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For a long time, police officers went to the scene of domestic violence calls and treated them in a "mechanical way," West Valley City Police Chief Lee Russo said Wednesday.
They would ask for the facts — the who, what, and where — and then move on. But that type of investigation wasn't doing much to help the victims, Russo said, and the officers oftentimes failed to recognize that behind a physically abused victim, there was a psychologically abused person, as well.
But his department has started making changes. In January, officers began using the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) program to help connect domestic violence victims to resources that can help them. An 11-question LAP form that officers give to victims also helps to determine whether a person is in a high-risk domestic violence situation or at risk for becoming a homicide victim.
"It is literally saving lives," the chief said.
Russo voiced his support for the program during a Wednesday press conference, a day after the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition asked state lawmakers for $895,000 to fund the expansion of LAP training from just a few pilot program areas — like West Valley City — to a statewide initiative. The one-time funding would be used to train 500 additional law enforcement officers and victim advocates in the LAP program, according to the coalition.
Russo said that in 2015, his city had three domestic violence-related homicides. Of the 400 aggravated assault crimes in the city, half were connected to domestic violence. He said he hopes that with this new training, they can reduce those numbers in 2016.
"If we utilize this protocol and we have a network that can support a victim, we can intervene much more quickly," Russo said. "That's 200 victims we can serve and can change their lives. That's where this money is going. $895,000. What's a life worth? What's a family worth? Domestic violence impacts more than just a victim. It's somebody's child, somebody's spouse, somebody's mother or father."
Last year, the Utah Legislature provided nearly $700,000 for LAP pilot programs in four Utah regions. Jenn Oxborrow, executive director of the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, said she has had police chiefs and other victim service organizations not involved in the pilot program asking to be trained.
She said Utah's domestic violence statistics are "setting off some serious concerns," and illustrate that change is needed. In 2015, 47 percent of homicides in Utah were domestic-violence related. From 2010 to 2013, there were 86 victims of domestic violence homicides — mostly perpetrated by men with firearms.
Jennifer Campbell, executive director of domestic-violence service provider South Valley Services, said that the funding received as part of the pilot program last year helped them to better provide for their clients.
"We can connect better because of this funding," Campbell said. "We were able to connect with victims of violence that we never spoke to before."
Several victims of domestic violence also voiced their support for the additional funding, including Cly'ta Berg, who detailed her abusive relationship 15 years ago, which she escaped after calling a domestic violence hotline. She said her partner pulled her hair, stalked her, made threats, held a knife to her throat and raped her.
"It's been over 15 years," she said. "The fear he created in my world is still very real. He took my self-worth. He took my dignity. I was ashamed and too embarrassed to get help. I was terrorized and believed there was no way out. It took me three-and-a-half years to leave and it took a village to get me back on my feet."
Anyone needing assistance with domestic violence issues are urged to call the Domestic Violence LINKLine at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).