An order awarding the victim or the other parent custody of or visitation with a minor child or children;
            
         5. An order restraining the attacker from molesting or interfering with minor children in the custody of the victim;
            
         6. An order directing the party not granted custody to pay support of minor children, if that party has a legal obligation to do so;
            
         7. An order directing the defendant to make specified debit payments coming due while the order is in effect; and,
            
         8. An order directing that either or both parties participate in counseling.
            
10. States that every law enforcement agency shall have policies and standards for dispatchers’ response to domestic violence calls that reflect that calls reporting threatened, imminent, or ongoing domestic violence, and the violation of any protection order, and restraining orders, shall be ranked among the highest priority calls. (Pen. Code, § 13702.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "Three women are murdered every day in the United States by current or former partners. Many abusive situations turn deadly when a victim attempts to leave a relationship. Seventy-two percent of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner, with 94 percent of the victims of these murder-suicides female, and more than half of all female homicide victims were killed in connection with intimate partner violence. The World Health Organization says that worldwide, a partner or spouse is the killer in 38 percent of women’s homicides.

“Lethal domestic violence is not limited to the batterer’s primary victim – a study of partner homicides found that 20 percent of victims were not the intimate partners themselves but family members, friends or bystanders.

“Lethality assessments are protocols designed for law enforcement first responders. Excessive jealousy, having threatened suicide or homicide in the past, heavy drug or alcohol use, or previous cases of choking a victim are tied to increased risk of lethality. Victims are asked a series of questions based on research on factors linked to lethality; certain victims’ responses trigger the ‘protocol referral,’ which is an immediate connection with a local advocacy program.

“One in 10 victims of intimate-partner-related violence experienced some form of violence in the preceding month. Linking women to advocates has been demonstrated to improve women’s quality of life as well as increase their engagement with the criminal legal process.”

1. Maryland’s Lethality Assessment Program (LAP): In 2000, the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) set the goals of identifying victims at high risk for homicide by an intimate partner and creating a plan to assist them with decreasing that risk. To meet these goals, the MNADV established a statewide multi-disciplinary Lethality Assessment Committee in the fall of 2003 to create a protocol for response to domestic violence in Maryland. The committee included advocates, police officers, and professionals from other related disciplines including prosecution and probation, as well as three researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, including Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell and Dr. Daniel Webster. Four research findings from Dr. Campbell’s study on intimate partner homicide (Campbell et al., 2003) were utilized as touchstones:
   

1) Nearly half of domestic homicide offenders had been arrested in the year prior to the homicide;
2) Women do not access domestic violence services at high rates;
3) There is a significant reduction in risk of severe assault when victims utilize the services of a domestic violence advocacy program; and
4) Abused women who used community-based domestic violence services were rarely the victim of murder or attempted murder. (https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/247456.pdf)

Maryland’s LAP involves an 11-question risk assessment instrument called the Lethality Screen and an accompanying proactive response called the “Protocol Referral” that occurs at the scene of domestic violence calls for service. The LAP is initiated by police officers at the scene of a domestic violence incident. The officer determines whether it is appropriate to use the Lethality Screen, though it is suggested that the officer use the Lethality Screen when a past or current intimate relationship is involved and there is a “manifestation of danger” by evidence of at least one of the following criteria: (1) the officer believes that an assault or other violent act has occurred whether or not there was probable cause for arrest, (2) the officer is concerned for the safety of the victim once they leave the incident scene, (3) the officer is responding to a domestic violence call from a victim or at a location where domestic violence had occurred in the past, or (4) the officer has a “gut feeling” that the victim is in danger. Administration of the Lethality Screen usually occurs near the end of the officer’s investigation. (Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence [MNADV], 2013).

At the core of the LAP process is a willing partnership between law enforcement and a local domestic violence service provider. If a victim screens in as “high danger,” meaning that the victim is at an increased risk of homicide, the police officer conveys to the victim the danger that she/he is in and tells the victim that people in the same situation have been killed. The officer then tells the victim that she/he would like to call the local 24- hour domestic violence hotline at the collaborating advocacy organization in order to get some information to help the victim. The officer asks whether the victim would consider speaking with the hotline worker. Whether or not the victim chooses to speak to the hotline worker, the officer makes the call to the hotline and provides some basic information to the hotline worker. This may give the victim some time to consider speaking to the hotline worker; therefore, while the officer is on the telephone, she/he will ask the victim if they have reconsidered and would now like to talk. It is the victim’s choice whether or not they want to speak to the hotline worker and, if the victim declines to speak, the officer no longer pursues his/her effort to put the victim on the phone. Instead, the hotline worker provides the officer with some immediate safety planning tips for the next 24 hours to share with the victim. If the victim chooses to speak with the hotline worker, the conversation is brief (no more than 10 minutes) and focused, both because the officer must return to service and because the victim may not be in a position to attend to a great deal of information.

Because being on the phone with the victim at the scene of a domestic violence incident is a different type of call for hotline workers, they are trained to use special guidelines to communicate with and engage victims in situations where they do not have much time and where the victim may not have come to terms with the seriousness of their situation. Guidelines for hotline workers convey four main points: 1) gaining the victim’s trust, 2) reinforcing the information that the officer has provided about the danger that the victim is in (and thus reinforcing the partnership with law enforcement), 3) educating the victim and doing immediate safety planning, and 4) actively encouraging the victim to come in for services. Through years of experience implementing the LAP in Maryland, advocates have learned that most victims encountered in calls for service from the scene of a domestic violence incident are different from victims who initiate calls to the hotline for help. Victims at the scene of an incident may not be ready to reach out to social services for help or may have not yet even recognized that they are victims of abuse. The hotline worker, therefore, may need to provide more education about domestic violence, provide more information about services, and give more encouragement to access services than they would if a victim had reached out for services on their own.

In Maryland, 100% of law enforcement agencies that respond to calls for service are LAP participants. Between 2006 and 2012, officers administered more than 56,000 screens. During that time period, 53% of victims screened at high risk with 57% of those talking with the advocate at the scene and 31% following up with the agency. (Id.)

This bill would not require local law enforcement agencies to establish an LAP program, but would provide officers with some of the information and tools that form the basis for the Maryland LAP program.

POST currently has a training course for law enforcement officers on the handling of domestic violence complaints. That training course includes instruction on specified procedures and techniques for responding to domestic violence, including, among others, the signs of domestic violence, and techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim. This bill would require POST to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations in the existing training course for law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic violence complaints.

1. Argument in Support: According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney, Joyce Dudley, “The goal of lethality assessments is to prevent domestic violence homicides, serious injury, and re-assault by encouraging more victims to utilize the support and shelter services of domestic violence programs.
   
   “Lethality assessments are protocols designed for law enforcement first responders. Excessive jealousy, having threatened suicide or homicide in the past, heavy drug or alcohol use, or previous cases of choking a victim are tied to increased risk of lethality. Victims are asked a series of questions based on research on factors linked to lethality; certain victims’ responses trigger the ‘protocol referral,’ which is an immediate connection with a local advocacy program.
   
   “One in ten victims of intimate-partner-related homicide experienced some form of violence in the preceding month. Linking women to advocates has been demonstrated to improve women’s quality of life as well as increase their engagement with the criminal legal process.”
   
2. Related Legislation:
   
   1. AB 2136 (Bonta), would allow Alameda County to develop a domestic violence lethality assessment pilot program for five years. Would specify that the program may investigate which strategies reduce domestic violence fatalities. AB 2136 is awaiting assignment in the Senate Rules Committee.
      
   2. AB 2290 (Gallagher), would have required the court to consider issuing a post-conviction protective order for child witnesses to domestic violence crimes. AB 2290 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
      
3. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 1268 (Reyes), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have created the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Fund and require that moneys in the fund be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide grants to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of funding programs that incorporate comprehensive, evidence-based, and promising practices to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.  AB 1268 has held on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
      
   2. AB 1312 (Gonzalez-Fletcher), Chapter 692, Statutes of 2017, requires law enforcement and medical professionals to provide victims of sexual assault with written notification of their rights.
      
   3. SB 40 (Roth), Chapter 331, Statutes of 2017, requires that police reports include whether there were indications that a domestic violence incident involved strangulation or suffocation, as specified.
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Santa Barbara County District Attorney, Joyce Dudley

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by: David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

 CONSENT  

Bill No: SB 1331

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/17/18

AYES: Skinner, Anderson, Bradford, Jackson, Mitchell, Stone, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training’s domestic violence training course to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. States that the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (Commission) shall implement a course or courses of instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in California in handling of domestic violence complaints and also shall develop guidelines for law enforcement response to domestic violence. The course or courses of instruction and the guidelines shall stress enforcement of criminal laws in domestic violence situations, availability of civil remedies and community resources, and protection of the victim. When appropriate, the training presenters shall include domestic violence experts with expertise in the delivery of direct services to victims of domestic violence, including utilizing the staff of shelters for battered women in the presentation of training. (Pen. Code. § 13519 subd. (a).)
2. States that the course of basic training for law enforcement officers shall include adequate instruction in the procedures and techniques described below (Pen. Code § 13519 subd. (c)(1)-(17).):
   • Provisions set forth in Title 5 relating to response, enforcement of court orders, and data collection.
   • Legal duties imposed on peace officers to make arrests and offer protection and assistance including guidelines for making felony and misdemeanor arrests.
   • Techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim.
   • The nature and extent of domestic violence.
   • The signs of domestic violence.
   • The legal rights of, and remedies available to, victims of domestic violence.
   • The use of an arrest by a private person in a domestic violence situation.
   • Documentation, report writing, and evidence collection.
   • Domestic violence diversion.
   • Tenancy issues and domestic violence.
   • The impact on children of law enforcement intervention in domestic violence.
   • The services and facilities available to victims and batterers.
   • The use and applications of this code in domestic violence situations.
   • Verification and enforcement of temporary restraining orders when the suspect is present and the suspect has fled.
   • Verification and enforcement of stay-away orders.
   • Cite and release policies.
   • Emergency assistance to victims and how to assist victims in pursuing criminal justice options.
3. States that the guidelines developed by the Commission shall also incorporate the foregoing factors. (Pen. Code § 13519 subd. (d).)

This bill requires the course to include the assessment of lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations.

Background

In the 1970s and 1980s, an abundance of domestic violence disputes were filed and spurred a growing awareness in the prevalence and severity of the intimate partner violence. The awareness was coupled with increased criticism of the police and how they were not adequately responding to victims of domestic violence.

The result of insufficient and uncompleted police action may be fatal. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1998 to 2002, 73% of domestic violence victims were female. Three-fourths of the persons who committed family violence were male. Murder was less than half of 1% of all domestic violence. About 22% of total homicides in 2002 were family murders. Of all murders of females in 2002, family members were responsible for 43%.

Research identified key risk factors for domestic homicide:

• A prior history of domestic violence.
• An estrangement, separation, or an attempt at separation by partner.
• Access to/ownership of guns.
• Use of weapon in prior abusive incidents.
• Threats with weapons.
• Serious injury in prior abusive incidents.
• Threats of suicide.
• Drug of alcohol abuse.
• Forced sex of partner.
• Threats to kill victim
• Obsessiveness/extreme jealously/extreme dominance.
• Restraining order or order of protection against perpetrator.

This bill requires the Commission’s domestic violence training course to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality to prevent domestic violence homicide, injury, and re-assault.

In 2000, the Maryland Network against Domestic Violence set the goals of identifying victims at high risk for homicide by an intimate partner and creating a plan to assist them with decreasing that risk. The committee included advocates, police officers, researchers, and professionals from related disciplines. Four research findings studies on intimate partner homicide were utilized.

• Nearly half of domestic homicide offenders had been arrested in the year prior to the homicide;
• Women do not access domestic violence services at high rates;
• There is a significant reduction in risk of severe assault when victims utilize the services of a domestic violence advocacy program; and
• Abused women who used community-based domestic violence services were rarely the victim of murder or attempted murder.

When a police officer responding to the scene of a domestic violence incident, the officer must determine that there is a “manifestation of danger”. Police officers use the following criteria (1) the officer believes that an assault of other violent act has occurred whether or not there was probable cause for arrest, (2) the officer is concerned for the safety of the victim once they leave the incident scene, (3) the officer is responding to a domestic violence call from a victim or at a location where domestic violence had occurred in the past, or (4) the officer has a “gut feeling” that the victim is in danger.

After danger is detected, Maryland’s Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) involves two steps. First, the officer uses a brief 11-item risk assessment, a lethality screen, to identify victims at high risk of homicide. Second, people that screen in as high risk based on the Lethality Screen are put in immediate telephone contact with a collaborating social service provider who provides them with advocacy, safety planning, and referral.

Between 2006 and 2012, officers have administered more than 56,000 screens. During that time period, 53% of victims screened at high risk with 57% of those talking with the advocate at the scene and 31% following up with the agency.

California’s domestic violence procedures may not fully resemble the Maryland LAP program, but LAP provides an example of procedures and techniques to measure lethality of domestic violence.

Currently, AB 2136 authored by Assemblymember Bonta is moving through the Legislature. AB 2136 requires the County of Alameda to develop a lethality assessment to develop tools for first responders to assess the lethality of domestic violence perpetrators in order to inform their decisions. Currently, AB 2136 has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations’ suspense file.

The bill requires the program to investigate which strategies reduce domestic violence fatalities, the number of domestic violence survivors that have fewer violent incidents with their partner after contact with first responders, and the number of first responders that direct domestic violence survivors to resources.

The bill requires the Office of the District Attorney in the County of Alameda to annually prepare a report on the progress of the program and to prepare a final report to the Legislature on April 1, 2023.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

SUPPORT: (Verified 4/30/18)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/30/18)

None received

Prepared by:

5/2/18 15:22:23

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular

Bill No: SB 1331 Hearing Date: April 17, 2018

Subject: Peace Officers: Domestic Violence Training

HISTORY

Source: California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

Prior Legislation: None known

Support: Unknown

Opposition: None known

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training’s domestic violence training course to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations.

Existing law states that the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training shall implement a course or courses of instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in California in handling of domestic violence complaints and also shall develop guidelines for law enforcement response to domestic violence. The course or courses of instruction and the guidelines shall stress enforcement of criminal laws in domestic violence situations, availability of civil remedies and community resources, and protection of the victim. When appropriate, the training presenters shall include domestic violence experts with expertise in the delivery of direct services to victims of domestic violence, including utilizing the staff of shelters for battered women in the presentation of training. (Pen. Code. § 13519 subd. (a).)

Existing law states that the course of basic training for law enforcement officers shall include adequate instruction in the procedures and techniques described below (Pen. Code § 13519 subd. (c)(1)-(17).:

• Provisions set forth in Title 5 (commencing with Section 13700) relating to response, enforcement of court orders, and data collection.
• Legal duties imposed on peace officers to make arrests and offer protection and assistance including guidelines for making felony and misdemeanor arrests.
• Techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim.
• The nature and extent of domestic violence.
• The signs of domestic violence.
• The legal rights of, and remedies available to, victims of domestic violence.
• The use of an arrest by a private person in a domestic violence situation.
• Documentation, report writing, and evidence collection.
• Domestic violence diversion as provided in Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 1000.6) of Title 6 of Part 2.
• Tenancy issues and domestic violence.
• The impact on children of law enforcement intervention in domestic violence.
• The services and facilities available to victims and batterers.
• The use and applications of this code in domestic violence situations.
• Verification and enforcement of temporary restraining orders when (A) the suspect is present and (B) the suspect has fled.
• Verification and enforcement of stay-away orders.
• Cite and release policies.
• Emergency assistance to victims and how to assist victims in pursuing criminal justice options.

Existing laws states that the guidelines developed by the commission shall also incorporate the foregoing factors. (Pen. Code § 13519 subd. (d).)

This bill requires the course to include the assessment of lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations.

COMMENTS

1. Need for This Bill

The author states:

Three women are murdered every day in the US by current or former partners. Many abusive situations turn deadly when a victim attempts to leave a relationship. Seventy-two percent of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner, with 94 percent of the victims of these murder-suicides female, and more than half of all female homicide victims were killed in connection with intimate partner violence. The World Health Organization says that worldwide, a partner or spouse is the killer in 38 percent of women’s homicides.

Lethal domestic violence is not limited to the batterer’s primary victim – a study of partner homicides found that 20 percent of victims were not the intimate partners themselves but family members, friends, or bystanders.

SB 1331 will expand the training law enforcement officers receive pertaining to domestic violence to include specific training in assessing potentially lethal situations.

The goal of the lethality assessments is to prevent domestic violence homicides, serious injury, and re-assault by encouraging more victims to utilize the support and shelter services of domestic violence programs. Lethality assessments are protocols designed for law enforcement first responders.

Excessive jealousy, having threatened suicide or homicide in the past, heavy drug or alcohol use, or previous cases of choking a victim are tied to increased risk of lethality. Victims are asked a series of questions based on research on factors linked to lethality; certain victims’ responses trigger the “protocol referral,” which is an immediate connection with a local advocacy program.

One in 10 victims of intimate-partner-related experienced some form of violence in the preceding month. Linking women to advocates has been demonstrated to improve women’s quality of life as well as increase their engagement with the criminal legal process.

2. Domestic Homicide

In the 1970s and 1980s, an abundance of domestic violence disputes were filed and spurred a growing awareness in the prevalence and severity of the intimate partner violence. The awareness was coupled with increased criticism of the police and how they were not adequately responding to victims of domestic violence.^[1]

The result of insufficient and uncompleted police action may be fatal. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1998 to 2002, 73% of domestic violence victims were female. Three-fourths of the persons who committed family violence were male. Murder was less than half of 1% of all domestic violence. About 22% of total homicides in 2002 were family murders. Of all murders of females in 2002, family members were responsible for 43%.^[2]

Research identified key risk factors for domestic homicide:

• A prior history of domestic violence.
• An estrangement, separation, or an attempt at separation by partner.
• Access to/ownership of guns.
• Use of weapon in prior abusive incidents.
• Threats with weapons.
• Serious injury in prior abusive incidents.
• Threats of suicide.
• Drug of alcohol abuse.
• Forced sex of partner.
• Threats to kill victim
• Obsessiveness/extreme jealously/extreme dominance.
• Restraining order or order of protection against perpetrator. ^[3]

This bill requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training’s domestic violence training course to include procedures and techniques for assessing lethality to prevent domestic violence homicide, injury, and re-assault.

3. Maryland Lethality Assessment Program (LAP)

In 2000, the Maryland Network against Domestic Violence set the goals of identifying victims at high risk for homicide by an intimate partner and creating a plan to assist them with decreasing that risk. The committee included advocates, police officers, researchers, and professionals from related disciplines. Four research findings studies on intimate partner homicide were utilized.^[4]

• Nearly half of domestic homicide offenders had been arrested in the year prior to the homicide;
• Women do not access domestic violence services at high rates;
• There is a significant reduction in risk of severe assault when victims utilize the services of a domestic violence advocacy program; and
• Abused women who used community-based domestic violence services were rarely the victim of murder or attempted murder. ^[5]

When a police officer responding to the scene of a domestic violence incident, the officer must determine that there is a “manifestation of danger”. Police officers use the following criteria (1) the officer believes that an assault of other violent act has occurred whether or not there was probable cause for arrest, (2) the officer is concerned for the safety of the victim once they leave the incident scene, (3) the officer is responding to a domestic violence call from a victim or at a location where domestic violence had occurred in the past, or (4) the officer has a “gut feeling” that the victim is in danger.

After danger is detected, Maryland’s LAP involves two steps. First, the officer uses a brief 11-item risk assessment, a lethality screen, to identify victims at high risk of homicide. Second, people that screen in as high risk based on the Lethality Screen are put in immediate telephone contact with a collaborating social service provider who provides them with advocacy, safety planning, and referral.

Between 2006 and 2012, officers have administered more than 56,000 screens. During that time period, 53% of victims screened at high risk with 57% of those talking with the advocate at the scene and 31% following up with the agency.

California’s domestic violence procedures may not fully resemble the Maryland LAP program, but LAP provides an example of procedures and techniques to measure lethality of domestic violence.

4. Related Legislation

AB 2136 (Bonta, 2018) requires the County of Alameda to develop a lethality assessment to develop tools for first responders to assess the lethality of domestic violence perpetrators in order to inform their decisions. Currently, AB 2136 has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations’ suspense file.

The bill requires the program to investigate which strategies reduce domestic violence fatalities, the number of domestic violence survivors that have fewer violent incidents with their partner after contact with first responders, and the number of first responders that direct domestic violence survivors to resources.

The bill requires the Office of the District Attorney in the County of Alameda to annually prepare a report on the progress of the program and to prepare a final report to the Legislature on April 1, 2023.

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1. Meg Townsend, “Law Enforcement Response to Domestic Violence Calls for Service,” n.d., 109. ↑

2. Matthew R. Durose et al., “Family Violence Statistics: Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances: (412162005-001)” (American Psychological Association, 2005), https://doi.org/10.1037/e412162005-001. ↑

3. Neil Websdale, “Lethality Assessment Tools: A Critical Analysis,” 2000, 10. ↑

4. “Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence,” Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (blog), accessed April 9, 2018, https://mnadv.org/. ↑

5. “Police Departments’ Use of the Lethality Assessment Program: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation,” n.d., 109. ↑