NC takes statewide approach to domestic violence prevention with new review collective

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the state Department of Justice are convening a statewide collective of domestic violence fatality review teams to identify ways to prevent domestic abuse-related deaths, according to a May 15 press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

Five counties are currently authorized to conduct domestic violence fatality reviews. The new collective will formally unite those teams to share data, insights and recommendations. Thirteen people have died in domestic violence-related homicides and suicides in North Carolina as of March of this year, the release said.

“We are committed to protecting the people of North Carolina from domestic violence,” Jackson said. “These teams play a key role in preventing future domestic violence incidents, and bringing them together at the state level means we’re going to find stronger solutions to keep people safe from abuse.”

Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said the initiative reflects the importance of community-wide efforts beyond the courtroom.

“Courts of law can ensure justice and accountability when the worst happens,” Merriweather said. “But it takes a community effort, like our local DV Fatality Review model, to make sure harm against our neighbors isn’t repeated. Asking ‘what went wrong?’ or ‘could some intervention have avoided this?’ isn’t second-guessing. It’s the smartest first step to eliminating intimate partner violence and saving lives.”

Elyse Hamilton-Childres, Prevention and Intervention Division Director for Mecklenburg County Community Support Services, said the collective was designed to amplify local teams’ work at the state level.

“Collectively, teams have the power to advocate for state-level change,” Hamilton-Childres said. “The Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams Collective was created as a convening for local teams to provide peer technical assistance and identify shared findings and recommendations from intensive fatality reviews. Together, North Carolina’s review teams represent an untapped resource for developing data-driven state policy intended to better protect victims, support survivors, hold abusive partners accountable, and ultimately prevent domestic violence-related deaths.”

Elizabeth Sager, Director of Evaluation at the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said county-level teams provide critical insight into the patterns underlying domestic violence homicides.

“County-level domestic violence fatality review teams in North Carolina provide valuable insight into understanding common themes underlying domestic violence homicides and helping us understand where to target prevention efforts and promote collaboration between systems in order to prevent future DV fatalities,” Sager said. “That includes looking at factors like an abuser’s access to firearms, previous history of strangulations, and support from victim service organizations. NCCADV is incredibly grateful for the NCDOJ’s involvement in this statewide collaborative in order to better uplift the findings, create informed recommendations, and reach policymakers and other decision makers.”

Domestic violence fatality review teams include prosecutors, law enforcement officers, domestic violence survivors, social service providers, medical examiners and domestic violence service providers. The teams meet regularly to examine how domestic violence homicides and suicides occurred and what might be done differently to prevent future deaths. Their reports are submitted to the NC Domestic Violence Commission and the Governor’s Crime Commission, according to the release.

The Department of Justice also operates the state’s Lethality Assessment Program, which helps law enforcement respond to domestic violence incidents and connect victims to support, and the Address Confidentiality Program, which helps keep victims’ addresses private from their abusers.