CCADV, Law Enforcement Announce Inclusion of Domestic Violence Lethality Screen in Statewide Police Response to Family Violence Policy
Thursday, December 04, 2025
Middletown, CT – Today, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV), the CT Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection, and members of law enforcement announced inclusion of the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) in Connecticut’s Statewide Model Policy for Police Response to Crimes of Family Violence (per CT Police Officer Standards & Training Council General Notice 25-18).
“Domestic violence is a preventable public health crisis and CT LAP is a key element of our work to save lives and increase survivor safety,” said Meghan Scanlon, President & CEO, CCADV, and co-chair of the CT Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council. “An innovative partnership with law enforcement, CT LAP implements nationally recognized risk assessment strategies to better serve intimate partner violence victims in the greatest danger. The conversations generated through the CT LAP process build connections within communities, allowing law enforcement, advocates, and survivors to all work collaboratively and learn from one another, which is an essential element of trust.”
Said Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins, CT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, “CT LAP creates a structure for law enforcement to assess the level of danger and quickly get survivors connected to local domestic violence advocates. It has become central to our training efforts with law enforcement to help them better understand the coercive nature of domestic violence and see how those behaviors can escalate.”
Voluntary use of LAP began rolling out statewide in fall of 2012, with all municipal, state, and university police departments voluntarily using the tool as of November 2017. This past summer, the CT Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council voted unanimously to add LAP to the Connecticut Statewide Model Policy for the Police Response to Crimes of Family Violence, making its use mandatory across the state.
Said State Senator Mae Flexer (D-Windham), co-chair of the CT Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council, “Connecticut has long been a leader in the response to domestic violence. Eight years ago, we were the first state in the country to achieve 100% voluntary use of the LAP protocol across all our municipal and state law enforcement agencies. I am proud of the work of CCADV and law enforcement agencies across our state who collaborated to put this life saving system in place. Their leadership led our Council to include it in the statewide model law enforcement policy, ensuring its continued use in our state’s efforts to increase victim safety and offender accountability.”
Said Chief Alaric Fox, Enfield Police Department and co-chair of the CT Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council Law Enforcement Subcommittee, “I am grateful for the commitment of law enforcement across the state in embracing CT LAP not only as a valuable investigative tool, but even more importantly as a critical means by which we can uphold our responsibility to keep victims and the greater community safe.”
Said Karen Foley O’Connor, CEO, The Network and co-chair of the CT Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council Law Enforcement Subcommittee, “I have seen firsthand how impactful CT LAP can be for survivors. The information gathered through the screening process not only helps police assess risk but can also allow survivors to see their relationship through a new lens and better recognize behaviors as abusive or unhealthy.”
Between 2012 and 2024, there were 102,365 screens conducted statewide with 55,293 (54%) screens identified as high danger. Of those screens identified as high danger, 29,151 victims (53%) spoke with an advocate while the officer was still on the scene, making an immediate connection for safety planning and future support services.
For more information about CT LAP, please visit www.CTLAP.org. For more information about the CT Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council, please visit the Council’s webpage.
