“Shortly after the victim tries to leave … that’s the most dangerous time. We need to pick up the warning signs much better than we have thus far. We need to replace what we have been doing [in domestic violence homicide prevention] and replicate this kind of success.” – Vice President Joseph Biden, October 2010, speaking about the Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT) Model
The Harris County Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT) is a homicide prevention model that was first organized in 2018 through a Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) grant awarded to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. In 2020, the project moved to HCDVCC for continued support and oversight. The DVHRT was formed to reduce lethal and near-lethal intimate partner violence assaults and to audit the entire domestic violence response system by identifying and closing gaps in service and protection. Cases that are most at risk for homicide are assessed by partners and turned over to our team to provide safety and support to survivors, and accountability and rehabilitation to those who use violence.
The DVHRT functions through four basic principles:
- early identification of high risk cases through a validated risk assessment tool
- engagement of a multi-disciplinary team to cross share important information regarding the case or situation
- ongoing monitoring and management of identified cases
- individualized services to victims along with accountability to offenders
“Thank you for being my foundation to the beginning of my healing and safety.”
– a survivor
“The implementation of the Danger Assessment for Law Enforcement (DA-LE) has proven to be an effective tool for our officers to affect positive change for survivors through this collaborative effort”
Josh Bruegger, Chief of Police
Pasadena Police Department
Harris County DVHRT Partners
- Houston Police Department – Victim Services Division and Family Violence
- Harris County Sheriff’s Office – Family Violence, Victims Assistance, and Threat Assessment Divisions
- Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections
- Harris County District Attorney’s Office – Domestic Violence Division
- AVDA – Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse
- Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council
- Texas Attorney General’s Office – Crime Victims Compensation Division
- Harris County District Attorney’s Fugitive Taskforce
- United States Attorney Office – Southern District of Texas
- Houston Area Women’s Center & Other Domestic Violence Agencies
- Harris County Pretrial Services
- Harris County Office of Justice and Safety
Pasadena DVHRT Partners
- Pasadena Police Department
- The Bridge Over Troubled Waters
- Harris County District Attorney’s Office – Domestic Violence Division
- Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council
