Attorney General Bonta Supports Domestic Violence Incident Review with New Protocol on How to Improve Prevention and Support Survivors

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Bonta today announced the release of a new protocol for counties establishing a Domestic Violence Incident Review Team (Review Team). A Review Team is a collaborative effort between law enforcement, social services agencies, survivor advocates, and community organizations and leaders that come together to learn how to improve prevention methods for future domestic violence. To serve the diversity of California communities, the new protocol does not mandate one approach, but describes how Review Teams across the state, the country, and the world approach key decisions, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

"Honest and open discussions of how our responses to domestic violence can be improved, without blaming and shaming anyone, can save lives," said Attorney General Bonta. "Review Teams can be a wonderful space were disagreements are respectful and productive, which help stakeholders work together to break down silos. My office is always at the ready in the fight to prevent domestic violence."

In 1995, California state law authorized counties to establish domestic violence death review teams. The law authorizes Review Teams to identify and review domestic violence deaths, facilitate interagency communications, and develop recommendations for prevention and intervention policies and protocols with the objective of reducing and eradicating incidences of domestic violence. In 2022, the legislature amended the law to authorize the review of near-death incidents and directed the Office of the Attorney General to develop a protocol for the development and imple­mentation of interagency domestic violence death review teams for use by counties.

The new protocol encourages Review Teams to set guiding principles and cultivate productive disagreement, which experts and Review Team chairs consistently identify as an essential element of success. The new protocol describes how to set up a Review Team, including funding, team structure and membership, and outlines the confidentiality laws and ethical rules that bind the Review Team as a whole and its members as individuals. The new protocol highlights the special considerations necessary when engaging with marginalized populations and lays out the steps to conduct detailed case reviews and to craft recommendations. Finally, the new protocol includes an appendix with sample documents to help Review Teams engage in their work.

For more information and resources on domestic violence, please visit our Victims' Services Unit website at oag.ca.gov/victimservices or call 877-433-9069.

A copy of the protocol can be found here.