A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of the Lethality Assessment Program: A Collaborative Police–Social Service Intervention for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Background: Calling the police is one of the most commonly employed help seeking strategies by women in abusive relationships (e.g., Catalano et al., 2009), though social services are more often rated as helpful by survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and have been shown to be more effective at reducing subsequent violence (e.g., Campbell et al., 2005; Goodkind, Sullivan & Bybee, 2004). The purpose of this National Institute of Justice funded research was to examine the effectiveness of the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), a collaboration between police and social service providers that places high risk victims of IPV in immediate telephone contact with a social service provider at the scene of a police-involved IPV incident. Specifically, it was hypothesized that the LAP would (1) decrease the severity and frequency of subsequent IPV and (2) increase emergency safety planning and help-seeking.

Methods: This research was a nonequivalent groups quasi-experimental effectiveness field trial. Participants were recruited into the study at the scene of domestic violence incidents in 7 participating police jurisdictions in a single state in the Southwest U.S. A non-intervention comparison group was recruited prior to the intervention start. Women in both the comparison and intervention groups participated in a structured telephone interview as soon as possible after police intervention (comparison=treatment as usual, intervention=LAP) and a follow-up interview at a median time frame of 7 months later (comparison n= 212, intervention n=202).

Results: Both of the specific study hypotheses were supported. The intervention group reported a significant decrease in the severity and frequency of violence at follow-up (B=-14.71, p<.05). The intervention group also reported using significantly more protective strategies immediately after police intervention including removing/hiding their partner’s weapons (OR=2.57, p<.05) and obtaining formal domestic violence services (OR=1.74, p<.05). At follow-up, women in the intervention group continued to report significantly greater use of emergency safety planning and help-seeking strategies including: establishing a code with family and friends to alert them of trouble (OR=1.62, p<.05), applying for (OR=1.65, p<.05) and receiving an order of protection (OR=1.59, p<.05), and going someplace where their partner could not find them (OR=1.61, p<.05). All analyses controlled for baseline differences between groups.

Conclusions: The preponderance of evidence, albeit in a quasi-experimental design with some important limitations that will be discussed, is that the LAP was effective at decreasing subsequent violence and facilitating social service intervention with women who have experienced police-involved IPV. Overall, while this intervention demonstrated effectiveness in this single study in a single state and has important policy and practice implications, future research should replicate this research in order to garner a stronger evidence base, and should utilize mixed methods research to examine the differential implementation of the LAP across jurisdictions and survivors.