Colorado will establish a statewide domestic violence fatality review process after a deadly year for domestic violence deaths.
Colorado’s attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, backed the legislation signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper this week.
The bill establishes a statewide fatality review board that will examine each domestic violence death in detail. Denver already has a local fatality review board, and the new legislation expands those efforts statewide.
“The board will evaluate all the circumstances surrounding a death including what was happening in the home, in school, and at work, as well as any contact with law enforcement, the judicial system, advocates, mental health treatment, or any other potential point of intervention,” Coffman’s spokesperson Annie Skinner wrote in a press release.
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The board will be made up of a cross-section of people with interest in the subject including domestic violence prevention experts, law enforcement, social service providers and medical experts.
The board will submit recommendations to the legislature every year. The findings can then be used to shape policy and influence training procedures.