Charlottesville, Albemarle Co. Officials Meet to Combat Domestic - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

Law enforcement in Charlottesville and Albemarle County and other agencies are joining forces to combat domestic violence. They came together at a community forum Friday, October 28, at CitySpace in downtown Charlottesville. 

The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and Albemarle County police departments are partnering with the Shelter for Help in Emergency. Their goal is to reduce domestic violence and make victims aware of resources.

During the forum, a panel of police officers and members of different agencies laid out a blueprint used to help identify victims of domestic abuse and get them immediate help. It’s called the Lethality Assessment Protocol or LAP.

This homicide prevention initiative was put in place in the area back in February. It allows police to connect victims of domestic violence to resources for safety and support after an investigation has been completed.

“People from Charlottesville, Albemarle, police, social service departments, mental health, schools - we've all been meeting quarterly to review the homicides in Charlottesville and Albemarle that were domestic. So, we meet and we do research and we analyze what went wrong with these cases,” said Maggie Cullinan, director of the Charlottesville Victim-Witness Assistance Program.

They analyzed cases within the past 10 years in the city and the county and found that none of the victims reached out to the shelter for help.

Domestic violence hotlines receive about 2,100 calls or 15 calls every minute on a typical day. That data is from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.