Gail Hardy, chief state's attorney's designee and co-chair of the subcommittee, said members plan to invite consultant Darren Mitchell to advise Connecticut on improving compliance with court-ordered firearm surrender in domestic-violence cases.

The subcommittee discussed Mitchell’s prior presentation to the full advisory council and a recent virtual meeting between Mitchell, Shauna Harrington and Hardy to explore next steps. Hardy said Mitchell is currently working under a grant that she believes expires in May or June but that he told the group he has another grant “on the horizon.”

Shauna Harrington, director of legal advocacy at the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) and the subcommittee’s newly nominated co-chair, said Mitchell told the group “these types of trainings work when everyone is at the table,” and suggested inviting judges, law enforcement, probation and prosecutors as regular participants. Harrington and Hardy said Mitchell’s current grant covers primarily civil-court work but that he indicated the work could cross over to criminal courts.

Members discussed timing and logistics. Harrington and Hardy said Mitchell indicated he could visit in April and that the visit would likely require only travel and lodging costs if his grant could cover the consulting work. Merit LaJoy, complaint officer at the Office of the Victim Advocate, noted National Crime Victims’ Rights Week runs April 6–12 and suggested avoiding that week; Harrington said Mitchell had also proposed the week of April 20 and that the visit would probably take two days.

Committee members proposed a brief pre-visit call to identify Connecticut-specific barriers and to share documents from other states where Mitchell has worked so that the in-person visit can focus on concrete next steps. Mark, from the Judicial Branch Office of Victim Services, suggested using the full advisory council to maximize the value of any visit while assigning subcommittees to develop targeted questions and a work plan.

The subcommittee discussed the possibility of setting up a pilot jurisdiction to test protocols for ensuring firearm surrender and compliance with protection orders; no pilot site was chosen during the meeting. Harrington and Hardy asked members to forward questions and relevant materials ahead of any pre-call with Mitchell.

Ending

Harrington and Hardy said they will coordinate with Megan Scanlon and Senator Flexer before the next full council meeting and follow up with committee members about scheduling a pre-call and a potential April visit by Mitchell.