LV police program catches on

A domestic violence program begun by a local law enforcement agency last year is spreading to other police departments throughout the state, Las Vegas police said Thursday.

The Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment Program launched by the Metropolitan Police Department throughout the valley in August is branching out to Northern Nevada, Capt. Vincent Cannito said.

The goal is to identify domestic violence victims at risk of repeated beatings or being killed and get them professional help.

Officers who respond to domestic violence calls give a survey with 11 questions to victims. Some of the questions are: Has the aggressor ever used a weapon? Does he or she spy on you or leave threatening messages? Does he or she have a gun?

Depending on the answers, victims can be identified as high-risk and are urged to contact a local domestic violence advocacy group for help.

The program is based on a similar model in Maryland.

Cannito said police in Reno recently have begun the program. And a department in Sparks is about to start the initiative.

Cannito said his department is working with the state attorney general's office to coordinate efforts of spreading the program.

"The only way we'll have a significant impact on reducing domestic violence crimes is through a statewide, consistent initiative," Cannito said.

Cannito also trumpeted a recent law, domestic strangulation, that has helped catch domestic violence offenders. The office considers strangulation as an act that constricts the airway but does not lead to death.

The 2009 Legislature passed a law that increased the penalty for domestic strangulation to a felony, up from the misdemeanor domestic-violence battery charge that previously was on the books.

Cannito said that since the law began in July 2009, slightly fewer than 600 people under the department's jurisdiction have been arrested on this charge.

"Those numbers are staggering," he said.

He added that of the 4,500 surveyed since the start of the lethality program, about 1,700 told police they were strangled.

"When you're talking about strangulation, you're one step away from murder," Cannito said.

It's too soon to determine whether the new strangulation law is acting as a deterrent to domestic violence, he said.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.