If you are injured or in danger, call or text 911! The police can help you get to a safe place and obtain medical treatment, if necessary. Once you are out of immediate danger, call our hotline (1-800-927-4673) for information and support.
In 2015, there were 622 domestically related crimes reported to the police in Maryland's Mid-Shore counties. Many more went unreported and unnoticed.
Lethality Assessment
The Lethality Assessment Project partners law enforcement personnel and domestic violence service providers in an effort to identify and assist victims of domestic violence who are at risk of being killed. The Lethality Assessment screen is a questionnaire that contains a series of eleven questions. A specified combination and quantity of “yes” answers to the questions on the screen will alert a Law Enforcement Officer to the severity of the danger a domestic violence victim faces. If the tool alerts the Law Enforcement Officer to the level of danger considered “high danger”, the Law Enforcement Officer contacts the MSCFV hotline immediately connect the victim to MSCFV services and to enable our team to review safety planning strategies with the victim.
The Lethality Assessment program was initiated in the Mid-Shore region in November of 2005 with Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office, and Cambridge City Police participating. Currently, there are 23 Police Agencies in the Mid Shore participating in the Lethality Assessment program.
Law Enforcement Coordination (LEC)
MSCFV Law Enforcement Coordination is dedicated to working with local law enforcement agencies in Kent, Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Queen Anne’s Counties to facilitate enhanced communication between Law Enforcement and our agency. Responsibilities of the Law Enforcement Coordinator include providing trainings, technical assistance and coordinating the collection of domestic violence statistics.
For more information or to request a training, please send an email to jyeager@mscfv.org or call 410-690-3222.
Fatality Review Team
The primary purpose of a Fatality Review Team is to review deaths and near fatalities in which intimate partner domestic violence played a role. The purpose of the Fatality review team is to review cases to determine if and what could have been done differently to prevent a homicide or near homicide. The ultimate goal of this team is to prevent future domestic violence related fatalities.
In addition to the Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence, the Fatality Review Team includes representation from local Law Enforcement, State’s Attorney’s Offices and Domestic Violence service providers for each specific County. Other concerned parties can be involved with meetings on a case by case basis.
