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HB 810

Public Safety - Lethality Assessment Protocol

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Lauren Arikan and 3 co-sponsors

Maryland bill would require law enforcement to implement a lethality assessment protocol for domestic violence responses to standardize risk evaluation and prevention efforts.

Withdrawn by Sponsor
0
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Bill Summary · HB 810

Legislative bill overview

HB 810 would establish a Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) for law enforcement to use when responding to domestic violence incidents. The protocol appears designed to standardize risk evaluation procedures to identify high-risk situations and potentially prevent homicides through coordinated intervention.

Why is this important

Domestic violence homicides represent a significant portion of intimate partner violence deaths, and risk assessment tools are viewed by some public safety professionals as evidence-based methods to identify escalating danger. Implementation could affect how police departments allocate resources and coordinate with victim services during domestic violence calls.

Potential points of contention

  • Predictive accuracy concerns: Questions about whether LAP protocols reliably identify actual risk or produce false positives/negatives that could misallocate resources or inappropriately escalate police presence
  • Implementation costs and training: Establishing new protocols requires officer training, system modifications, and coordination with victim advocacy services—raising questions about funding and feasibility across diverse departments
  • Privacy and data collection: Creating standardized risk assessment records raises concerns about data storage, victim confidentiality, and potential misuse of personal information collected during vulnerable moments

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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