Praxis and OVW is working with Duluth, Minnesota, one of three selected sites to create customized versions ofThe Blueprint for Safety to enhance their criminal justice response to domestic violence cases. Duluth adopted their Blueprint for Safety on January 29, 2015.


 

City of Duluth Adopts Blueprint for Safety

Office on Violence Against Women demonstration site adopts policy to strengthen long-standing coordinated community response

“Congratulations to Duluth for being such leaders and visionaries in addressing domestic violence, nationally and internationally. The whole idea of the Blueprint is an approach that looks at where we have gaps – from 911 through law enforcement, prosecution and corrections – and to identify what we need to address to make sure we have safer communities. In communities with long-standing coordinated community responses, like Duluth, the Blueprint focuses even more specifically on where those gaps are.”
– Bea Hanson, Principal Deputy Director, Office on Violence Against Women

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Left to right: Tara Haynes, Scott Miller, Blueprint Co-coordinators; Bea Hanson, Principal Deputy Director, Office on Violence Against Women; Mary Asmus, Assistant City Attorney/Blueprint Project Leader

On Thursday, January 29, 2015, the Duluth mayor’s office and 6 criminal justice agencies announced the adoption of The Blueprint for Safety to strengthen the city’s Duluth Model coordinated community response to domestic violence cases.

Duluth joins the City of New Orleans as the second of three national demonstration sites who have now adapted the successful St. Paul Blueprint for Safety. In 2011, these cities and Shelby County/Memphis, TN, were selected as national sites for the Blueprint for Safety Adaptation Demonstration Initiative, a project of the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, in partnership with Praxis International. Watch the Northland News Center’s coverage

The Blueprint is a fully articulated plan for the coordination of the justice system response to domestic violence crimes, enhancing its capacity to stop violence, reduce harm and save lives. Read more…

“The Blueprint’s attention to risk is what moved our CCR to another level. Risk is a big topic around the country; people are all trying to figure out how you collect it, what you do with it, but what you find lots of times is an agency will collect this information but never use it. Or take 3 risk tools and combine them…with an outcome that is not always relevant to what was intended. The Blueprint takes all this research, tells you how to collect, transfer and use that risk information, from 911 to probation. Its the first real project that has a multi-agency design on how to utilize risk. Our [CCR] is absolutely better from the Blueprint work we’ve been doing.”