The Pima County Sheriff's Department is rolling out a new questionnaire to fill out when handling domestic violence calls, according to PCSD's Lieutenant Scott Lowing.
"This new form and getting new advocacies involved is to get them in there during that pause because if we don't a lot of times we see the other spouse comes back in there and the same thing starts over and over," said Lt. Lowing.
He says this form is more concise and specific than the previous one.
The questions range from: "Is he/she violently and constantly jealous of you?" to "Has he/she threatened to to kill you?"
A new more concise questionnaire @PimaSheriff deputies and victims fill out when dealing with domestic violence calls to evaluate the risk of violence to the victim.. more details at 10pm @kgun9 #DomesticViolence pic.twitter.com/97dxarnaY1
— Priscilla KGUN9 (@PriscillaCasper) March 7, 2018
It's filled out for all domestic violence intimate partner felony and misdemeanor calls and voluntary for the victim to answer. Victims who score in the elevated risk experience a six times higher risk of severe re-assault or near lethal violence within seven months. That risk number jumps to 10.5 when victims score in the high risk category.
Victims who score in these categories are referred to a victim advocate and domestic violence service agency like Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse to get the services they need.
"I think that as the community and society has recognized the severity of domestic violence there is more information out there available," said Lt. Lowing. "This is just one more thing to help them get to where they need to go where they are not exposing themselves to unneeded violence."
The new questionnaire will go into effect April 2nd.
