November 11, 2024 • 35 mins
Detective Brandon Wootan joins us to uncover the transformative impact of Domestic Violence High-Risk Teams in preventing intimate partner homicides. Drawing from his extensive law enforcement background, Detective Wootan shares the approach that has dramatically reduced fatalities in his jurisdiction, where a staggering 40% of homicides are linked to domestic violence. Learn how these multidisciplinary teams bridge the gap between law enforcement, prosecutors, and service providers, creating a united front against domestic violence and prioritizing long-term support for survivors, especially within the Latinx community.
From this discussion listeners will grasp the core components of these high-risk teams—early identification, improved offender monitoring, and a collaborative response—that make them a powerful force in combating domestic violence. Drawing from the groundbreaking work of experts like Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell and the pioneering efforts of the Geiger Institute, we discover how evidence-based risk assessments play a pivotal role in identifying potentially lethal situations. You will also learn about the seamless collaboration that has not only revolutionized the judicial process but also provided a lifeline for at-risk individuals.
We also discuss Light the Way Consulting, a project inspired by Detective Wootan's personal experiences that is dedicated to helping agencies nationwide establish their own high-risk teams. We explore how this initiative aims to foster societal change by reshaping how domestic violence is perceived and handled and paves the way for safer communities and a more supportive environment for survivors.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The subject matter of this podcast will address
difficult topics multiple formsof violence, and identity-based
discrimination and harassment.
We acknowledge that thiscontent may be difficult and
have listed specific contentwarnings in each episode
description to help create apositive, safe experience for
all listeners.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
In this country, 31 million crimes 31 million crimes
are reported every year.
That is one every second.
Out of that, every 24 minutesthere is a murder.
Every five minutes there is arape.
Every two to five minutes thereis a sexual assault.
Every nine seconds in thiscountry, a woman is assaulted by
someone who told her that heloved her, by someone who told
(00:43):
her it was her fault, by someonewho tries to tell the rest of
us it's none of our business andI am proud to stand here today
with each of you to call thatperpetrator a liar.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Welcome to the podcast on crimes against women.
I'm Maria McMullin.
The following episode wasoriginally released on our
sister show, genesis, thePodcast.
October is Domestic ViolenceAwareness Month and today we are
highlighting services forvictims of domestic violence
that can reduce and possiblyprevent abuse and femicide.
Domestic violence high-riskteams are a critical part of
(01:15):
domestic violence fatalityreduction and improved responses
for survivors.
Here to guide us through thedomestic violence high-risk team
development and implementationprocess is Detective Brandon
Wooten.
According to the GeigerInstitute, a national initiative
to end domestic violencehomicides, the domestic violence
high-risk team model is anationally recognized domestic
(01:38):
violence homicide preventionframework identified by the
Department of Justice Office onViolence Against Women as a
leading promising practice inthe field, With a goal of
preventing intimate partnerhomicides and near-lethal
assaults.
The model has been successfullyreplicated in a variety of
jurisdictions across the country.
(01:59):
Our guest Detective, brandonWooten developed a domestic
violence high-risk team andjoins us to navigate its purpose
, implementation and possibleoutcomes.
Brandon C Wooten is a policedetective in Northern Colorado
who created and co-leads adomestic violence high-risk team
.
A sworn police officer since2013 and working in the state of
Montana until January 2022,detective Wooten has worked in
(02:22):
patrol as a patrol supervisorand as a field training officer.
He has served as a detectiveinvestigating crimes ranging
from child sexual assault andabuse to homicide.
Detective Wooten previouslyserved as an adjunct instructor
at the Montana Law EnforcementAcademy in the areas of domestic
violence, stalking,strangulation and sexual assault
(02:43):
, and also owns and operatesLight the Way Consulting, where
he provides training andtechnical assistance to
communities seeking to improvetheir response to intimate
partner violence.
Brandon, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Thank you for having me, Marie.
I'm very excited to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So I'm really excited to talk to you because I don't
really know much about domesticviolence high-risk teams and I
work for a domestic violenceshelter and non-residential
support center and I've beendoing so for years and talking
to experts from around the worldfor years.
So I'm glad you're here and Iunderstand you are kind of an
expert in this area and it'ssomewhat of a new initiative
(03:21):
across the country.
It's kind of recent, maybewithin the last 10 or so years.
Before we talk about what adomestic violence high-risk team
is, specifically the one thatyou helped to develop, tell us
about the rates of domesticviolence in the area where
you've served or you'recurrently serving and why you
(03:44):
felt the formation of a highrisk team was necessary.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I would like to say too thatlike, yeah, the concept of DVHRT
domestic violence high riskteam is, you know, within the
last 10 years all credit to theGeiger Institute, of course, but
the concept of amultidisciplinary team is a
story as old as time.
So, fortunately, you know, I'vefallen into this space and
thank you for letting me talkabout it.
(04:08):
So specific to what we'reseeing here where I work, we're
on track, for example, in 2024to have 800 domestic violence
cases within our city.
Well-established research thatabout 30% of those will be of
the high-risk nature.
And so when we think about thatas a community, right that's
(04:30):
I'm not a super big math guy,but that's more than 200
high-risk cases, so 200 folks inour community who are at risk
of being seriously injured orkilled by their intimate partner
.
And so, with those numbers,it's really a situation which
how do we not do more right as acountry, as a world, really?
The other important thing tonote is that in the last 10
years, in the jurisdiction thatI work in, 40 percent of the
homicides have been directlyrelated to intimate partner
(04:51):
violence.
And so, again, as a community,we're looking to reduce homicide
and homicide prevention efforts.
We need not look any furtherthan you know 40 percent of them
being domestic violence related.
Another thing that kind of isstriking about our community is
that although the Latinxcommunity represents a small
portion of our population, theyare represented twice that in
(05:12):
victimization of intimatepartner violence.
And so, again, just an effortto really collaborate and, as a
group of professionals, sort ofmake an impact in that space.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yeah, and it's not surprising to hear those
statistics that you mentioned,because those sound pretty
consistent with what we see andtalk about across the country.
It still sounds like it's onein four.
It still sounds like it'slargely underreported, because
you're on track for 800 casesfor the year 2024, but it's
probably three times thatbecause people don't report, and
(05:46):
I'm glad to hear that you haveaddressed this in such a robust
manner in the location where youare now.
So tell us about what ahigh-risk team is, helping us
understand the purpose and thework that you do.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Sure.
So there's really four maincomponents of the domestic
violence high-risk team model,and again, creation of which was
the Geiger Institute and DrCampbell.
But the first prong is earlyidentification through
evidence-based risk assessment.
So we can't really have afunctioning team aimed at
preventing domestic violence,homicide, if we don't have a way
to measure lethal risk.
(06:24):
The second piece is increasedaccess to supportive services.
So we know through thestatistics that if we can
connect a survivor to supportiveservices in the community, we
drastically reduce the chancesthat their intimate partner will
ultimately kill them.
The next piece of it is anincreased offender monitoring
and accountability, right.
So again, if we aim to preventsomething, we must also, you
know, take a.
So, again, if we aim to preventsomething, we must also, you
(06:46):
know, take a look at what are wedoing to not only help the
person who could be harmed, butalso hold the person accountable
ahead of time that will do theharming.
And then the fourth sort ofprong is this coordinated,
multidisciplinary response.
So it sort of builds uponitself, maria, insofar as if you
start with identification ofrisk, you connect those folks to
the services they need in thecommunity to keep them safe, you
(07:07):
monitor and hold accountablethe offender, and then we have a
group of multidisciplinarymembers that sit at the same
table and that sort of comprisesthe work that we're doing.
So I assume your next questionwill probably be well, brandon,
who sits at that table?
So the core components of a ofa, you know, dv
multidisciplinary team areobviously law enforcement you
(07:28):
need the prosecutors in yourjurisdiction at the table, you
need your pretrial servicesfolks at the table, you need the
DV service provider for thecommunity at the table, and
that's a critically importantpiece that I really don't want
to gloss over.
Arguably the most importantpiece is the DV service provider
, the community-based advocacy.
You know, having the paroleprobation folks at the table,
(07:52):
really kind of the before,during and after piece, is kind
of really the heart of the workwe're doing.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
So a high-risk team is really devoted to the cases
that where lethality is at thehighest risk.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yes, that's correct, Maria.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
And so all the services that you're bringing to
the table will not only addressthe domestic violence, but also
the lethality and how to getthe victim to safety and perhaps
the offender off the street.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That is correct.
So, really, the thought processis we're going to connect the
survivor to services that willset them up for the best success
, and we all know that leavingand the choice to end a
relationship is never somethingthat law enforcement should be
telling a survivor to do right.
Only they know when it's safeto do so, and so let's leave
that to the community-basedadvocates to have that
(08:40):
conversation.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Now let's, on the back end right, build the
strongest case we can to holdthe offender accountable, so
that hopefully we can help stopthe cycle from the system
standpoint.
So, domestic violence,high-risk teams they haven't
always been around.
As we said in the beginning ofthe show, and you were right,
the basis for developing theteam is the work of Dr
Jacqueline Campbell.
Her research really was theunderpinning of the high-risk
team.
So how did this all come aboutthen?
(09:11):
How did you decide to develop ahigh-risk team for the area
that you're working in, and howcan other local law enforcement
agencies get started in creatingand implementing a similar team
?
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, absolutely so.
The reason that I set about tostart this domestic violence
high risk team was just reallyrecognizing the need you know we
have.
I work in a fairly large cityin Northern Colorado and we had
individuals doing really greatwork right.
We had police officersresponding to calls, doing a
good job, connecting thosesurvivors to our local DV
(09:46):
service provider, and that wassort of the end of the
connection.
We weren't maintaininglong-term connection with those
cases with the prosecutor'soffice, with pretrial services,
and what we were seeing is avast amount of our
misdemeanor-level domesticviolence cases were just rinse
and repeat.
We were making an arrest, theoffender is out the next day and
(10:06):
in a week we're back and we'reseeing patterns and patterns and
patterns of individual playersare doing the level best that
they can, but we weren't reallycommunicating at a higher level
and so, fortunately, from myprevious experience in my law
enforcement career, I knew thatthere was a way that we could
address this, and the way we canaddress it is through the
multidisciplinary approach andso that we're not you know I
(10:27):
don't I'm a super big fan of theterm working in silos, but
that's exactly what it was, andand really creating the high
risk team was a means to breakdown those silos and really all
work together with the spirit ofkeeping people alive, right?
I think one of the things I tellmy team all the time is our job
is to put the DB fatalityreview board out of work.
Right, we are a proactive team.
(10:49):
We are not a after the fact hey, what could we have done better
?
We are let's prevent thehomicide so that that team never
has to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
How many homicides do you see related to domestic
violence in your jurisdiction?
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Yeah, so in the last 10 years, 40% of our homicides
have been domestic violencerelated, and that would put it
right around the 22 or 23 mark.
The other thing to note is itreally is dependent on the state
and how they track theirdomestic violence fatality and
really how they define domesticviolence right.
So collateral victimization issomething that doesn't get
(11:23):
talked about enough insofar asit's not just the intended
target that is, victim of thehomicide.
Right Nationally, that numberis about 20%, where there's an
additional 20% of folks that arecollateral victims.
In the state of Colorado, thatnumber is right about 40% and so
not only are we aiming toprevent the homicide of the DV
victim, but of their children,of the responding law
(11:45):
enforcement officers, of aneighbor who called it in,
really trying to address thatwhole totality.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Yeah, I mean that's very smart.
Now, had you worked withhigh-risk teams previously to
your current role?
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Yes, so where I came from, in my prior law
enforcement experience in thestate of Montana, I did run a
domestic violence high-risk teamin that location as well, where
we were using evidence-basedlethality assessment to sort of
drive the work in a similarfashion to how we aim to do it
here.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, and so the high-risk team.
It sounds familiar to me, right, it sounds a lot like the
coordinated community response,but for a very specific purpose,
and that being reducingfatalities.
So what partnerships?
I know you listed off thepeople at the table, but what
other partnerships are mosteffective for high-risk teams
for this purpose, and how havethey helped?
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, and I hear what you're saying regarding the CCR
.
The one thing I want to drawthe distinction of between a
high-risk team and a CCR isthink of a coordinated community
response as almost like anadvisory board.
Right, this is everyprofessional who could touch a
domestic violence case.
And how can we process, improve, right, that's kind of think of
the CCR in that way.
Think of the high-risk team aswe are the nuts and bolts of the
(12:57):
system trying to prevent thehomicide.
Right, we're the ones makingaction plans, right, like
tangible steps.
What are we going to do next?
Right, pre-trial services, whatare you going to do regarding
GPS monitoring for the offenderDA's office?
Right, are we going to ask forhigher bond, cash bond, based on
the history and the lethalityrisk posed, and so you know law
enforcement?
(13:18):
Are we going to do you know,another interview, if it's
applicable?
Are we going to do you knowanother interview?
If it's applicable, are wegoing to, hey, let's have the
child witnesses forensicallyinterviewed so we can really
bolster this case.
And so, when I think of thedifference between CCR and the
high risk team, it really is theCCR gives us best practices and
(13:38):
then the high risk team doesthe work.
And so you know the critical asI mentioned earlier, the
critical component of thecommunity based advocacy, as I
mentioned earlier, the criticalcomponent of the community-based
advocacy, right, and I want toreally highlight the fact that
the DVHRT is not aprosecution-based team.
That is not.
We don't in our right MOUs andin our, you know, mission and
vision, it's not let's prosecuteas many DV cases as we can.
We are a survivor-centered teamand so whatever that looks like
(13:59):
, whatever safety looks like forthem.
And so it might be right, our DBservice provider saying, hey,
law enforcement, like, sit down,now's not the time, it's not
safe to report.
And us trusting the DB serviceprovider and saying, you know,
because we all work together sowell, we trust their judgment.
So the DB service provider isarguably the most important
(14:19):
piece.
And then, of course, having thebuy-in of the prosecutors and
the courts Because, as ourfriends at the Geiger Institute
will say, you know, justmeasuring lethality doesn't do
any good, right?
What do we actually do with thatinformation on the back end?
So we use it to inform bonddecisions.
We use it to make cogentarguments for why we need a
higher bond and whystrangulation, right, for why we
(14:40):
need a higher bond.
And why strangulation?
Right, if a prosecutor so muchas goes in and a bond argument
and says, hey, we know that thisis now a 750% increased chance
that they will kill theirintimate partner, and the judge
hears that, right, that'spowerful.
And so we're using lethalityrisk to inform not only law
enforcement but the courtprocess and the DA's office and
really making a.
(15:01):
That's where we make our impact.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
It sounds like you're doing everything right.
I mean, it's music to my earssome of the things that you were
saying.
So how effective has this been?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Yeah.
So the one thing I'll alwayssay when people ask that's right
.
One of the number one questionsis efficacy, right, how can you
show what you're doing iseffective?
And one thing I always want totell people at the beginning is
this is a lot like DUIenforcement, right?
We will never be able to saydefinitively that we saved X
amount of lives based on thework that we're doing, similarly
(15:30):
to saying you know, we can'tsay how many fatalities are
prevented by DUI enforcement.
What we can track, though, istrends, right?
We can say year over year, havewe had a reduction in homicides
?
And in my previous you know myprevious role within law
enforcement, we were seeing yearover year decreases in intimate
partner homicides.
(15:51):
Other places around the countrythat use this model have seen
year over year reductions, andyou know that's the best way.
The other way that we can tellis are we seeing recidivism,
right?
Are we seeing the same folksover and over and over again?
And largely we are not, youknow.
One case example I would giveis you know, law enforcement
(16:11):
patrol officers have respondedwell over a dozen times to the
same violation of the order ofprotection right.
Their abusive partner wasviolating the protection order
time and time again and thatperson was actually charged over
12 times with individualviolations of the order of
protection.
Well, when the high risk teamwas referred to that case
holistically, we looked at itand said, well A, if it's
(16:33):
happened more than 12 times,it's stalking at this point.
And so let's work with the DA'soffice to upcharge these
misdemeanor protection orderviolations to felony stalking.
And once we were able to dothat and we were able to get
higher offender accountabilityvia GPS, via some other things
that the court can now impose,because we went from a
misdemeanor to a felony, westopped having the protection
order violations and thatdoesn't work every time right.
(16:55):
That's not to say that this is afoolproof system, but that's
just one small example of whenwe all sit at the same table and
work together and we haverelationships.
And I don't want to gloss overrelationships.
Relationships are the mostimportant part.
It is not the tool that gaugeslethality, it is not how good I
am individually or how goodsomeone else is individually,
it's relationships.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Yeah, totally.
I mean, these are the thingsthat solve cases right, these
are the things that move casesforward.
And if you can put asidepersonal agendas and political
agendas and just work on thetask at hand solving cases or
helping domestic violencevictims I say solving cases
because I listen to a lot oftrue crime podcasts not my own,
(17:40):
others and there are so manycold cases.
And when agendas get involved,that's when things go in a bad
direction or cases do not getpursued or victims do not get
protected.
And I think I asked thequestion about the efficacy of a
high risk team because I wantpeople to hear not only that
(18:01):
it's effective, but that it's awise investment of time and
resources.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Well, and I 100% agree with you on both of those
points.
The other thing I want to pointout is it isn't cost
prohibitive, right, To startthis team where I am now, it was
sending an email to theindividual stakeholders and
requesting an initial meeting.
In that initial meeting, I say,hey, DV service provider, hey,
you know, community justicealternatives.
(18:28):
This is my vision.
Right, this is what I believewe can all accomplish together.
Then it transitioned to okay,now all these people are in the
same room and I'm giving thesame presentation again about
why this work should be done,and everyone in the room it's
like light bulbs are going onright, Like, oh my goodness, we
work half a mile down the roadfrom this other agency and we
really don't talk.
And so the investment is energy, right, the investment is time.
(18:51):
Our high risk team doesn't havean operating budget, right, we
operate, you know, under thecolor of our own agency and we
get together and every two weekswe staff high risk cases,
andrisk cases, and we move theneedle in that mark.
So it's not a huge lift as bigas I think people think
sometimes.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Yeah, I think when you say establish a high-risk
team, it sounds like this isgonna be a major initiative and
it's gonna be a government lineitem.
But it doesn't have to be,because everyone that you're
talking about, who isparticipating in these
conversations, they alreadyexist, they already have a job.
You're just bringing themtogether for meeting about
high-risk cases.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Exactly yes, these are all players that already
exist and would already be doingthe work.
Now we're just coordinatingthat work and how we can most
effectively do it together.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
About how many, would you say, exist across the
country right now?
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Well.
So it sort of depends on whatbox you want to put it in right.
Specific to DVHRT and theInstitute or the model from the
Geiger Institute, I think theyestimate there's you know
upwards of I think they have.
I don right, there's multiplein the state of Colorado,
(20:07):
there's multiple in the state ofMontana, where I came from.
I would say that it'sunderutilized, but I would say
that the movement is certainlypicking up and I think, you know
, a big reason that these thingshaven't happened yet is, I
think people are sort of just, Idon't know, concerned by the
red tape and one of the things Iwould say is that it's not as
bad as it sounds.
Again, these people alreadyexist in the jobs they do.
(20:29):
Someone just needs to raisetheir hand and say, hey, I want
to schedule a meeting, andthat's how we get where we go.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yeah, I think that's an important call to action for
this conversation and fordomestic violence high risk
teams in general, that it maybeis just a matter of saying it
out loud to the right group ofpeople, or, to your point,
sending an email, and maybe yourcommunity can have a domestic
violence high-risk team, or justat least talk about it.
(20:55):
And is it necessary and howwould it be helpful?
And so to those points how doesthe DVHRT reduce intimate
partner fatalities?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, absolutely so, one of the again, I can't take
credit for this, but the GeigerInstitute right, they'll say
time and time again if it'spredictable, it's preventable.
And so what the high risk teamis doing is, like I mentioned,
we're starting withevidence-based risk assessment
and, based on the data we'regetting from that firearm
ownership, prior strangulation,stalking, recent separation
(21:27):
we're getting from that rightfirearm ownership, prior
strangulation, stalking, youknow, recent separation we're
using those real, you know,research-based things that
predict lethality to then helpprevent it.
And so, if it's predictable, itis preventable In 2022, in
Colorado, the DV Fatality ReviewBoard put out a you know their
annual report and in that annualreport it said 50% of the IPV
(21:49):
homicide victims in that yearhad caught, 50% of them had
contact with law enforcement.
And so what that tells us isthat the system is engaging with
the folks who are ultimatelykilled.
But what is the system doingfor them?
Right, and as a individual lawenforcement officer responding
to a domestic violence call, Ican do my part for sure, but I
can't do a right the systemdoing for them?
Right, and as an individual lawenforcement officer responding
to a domestic violence call, Ican do my part for sure, but I
(22:10):
can't do right.
I'm not the whole system, I'mnot the DA's office, I'm not the
DV service provider, I'm notpretrial services, and so what
that tells us is that that's howwe predict and prevent the
homicide, is we all sit at thesame table and action plan
together, and so you know.
Your question is how do we doit?
Well, the how is again startswith relationships and then the
(22:34):
what is the tangible actionplanning that the high-risk team
does to achieve two thingsright Connect the survivor to
services and hold the offenderaccountable.
How do we hold the offenderaccountable?
We do that through bolsteringinvestigations, through making
cogent bond arguments, throughhaving these high risk lethality
factors actually go as far asimpacting what the DA will plea
(22:56):
a case to.
I mean, it touches so manylayers of the system that that's
how we use the predictabilityof the risk factors and then
prevent the homicide.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Okay.
So I want to back up for onesecond and just make sure all of
our listeners understand whatwe're talking about when we say
lethality and lethalityassessment, because not
everybody listening may befamiliar with that term.
So if you could explain whatthe lethality assessment is and
its specific role in thehigh-risk team, yeah, absolutely
is.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And its specific role in the high risk team yeah,
absolutely.
So, again, all credit due to DrJacqueline Campbell and Dr Jill
Messing.
And there are others, right, drNeil Websdale, sort of the
really the researchers and thebrains behind lethality
assessment.
So they've spent decadesvalidating and researching the
predictive factors of futurehomicide, and so when we're
(23:46):
talking about lethalityassessment, there's specific
questions and depending on theassessment tool you use, right,
some are longer, some areshorter, but at the root of them
, they're all sort of getting atthe same thing, right?
So a lethality assessment isactually something delivered or
administered on scene to avictim of intimate partner
violence, and we're asking themquestions to gauge lethality.
So, right, a question on mostlethality assessments is right
(24:09):
does your partner own a gun?
Another one would be, you know,has he or she ever strangled
you?
Is he or she, you know,constantly or violently jealous?
And so these questions that areall based on research.
So the good news is right forall of us in the field doing the
work now, right, dr Campbell,dr Messing, dr Websdale, they've
done all the work for us.
Now all we have to do is betrauma informed when we ask
(24:31):
these questions and we unlockthe key to keeping this person
alive.
So lethality assessment right,there's all sorts.
There's various assessments outthere.
There's the LAP, which wascreated by the Maryland Network.
There's the DALE, so the DangerAssessment for Law Enforcement,
from the Geiger Institute.
There's APRAISE, which isArizona, and Dr WebbsDAIL's tool
(24:55):
.
There's ODERA, the OntarioDanger Assessment.
I mean, there's so many outthere and they do varying.
They all go toward the samething, but there's slight
nuances.
Really, what I would say to that, maria, is I don't care what
tool a community uses, as longas they use one, and you know
there are.
I want to put a plug in herefor DVRisk, which is under the
Office of Alliance Against Women.
They're sort of a clearinghousefor sites and agencies that
want to get on board with usinglethality assessment.
(25:17):
There's so much out there thatwe can do specific to that, and
so that's what lethalityassessment is what's.
A site has chosen a lethalityassessment and those that's what
lethality assessment is what's.
A site has chosen a lethalityassessment and those lethality
assessments then are a directreferral to the high risk team.
And so you know, we'll use theexample of an officer at two in
the morning is going on a DVcall, they do a lethality
assessment and they scan it intothis predetermined rate
(25:40):
distribution group.
When I get in at 7am the nextday I have the danger assessment
or whatever tool is being usedin front of me and now the high
risk team can get off andrunning if we need to.
So really, the lethalityassessment is the primary
referral pathway to the highrisk team.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Makes sense.
When we first started talking,you mentioned Latinx and
minorities, who experiencedomestic violence at a higher
rate.
Have you found that culturallysensitive services can be
integrated with this high riskteam and possibly improve
outcomes for those victims?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
100%.
So every community is different.
Right, everybody has adifferent cultural makeup and
has different you know resourcesin their community.
But I can say for our high riskteam, we have a community
resource center for the Latinxcommunity and they are a part of
our team.
There's really no other way todo it.
You know, if we understand thatthe Latinx community has a
(26:33):
higher rate of domestic violence, victimization, then we ought
to have someone on the team whocan help us be culturally
responsive and sort of breakdown that distrust.
That's honestly a lot of thetime well-earned, unfortunately
and so if we can break downthose barriers right.
And again it goes back torelationships, maria.
(26:53):
So we have a great workingrelationship with that local
service provider and because ofthat they trust us.
We trust them.
Now, when a survivor goes tothem and says, hey, I feel stuck
but I don't think I can go tothe police or I don't think I
can report this, now thatrelationship that already exists
between us and that serviceprovider is what actually helps
that survivor feel comfortablereporting what's happening to
(27:14):
them, and so I think we've gotto do that.
I don't think you can have aneffective high-risk team if you
don't have representation ofthose minority communities at
the table.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, that's an excellent point.
So how long has this particularhigh risk team been in play?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Yeah.
So I came down to the state ofColorado about two and a half
years ago from Montana and Istarted this effort about a year
and a half ago, so about a yearinto being here, the agency
that I work for.
I've had excellent support fromthe executive staff, the chief
of police, to really createsomething new here, and so we've
got about a year and a half offormation.
(27:53):
Now I will say no high riskteam comes together in a week,
right.
This was months of relationshipbuilding and MOU development
and things of that nature.
But in the year and a halfwe've been together, we've seen
incredible outcomes, situationswhere, you know, previously a
person would go to bond forstrangulation and get a $400
(28:15):
personal recognizance bond.
Now, when those cases come in,right, we're communicating with
the DA's office, the DB serviceprovider, and we're saying we're
going to bonds now and makingexcellent arguments and when I
say we, I mean the DA's office.
They're making excellent bondarguments and we've seen those
cases go from 400 PR personalcognizance to 10,000 cash only
because we're speaking the samelanguage as it relates to
(28:37):
lethality and preventing futurehomicides.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
That sounds like a lot of education was invested in
all of the players for thehigh-risk team, including the
prosecutors, maybe even judges.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
Yes, so in my jurisdiction, the judges
actually opened the door and letme come talk to them.
I was able to present to theirmonthly meeting and talk about
the high-risk team and how wecan predict and prevent lethal
and near lethal violence andwhat role the court plays in
that.
And, and you know, when you'reusing evidence-based lethality
assessment, the court has aneasier time getting on board
(29:12):
with what we're doing.
Right, because the court is animpartial entity.
They have to weigh both sidesand when they hear information,
they prefer it to beevidence-based and, and you know
, have have a long trail ofresearch behind it.
And so when I was able to bringthat to the bench and say, hey,
this isn't something that I,you know, wrote on a piece of
paper with crayon, right, Ididn't create this in the
(29:33):
backyard, this is something thatis well-researched, the courts
are on board, the prosecutorsare on board.
It is a truly a community-wideeffort.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
So when you say the courts, which courts are you
talking about?
Speaker 3 (29:46):
So I'm talking about the criminal courts, so the
courts in which folks would goto bond after getting criminally
charged or ultimately wheretheir trial will be held.
Because I work for lawenforcement, obviously you know
I'm not involved in the civilcourt process, although I will
say the high risk team does andcan have a have a impact in the
family court setting does andcan have a impact in the family
court setting.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
You knew where I was going with this.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
I did so ultimately right.
The criminal case is a verysmall part of a survivor story,
and we know that a lot of thebarriers to reporting are what's
going to happen next in familycourt, and so we're very well
aware of and that's why I say,maria, that we're a
survivor-centered team right.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
If the facts don't support us moving forward with a
criminal case, then we don'tright, because our goal is just
to keep people alive.
Our goal is not to get as manyprosecutions right.
We're not looking for notchesin family court.
I would hope that the peoplewho are at the table for the
high-risk team in some of thesecases that they can be helpful
to the victim with what she'sgoing to encounter in family
court, which is a very differentscenario.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
It is very different and, admittedly, right.
The domestic violence high-riskteam is geared toward the
criminal court.
That being said, a lot of thedisciplines at the table also
are involved with family court,and so we do touch both systems.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Maybe an investment in education and family court
wouldn't be a bad idea.
I'm just saying.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
You are very correct.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
You're also the founder of Light the Way
Consulting.
What is the work you performand who does it help?
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Yeah, so I created that.
I created Light the WayConsulting.
What is the work you performand who does it help?
Yeah, so I created that.
I created Light the WayConsulting because I wanted to
help at a higher level.
And so when I say that, I meanright, there's agencies all over
the country and jurisdictionswho want to do the kind of work
that we're doing, and they justdon't know where to start.
And so my mission is to helpfolks who, like me right 10
years ago, me who had these wilddreams of doing something like
(31:50):
this and helping them get theirfeet off the ground.
When I was at the Conference onCrimes Against Women this
summer in Dallas, I met so manypeople who were like, hey, I
love the concept, but how do Istart?
Speaker 1 (32:05):
And so I got that question Were you a presenter at
the conference?
Speaker 3 (32:08):
I wasn't last year.
I was there, I spoke a littlebit with DV Risk, I was in the
Geiger Institute's presentationand they sort of dimed me out,
so to speak, as I was in thecrowd because we'd worked
together and I just I love tohelp and make an impact and so
my hope with Light the WayConsulting is that anything as
(32:30):
it relates to domestic violenceright.
If it's domestic violence 101,right.
Do we need to get our cops moretrauma informed?
Do we need to, you know, helpeducate our, our prosecutors?
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Do we need to do all those things?
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Yes, yes, keep going and and and all those things,
Maria, are my goal.
So there really isn't a onething that I do.
I will do anything.
Yeah, you know, agency big orsmall, I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So you said this is one of your wildest dreams.
So how is that?
How did that become a dream foryou?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
So I as a young person really didn't know that I
wanted to be in law enforcement, but I grew up.
My first eight years of lifewere fairly tumultuous.
I saw my own mother experiencedomestic violence and I think
that was the underpinning forwhat I would ultimately do.
And I was in the academy as a21-year-old freshly graduated
from college and I sat throughmy first domestic violence
(33:22):
presentation and the light bulbwent on and I knew that for the
rest of my career, my life,really this is what I was going
to dedicate myself to.
And I haven't stopped.
I've been teaching at policeacademies and around the country
on the topics of domesticviolence and really I can't
imagine doing anything else.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
That's incredible that you were able to take those
childhood experiences and justput all of that energy into
something positive thatpotentially saves lives and
helps a lot of people.
I'm really proud of you forthat.
Do you have a website wherepeople can learn more about the
Light, the Way Consulting andpossibly get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (34:03):
So I don't currently have a website, but Light the
Way Consulting does have its ownLinkedIn page.
I myself have a LinkedIn pageand that's honestly where I get
the bulk of the requests to cometo these various places and
teach.
So send me a message onLinkedIn.
It's just Light the WayConsulting, just as it's written
, and I'd love to help andcollaborate.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Perfect.
Thank you so much for talkingwith me today and I hope I see
you at the 2025 Conference onCrimes Against Women.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
I will see you there, Maria.
Thank you Thanks.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
To learn more about domestic violence, high-risk
teams and the Geiger Institute,visit geigerinstituteorg.
Thanks so much for listening.
Until next time, stay safe.
The 2025 Conference on CrimesAgainst Women will take place in
Dallas, Texas, May 19th throughthe 22nd at the Sheraton Dallas
.
Learn more and register atconferencecaworg and follow us
(34:57):
on social media at National CCAW.
The subject matter of this podcast will address
difficult topics multiple formsof violence, and identity-based
discrimination and harassment.
We acknowledge that thiscontent may be difficult and
have listed specific contentwarnings in each episode
description to help create apositive, safe experience for
all listeners.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
In this country, 31 million crimes 31 million crimes
are reported every year.
That is one every second.
Out of that, every 24 minutesthere is a murder.
Every five minutes there is arape.
Every two to five minutes thereis a sexual assault.
Every nine seconds in thiscountry, a woman is assaulted by
someone who told her that heloved her, by someone who told
(00:43):
her it was her fault, by someonewho tries to tell the rest of
us it's none of our business andI am proud to stand here today
with each of you to call thatperpetrator a liar.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Welcome to the podcast on crimes against women.
I'm Maria McMullin.
The following episode wasoriginally released on our
sister show, genesis, thePodcast.
October is Domestic ViolenceAwareness Month and today we are
highlighting services forvictims of domestic violence
that can reduce and possiblyprevent abuse and femicide.
Domestic violence high-riskteams are a critical part of
(01:15):
domestic violence fatalityreduction and improved responses
for survivors.
Here to guide us through thedomestic violence high-risk team
development and implementationprocess is Detective Brandon
Wooten.
According to the GeigerInstitute, a national initiative
to end domestic violencehomicides, the domestic violence
high-risk team model is anationally recognized domestic
(01:38):
violence homicide preventionframework identified by the
Department of Justice Office onViolence Against Women as a
leading promising practice inthe field, With a goal of
preventing intimate partnerhomicides and near-lethal
assaults.
The model has been successfullyreplicated in a variety of
jurisdictions across the country.
(01:59):
Our guest Detective, brandonWooten developed a domestic
violence high-risk team andjoins us to navigate its purpose
, implementation and possibleoutcomes.
Brandon C Wooten is a policedetective in Northern Colorado
who created and co-leads adomestic violence high-risk team
.
A sworn police officer since2013 and working in the state of
Montana until January 2022,detective Wooten has worked in
(02:22):
patrol as a patrol supervisorand as a field training officer.
He has served as a detectiveinvestigating crimes ranging
from child sexual assault andabuse to homicide.
Detective Wooten previouslyserved as an adjunct instructor
at the Montana Law EnforcementAcademy in the areas of domestic
violence, stalking,strangulation and sexual assault
(02:43):
, and also owns and operatesLight the Way Consulting, where
he provides training andtechnical assistance to
communities seeking to improvetheir response to intimate
partner violence.
Brandon, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Thank you for having me, Marie.
I'm very excited to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So I'm really excited to talk to you because I don't
really know much about domesticviolence high-risk teams and I
work for a domestic violenceshelter and non-residential
support center and I've beendoing so for years and talking
to experts from around the worldfor years.
So I'm glad you're here and Iunderstand you are kind of an
expert in this area and it'ssomewhat of a new initiative
(03:21):
across the country.
It's kind of recent, maybewithin the last 10 or so years.
Before we talk about what adomestic violence high-risk team
is, specifically the one thatyou helped to develop, tell us
about the rates of domesticviolence in the area where
you've served or you'recurrently serving and why you
(03:44):
felt the formation of a highrisk team was necessary.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I would like to say too thatlike, yeah, the concept of DVHRT
domestic violence high riskteam is, you know, within the
last 10 years all credit to theGeiger Institute, of course, but
the concept of amultidisciplinary team is a
story as old as time.
So, fortunately, you know, I'vefallen into this space and
thank you for letting me talkabout it.
(04:08):
So specific to what we'reseeing here where I work, we're
on track, for example, in 2024to have 800 domestic violence
cases within our city.
Well-established research thatabout 30% of those will be of
the high-risk nature.
And so when we think about thatas a community, right that's
(04:30):
I'm not a super big math guy,but that's more than 200
high-risk cases, so 200 folks inour community who are at risk
of being seriously injured orkilled by their intimate partner
.
And so, with those numbers,it's really a situation which
how do we not do more right as acountry, as a world, really?
The other important thing tonote is that in the last 10
years, in the jurisdiction thatI work in, 40 percent of the
homicides have been directlyrelated to intimate partner
(04:51):
violence.
And so, again, as a community,we're looking to reduce homicide
and homicide prevention efforts.
We need not look any furtherthan you know 40 percent of them
being domestic violence related.
Another thing that kind of isstriking about our community is
that although the Latinxcommunity represents a small
portion of our population, theyare represented twice that in
(05:12):
victimization of intimatepartner violence.
And so, again, just an effortto really collaborate and, as a
group of professionals, sort ofmake an impact in that space.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yeah, and it's not surprising to hear those
statistics that you mentioned,because those sound pretty
consistent with what we see andtalk about across the country.
It still sounds like it's onein four.
It still sounds like it'slargely underreported, because
you're on track for 800 casesfor the year 2024, but it's
probably three times thatbecause people don't report, and
(05:46):
I'm glad to hear that you haveaddressed this in such a robust
manner in the location where youare now.
So tell us about what ahigh-risk team is, helping us
understand the purpose and thework that you do.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Sure.
So there's really four maincomponents of the domestic
violence high-risk team model,and again, creation of which was
the Geiger Institute and DrCampbell.
But the first prong is earlyidentification through
evidence-based risk assessment.
So we can't really have afunctioning team aimed at
preventing domestic violence,homicide, if we don't have a way
to measure lethal risk.
(06:24):
The second piece is increasedaccess to supportive services.
So we know through thestatistics that if we can
connect a survivor to supportiveservices in the community, we
drastically reduce the chancesthat their intimate partner will
ultimately kill them.
The next piece of it is anincreased offender monitoring
and accountability, right.
So again, if we aim to preventsomething, we must also, you
know, take a.
So, again, if we aim to preventsomething, we must also, you
(06:46):
know, take a look at what are wedoing to not only help the
person who could be harmed, butalso hold the person accountable
ahead of time that will do theharming.
And then the fourth sort ofprong is this coordinated,
multidisciplinary response.
So it sort of builds uponitself, maria, insofar as if you
start with identification ofrisk, you connect those folks to
the services they need in thecommunity to keep them safe, you
(07:07):
monitor and hold accountablethe offender, and then we have a
group of multidisciplinarymembers that sit at the same
table and that sort of comprisesthe work that we're doing.
So I assume your next questionwill probably be well, brandon,
who sits at that table?
So the core components of a ofa, you know, dv
multidisciplinary team areobviously law enforcement you
(07:28):
need the prosecutors in yourjurisdiction at the table, you
need your pretrial servicesfolks at the table, you need the
DV service provider for thecommunity at the table, and
that's a critically importantpiece that I really don't want
to gloss over.
Arguably the most importantpiece is the DV service provider
, the community-based advocacy.
You know, having the paroleprobation folks at the table,
(07:52):
really kind of the before,during and after piece, is kind
of really the heart of the workwe're doing.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
So a high-risk team is really devoted to the cases
that where lethality is at thehighest risk.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yes, that's correct, Maria.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
And so all the services that you're bringing to
the table will not only addressthe domestic violence, but also
the lethality and how to getthe victim to safety and perhaps
the offender off the street.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That is correct.
So, really, the thought processis we're going to connect the
survivor to services that willset them up for the best success
, and we all know that leavingand the choice to end a
relationship is never somethingthat law enforcement should be
telling a survivor to do right.
Only they know when it's safeto do so, and so let's leave
that to the community-basedadvocates to have that
(08:40):
conversation.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Now let's, on the back end right, build the
strongest case we can to holdthe offender accountable, so
that hopefully we can help stopthe cycle from the system
standpoint.
So, domestic violence,high-risk teams they haven't
always been around.
As we said in the beginning ofthe show, and you were right,
the basis for developing theteam is the work of Dr
Jacqueline Campbell.
Her research really was theunderpinning of the high-risk
team.
So how did this all come aboutthen?
(09:11):
How did you decide to develop ahigh-risk team for the area
that you're working in, and howcan other local law enforcement
agencies get started in creatingand implementing a similar team
?
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, absolutely so.
The reason that I set about tostart this domestic violence
high risk team was just reallyrecognizing the need you know we
have.
I work in a fairly large cityin Northern Colorado and we had
individuals doing really greatwork right.
We had police officersresponding to calls, doing a
good job, connecting thosesurvivors to our local DV
(09:46):
service provider, and that wassort of the end of the
connection.
We weren't maintaininglong-term connection with those
cases with the prosecutor'soffice, with pretrial services,
and what we were seeing is avast amount of our
misdemeanor-level domesticviolence cases were just rinse
and repeat.
We were making an arrest, theoffender is out the next day and
(10:06):
in a week we're back and we'reseeing patterns and patterns and
patterns of individual playersare doing the level best that
they can, but we weren't reallycommunicating at a higher level
and so, fortunately, from myprevious experience in my law
enforcement career, I knew thatthere was a way that we could
address this, and the way we canaddress it is through the
multidisciplinary approach andso that we're not you know I
(10:27):
don't I'm a super big fan of theterm working in silos, but
that's exactly what it was, andand really creating the high
risk team was a means to breakdown those silos and really all
work together with the spirit ofkeeping people alive, right?
I think one of the things I tellmy team all the time is our job
is to put the DB fatalityreview board out of work.
Right, we are a proactive team.
(10:49):
We are not a after the fact hey, what could we have done better
?
We are let's prevent thehomicide so that that team never
has to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
How many homicides do you see related to domestic
violence in your jurisdiction?
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Yeah, so in the last 10 years, 40% of our homicides
have been domestic violencerelated, and that would put it
right around the 22 or 23 mark.
The other thing to note is itreally is dependent on the state
and how they track theirdomestic violence fatality and
really how they define domesticviolence right.
So collateral victimization issomething that doesn't get
(11:23):
talked about enough insofar asit's not just the intended
target that is, victim of thehomicide.
Right Nationally, that numberis about 20%, where there's an
additional 20% of folks that arecollateral victims.
In the state of Colorado, thatnumber is right about 40% and so
not only are we aiming toprevent the homicide of the DV
victim, but of their children,of the responding law
(11:45):
enforcement officers, of aneighbor who called it in,
really trying to address thatwhole totality.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Yeah, I mean that's very smart.
Now, had you worked withhigh-risk teams previously to
your current role?
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Yes, so where I came from, in my prior law
enforcement experience in thestate of Montana, I did run a
domestic violence high-risk teamin that location as well, where
we were using evidence-basedlethality assessment to sort of
drive the work in a similarfashion to how we aim to do it
here.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, and so the high-risk team.
It sounds familiar to me, right, it sounds a lot like the
coordinated community response,but for a very specific purpose,
and that being reducingfatalities.
So what partnerships?
I know you listed off thepeople at the table, but what
other partnerships are mosteffective for high-risk teams
for this purpose, and how havethey helped?
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, and I hear what you're saying regarding the CCR
.
The one thing I want to drawthe distinction of between a
high-risk team and a CCR isthink of a coordinated community
response as almost like anadvisory board.
Right, this is everyprofessional who could touch a
domestic violence case.
And how can we process, improve, right, that's kind of think of
the CCR in that way.
Think of the high-risk team aswe are the nuts and bolts of the
(12:57):
system trying to prevent thehomicide.
Right, we're the ones makingaction plans, right, like
tangible steps.
What are we going to do next?
Right, pre-trial services, whatare you going to do regarding
GPS monitoring for the offenderDA's office?
Right, are we going to ask forhigher bond, cash bond, based on
the history and the lethalityrisk posed, and so you know law
enforcement?
(13:18):
Are we going to do you know,another interview, if it's
applicable?
Are we going to do you knowanother interview?
If it's applicable, are wegoing to, hey, let's have the
child witnesses forensicallyinterviewed so we can really
bolster this case.
And so, when I think of thedifference between CCR and the
high risk team, it really is theCCR gives us best practices and
(13:38):
then the high risk team doesthe work.
And so you know the critical asI mentioned earlier, the
critical component of thecommunity based advocacy, as I
mentioned earlier, the criticalcomponent of the community-based
advocacy, right, and I want toreally highlight the fact that
the DVHRT is not aprosecution-based team.
That is not.
We don't in our right MOUs andin our, you know, mission and
vision, it's not let's prosecuteas many DV cases as we can.
We are a survivor-centered teamand so whatever that looks like
(13:59):
, whatever safety looks like forthem.
And so it might be right, our DBservice provider saying, hey,
law enforcement, like, sit down,now's not the time, it's not
safe to report.
And us trusting the DB serviceprovider and saying, you know,
because we all work together sowell, we trust their judgment.
So the DB service provider isarguably the most important
(14:19):
piece.
And then, of course, having thebuy-in of the prosecutors and
the courts Because, as ourfriends at the Geiger Institute
will say, you know, justmeasuring lethality doesn't do
any good, right?
What do we actually do with thatinformation on the back end?
So we use it to inform bonddecisions.
We use it to make cogentarguments for why we need a
higher bond and whystrangulation, right, for why we
(14:40):
need a higher bond.
And why strangulation?
Right, if a prosecutor so muchas goes in and a bond argument
and says, hey, we know that thisis now a 750% increased chance
that they will kill theirintimate partner, and the judge
hears that, right, that'spowerful.
And so we're using lethalityrisk to inform not only law
enforcement but the courtprocess and the DA's office and
really making a.
(15:01):
That's where we make our impact.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
It sounds like you're doing everything right.
I mean, it's music to my earssome of the things that you were
saying.
So how effective has this been?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Yeah.
So the one thing I'll alwayssay when people ask that's right
.
One of the number one questionsis efficacy, right, how can you
show what you're doing iseffective?
And one thing I always want totell people at the beginning is
this is a lot like DUIenforcement, right?
We will never be able to saydefinitively that we saved X
amount of lives based on thework that we're doing, similarly
(15:30):
to saying you know, we can'tsay how many fatalities are
prevented by DUI enforcement.
What we can track, though, istrends, right?
We can say year over year, havewe had a reduction in homicides
?
And in my previous you know myprevious role within law
enforcement, we were seeing yearover year decreases in intimate
partner homicides.
(15:51):
Other places around the countrythat use this model have seen
year over year reductions, andyou know that's the best way.
The other way that we can tellis are we seeing recidivism,
right?
Are we seeing the same folksover and over and over again?
And largely we are not, youknow.
One case example I would giveis you know, law enforcement
(16:11):
patrol officers have respondedwell over a dozen times to the
same violation of the order ofprotection right.
Their abusive partner wasviolating the protection order
time and time again and thatperson was actually charged over
12 times with individualviolations of the order of
protection.
Well, when the high risk teamwas referred to that case
holistically, we looked at itand said, well A, if it's
(16:33):
happened more than 12 times,it's stalking at this point.
And so let's work with the DA'soffice to upcharge these
misdemeanor protection orderviolations to felony stalking.
And once we were able to dothat and we were able to get
higher offender accountabilityvia GPS, via some other things
that the court can now impose,because we went from a
misdemeanor to a felony, westopped having the protection
order violations and thatdoesn't work every time right.
(16:55):
That's not to say that this is afoolproof system, but that's
just one small example of whenwe all sit at the same table and
work together and we haverelationships.
And I don't want to gloss overrelationships.
Relationships are the mostimportant part.
It is not the tool that gaugeslethality, it is not how good I
am individually or how goodsomeone else is individually,
it's relationships.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Yeah, totally.
I mean, these are the thingsthat solve cases right, these
are the things that move casesforward.
And if you can put asidepersonal agendas and political
agendas and just work on thetask at hand solving cases or
helping domestic violencevictims I say solving cases
because I listen to a lot oftrue crime podcasts not my own,
(17:40):
others and there are so manycold cases.
And when agendas get involved,that's when things go in a bad
direction or cases do not getpursued or victims do not get
protected.
And I think I asked thequestion about the efficacy of a
high risk team because I wantpeople to hear not only that
(18:01):
it's effective, but that it's awise investment of time and
resources.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Well, and I 100% agree with you on both of those
points.
The other thing I want to pointout is it isn't cost
prohibitive, right, To startthis team where I am now, it was
sending an email to theindividual stakeholders and
requesting an initial meeting.
In that initial meeting, I say,hey, DV service provider, hey,
you know, community justicealternatives.
(18:28):
This is my vision.
Right, this is what I believewe can all accomplish together.
Then it transitioned to okay,now all these people are in the
same room and I'm giving thesame presentation again about
why this work should be done,and everyone in the room it's
like light bulbs are going onright, Like, oh my goodness, we
work half a mile down the roadfrom this other agency and we
really don't talk.
And so the investment is energy, right, the investment is time.
(18:51):
Our high risk team doesn't havean operating budget, right, we
operate, you know, under thecolor of our own agency and we
get together and every two weekswe staff high risk cases,
andrisk cases, and we move theneedle in that mark.
So it's not a huge lift as bigas I think people think
sometimes.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Yeah, I think when you say establish a high-risk
team, it sounds like this isgonna be a major initiative and
it's gonna be a government lineitem.
But it doesn't have to be,because everyone that you're
talking about, who isparticipating in these
conversations, they alreadyexist, they already have a job.
You're just bringing themtogether for meeting about
high-risk cases.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Exactly yes, these are all players that already
exist and would already be doingthe work.
Now we're just coordinatingthat work and how we can most
effectively do it together.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
About how many, would you say, exist across the
country right now?
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Well.
So it sort of depends on whatbox you want to put it in right.
Specific to DVHRT and theInstitute or the model from the
Geiger Institute, I think theyestimate there's you know
upwards of I think they have.
I don right, there's multiplein the state of Colorado,
(20:07):
there's multiple in the state ofMontana, where I came from.
I would say that it'sunderutilized, but I would say
that the movement is certainlypicking up and I think, you know
, a big reason that these thingshaven't happened yet is, I
think people are sort of just, Idon't know, concerned by the
red tape and one of the things Iwould say is that it's not as
bad as it sounds.
Again, these people alreadyexist in the jobs they do.
(20:29):
Someone just needs to raisetheir hand and say, hey, I want
to schedule a meeting, andthat's how we get where we go.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yeah, I think that's an important call to action for
this conversation and fordomestic violence high risk
teams in general, that it maybeis just a matter of saying it
out loud to the right group ofpeople, or, to your point,
sending an email, and maybe yourcommunity can have a domestic
violence high-risk team, or justat least talk about it.
(20:55):
And is it necessary and howwould it be helpful?
And so to those points how doesthe DVHRT reduce intimate
partner fatalities?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, absolutely so, one of the again, I can't take
credit for this, but the GeigerInstitute right, they'll say
time and time again if it'spredictable, it's preventable.
And so what the high risk teamis doing is, like I mentioned,
we're starting withevidence-based risk assessment
and, based on the data we'regetting from that firearm
ownership, prior strangulation,stalking, recent separation
(21:27):
we're getting from that rightfirearm ownership, prior
strangulation, stalking, youknow, recent separation we're
using those real, you know,research-based things that
predict lethality to then helpprevent it.
And so, if it's predictable, itis preventable In 2022, in
Colorado, the DV Fatality ReviewBoard put out a you know their
annual report and in that annualreport it said 50% of the IPV
(21:49):
homicide victims in that yearhad caught, 50% of them had
contact with law enforcement.
And so what that tells us isthat the system is engaging with
the folks who are ultimatelykilled.
But what is the system doingfor them?
Right, and as a individual lawenforcement officer responding
to a domestic violence call, Ican do my part for sure, but I
can't do a right the systemdoing for them?
Right, and as an individual lawenforcement officer responding
to a domestic violence call, Ican do my part for sure, but I
(22:10):
can't do right.
I'm not the whole system, I'mnot the DA's office, I'm not the
DV service provider, I'm notpretrial services, and so what
that tells us is that that's howwe predict and prevent the
homicide, is we all sit at thesame table and action plan
together, and so you know.
Your question is how do we doit?
Well, the how is again startswith relationships and then the
(22:34):
what is the tangible actionplanning that the high-risk team
does to achieve two thingsright Connect the survivor to
services and hold the offenderaccountable.
How do we hold the offenderaccountable?
We do that through bolsteringinvestigations, through making
cogent bond arguments, throughhaving these high risk lethality
factors actually go as far asimpacting what the DA will plea
(22:56):
a case to.
I mean, it touches so manylayers of the system that that's
how we use the predictabilityof the risk factors and then
prevent the homicide.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Okay.
So I want to back up for onesecond and just make sure all of
our listeners understand whatwe're talking about when we say
lethality and lethalityassessment, because not
everybody listening may befamiliar with that term.
So if you could explain whatthe lethality assessment is and
its specific role in thehigh-risk team, yeah, absolutely
is.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And its specific role in the high risk team yeah,
absolutely.
So, again, all credit due to DrJacqueline Campbell and Dr Jill
Messing.
And there are others, right, drNeil Websdale, sort of the
really the researchers and thebrains behind lethality
assessment.
So they've spent decadesvalidating and researching the
predictive factors of futurehomicide, and so when we're
(23:46):
talking about lethalityassessment, there's specific
questions and depending on theassessment tool you use, right,
some are longer, some areshorter, but at the root of them
, they're all sort of getting atthe same thing, right?
So a lethality assessment isactually something delivered or
administered on scene to avictim of intimate partner
violence, and we're asking themquestions to gauge lethality.
So, right, a question on mostlethality assessments is right
(24:09):
does your partner own a gun?
Another one would be, you know,has he or she ever strangled
you?
Is he or she, you know,constantly or violently jealous?
And so these questions that areall based on research.
So the good news is right forall of us in the field doing the
work now, right, dr Campbell,dr Messing, dr Websdale, they've
done all the work for us.
Now all we have to do is betrauma informed when we ask
(24:31):
these questions and we unlockthe key to keeping this person
alive.
So lethality assessment right,there's all sorts.
There's various assessments outthere.
There's the LAP, which wascreated by the Maryland Network.
There's the DALE, so the DangerAssessment for Law Enforcement,
from the Geiger Institute.
There's APRAISE, which isArizona, and Dr WebbsDAIL's tool
(24:55):
.
There's ODERA, the OntarioDanger Assessment.
I mean, there's so many outthere and they do varying.
They all go toward the samething, but there's slight
nuances.
Really, what I would say to that, maria, is I don't care what
tool a community uses, as longas they use one, and you know
there are.
I want to put a plug in herefor DVRisk, which is under the
Office of Alliance Against Women.
They're sort of a clearinghousefor sites and agencies that
want to get on board with usinglethality assessment.
(25:17):
There's so much out there thatwe can do specific to that, and
so that's what lethalityassessment is what's.
A site has chosen a lethalityassessment and those that's what
lethality assessment is what's.
A site has chosen a lethalityassessment and those lethality
assessments then are a directreferral to the high risk team.
And so you know, we'll use theexample of an officer at two in
the morning is going on a DVcall, they do a lethality
assessment and they scan it intothis predetermined rate
(25:40):
distribution group.
When I get in at 7am the nextday I have the danger assessment
or whatever tool is being usedin front of me and now the high
risk team can get off andrunning if we need to.
So really, the lethalityassessment is the primary
referral pathway to the highrisk team.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Makes sense.
When we first started talking,you mentioned Latinx and
minorities, who experiencedomestic violence at a higher
rate.
Have you found that culturallysensitive services can be
integrated with this high riskteam and possibly improve
outcomes for those victims?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
100%.
So every community is different.
Right, everybody has adifferent cultural makeup and
has different you know resourcesin their community.
But I can say for our high riskteam, we have a community
resource center for the Latinxcommunity and they are a part of
our team.
There's really no other way todo it.
You know, if we understand thatthe Latinx community has a
(26:33):
higher rate of domestic violence, victimization, then we ought
to have someone on the team whocan help us be culturally
responsive and sort of breakdown that distrust.
That's honestly a lot of thetime well-earned, unfortunately
and so if we can break downthose barriers right.
And again it goes back torelationships, maria.
(26:53):
So we have a great workingrelationship with that local
service provider and because ofthat they trust us.
We trust them.
Now, when a survivor goes tothem and says, hey, I feel stuck
but I don't think I can go tothe police or I don't think I
can report this, now thatrelationship that already exists
between us and that serviceprovider is what actually helps
that survivor feel comfortablereporting what's happening to
(27:14):
them, and so I think we've gotto do that.
I don't think you can have aneffective high-risk team if you
don't have representation ofthose minority communities at
the table.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, that's an excellent point.
So how long has this particularhigh risk team been in play?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Yeah.
So I came down to the state ofColorado about two and a half
years ago from Montana and Istarted this effort about a year
and a half ago, so about a yearinto being here, the agency
that I work for.
I've had excellent support fromthe executive staff, the chief
of police, to really createsomething new here, and so we've
got about a year and a half offormation.
(27:53):
Now I will say no high riskteam comes together in a week,
right.
This was months of relationshipbuilding and MOU development
and things of that nature.
But in the year and a halfwe've been together, we've seen
incredible outcomes, situationswhere, you know, previously a
person would go to bond forstrangulation and get a $400
(28:15):
personal recognizance bond.
Now, when those cases come in,right, we're communicating with
the DA's office, the DB serviceprovider, and we're saying we're
going to bonds now and makingexcellent arguments and when I
say we, I mean the DA's office.
They're making excellent bondarguments and we've seen those
cases go from 400 PR personalcognizance to 10,000 cash only
because we're speaking the samelanguage as it relates to
(28:37):
lethality and preventing futurehomicides.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
That sounds like a lot of education was invested in
all of the players for thehigh-risk team, including the
prosecutors, maybe even judges.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
Yes, so in my jurisdiction, the judges
actually opened the door and letme come talk to them.
I was able to present to theirmonthly meeting and talk about
the high-risk team and how wecan predict and prevent lethal
and near lethal violence andwhat role the court plays in
that.
And, and you know, when you'reusing evidence-based lethality
assessment, the court has aneasier time getting on board
(29:12):
with what we're doing.
Right, because the court is animpartial entity.
They have to weigh both sidesand when they hear information,
they prefer it to beevidence-based and, and you know
, have have a long trail ofresearch behind it.
And so when I was able to bringthat to the bench and say, hey,
this isn't something that I,you know, wrote on a piece of
paper with crayon, right, Ididn't create this in the
(29:33):
backyard, this is something thatis well-researched, the courts
are on board, the prosecutorsare on board.
It is a truly a community-wideeffort.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
So when you say the courts, which courts are you
talking about?
Speaker 3 (29:46):
So I'm talking about the criminal courts, so the
courts in which folks would goto bond after getting criminally
charged or ultimately wheretheir trial will be held.
Because I work for lawenforcement, obviously you know
I'm not involved in the civilcourt process, although I will
say the high risk team does andcan have a have a impact in the
family court setting does andcan have a impact in the family
court setting.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
You knew where I was going with this.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
I did so ultimately right.
The criminal case is a verysmall part of a survivor story,
and we know that a lot of thebarriers to reporting are what's
going to happen next in familycourt, and so we're very well
aware of and that's why I say,maria, that we're a
survivor-centered team right.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
If the facts don't support us moving forward with a
criminal case, then we don'tright, because our goal is just
to keep people alive.
Our goal is not to get as manyprosecutions right.
We're not looking for notchesin family court.
I would hope that the peoplewho are at the table for the
high-risk team in some of thesecases that they can be helpful
to the victim with what she'sgoing to encounter in family
court, which is a very differentscenario.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
It is very different and, admittedly, right.
The domestic violence high-riskteam is geared toward the
criminal court.
That being said, a lot of thedisciplines at the table also
are involved with family court,and so we do touch both systems.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Maybe an investment in education and family court
wouldn't be a bad idea.
I'm just saying.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
You are very correct.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
You're also the founder of Light the Way
Consulting.
What is the work you performand who does it help?
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Yeah, so I created that.
I created Light the WayConsulting.
What is the work you performand who does it help?
Yeah, so I created that.
I created Light the WayConsulting because I wanted to
help at a higher level.
And so when I say that, I meanright, there's agencies all over
the country and jurisdictionswho want to do the kind of work
that we're doing, and they justdon't know where to start.
And so my mission is to helpfolks who, like me right 10
years ago, me who had these wilddreams of doing something like
(31:50):
this and helping them get theirfeet off the ground.
When I was at the Conference onCrimes Against Women this
summer in Dallas, I met so manypeople who were like, hey, I
love the concept, but how do Istart?
Speaker 1 (32:05):
And so I got that question Were you a presenter at
the conference?
Speaker 3 (32:08):
I wasn't last year.
I was there, I spoke a littlebit with DV Risk, I was in the
Geiger Institute's presentationand they sort of dimed me out,
so to speak, as I was in thecrowd because we'd worked
together and I just I love tohelp and make an impact and so
my hope with Light the WayConsulting is that anything as
(32:30):
it relates to domestic violenceright.
If it's domestic violence 101,right.
Do we need to get our cops moretrauma informed?
Do we need to, you know, helpeducate our, our prosecutors?
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Do we need to do all those things?
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Yes, yes, keep going and and and all those things,
Maria, are my goal.
So there really isn't a onething that I do.
I will do anything.
Yeah, you know, agency big orsmall, I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So you said this is one of your wildest dreams.
So how is that?
How did that become a dream foryou?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
So I as a young person really didn't know that I
wanted to be in law enforcement, but I grew up.
My first eight years of lifewere fairly tumultuous.
I saw my own mother experiencedomestic violence and I think
that was the underpinning forwhat I would ultimately do.
And I was in the academy as a21-year-old freshly graduated
from college and I sat throughmy first domestic violence
(33:22):
presentation and the light bulbwent on and I knew that for the
rest of my career, my life,really this is what I was going
to dedicate myself to.
And I haven't stopped.
I've been teaching at policeacademies and around the country
on the topics of domesticviolence and really I can't
imagine doing anything else.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
That's incredible that you were able to take those
childhood experiences and justput all of that energy into
something positive thatpotentially saves lives and
helps a lot of people.
I'm really proud of you forthat.
Do you have a website wherepeople can learn more about the
Light, the Way Consulting andpossibly get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (34:03):
So I don't currently have a website, but Light the
Way Consulting does have its ownLinkedIn page.
I myself have a LinkedIn pageand that's honestly where I get
the bulk of the requests to cometo these various places and
teach.
So send me a message onLinkedIn.
It's just Light the WayConsulting, just as it's written
, and I'd love to help andcollaborate.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Perfect.
Thank you so much for talkingwith me today and I hope I see
you at the 2025 Conference onCrimes Against Women.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
I will see you there, Maria.
Thank you Thanks.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
To learn more about domestic violence, high-risk
teams and the Geiger Institute,visit geigerinstituteorg.
Thanks so much for listening.
Until next time, stay safe.
The 2025 Conference on CrimesAgainst Women will take place in
Dallas, Texas, May 19th throughthe 22nd at the Sheraton Dallas
.
Learn more and register atconferencecaworg and follow us
(34:57):
on social media at National CCAW.
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