Can information save lives? Effect of a victim-focused police intervention on intimate partner homicides

Funded by the Department of Justice, the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) is a domestic violence protocol that has been implemented in over 600 police agencies across the US. Exploiting the variation in the timing of implementation across agencies in Maryland, I find that the LAP significantly reduced female homicide victimization by males. The effect is concentrated on the homicides of girlfriends. A back-of-the-envelope analysis suggests that homicides are prevented because the most at-risk victims are nudged to take protective actions by the information effect of risk awareness and safety planning that they receive during the LAP intervention.