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The Colorado Capitol News Alliance is a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish: 11 questions lawmakers hope could help prevent domestic violence killings

As domestic violence surges across Colorado, a painted rock at PorchLight Family Justice Center in Lakewood offers a reminder to survivors: “You Are Enough.”
Kyle McKinnon
/
KUNC
As domestic violence surges across Colorado, a painted rock at PorchLight Family Justice Center in Lakewood offers a reminder to survivors: “You Are Enough.”

A bill advancing through Colorado's statehouse would require law enforcement officers to ask a set of 11 questions — 11 very specific questions, meant to measure someone’s risk of dying at the hands of their abuser. Backers say the change is especially urgent now, because even though homicides in Colorado have gone down in recent years, domestic violence killings have gone up.

CPR’s Bente Birkeland, KUNC’s Kyle McKinnon and CPR’s Ava Kian discuss efforts to try to improve how law enforcement across Colorado responds to domestic violence calls, and the unique challenges of addressing domestic violence.

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Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.

Kyle McKinnon is the Capitol Editor for KUNC and the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, where he helps lead collaborative coverage of state government and politics. He brings more than a decade of journalism experience primarily producing a variety of shows, managing newsroom projects, and mentoring young journalists.
Bente Birkeland is an award-winning journalist who joined Colorado Public Radio in August 2018 after a decade of reporting on the Colorado state capitol for the Rocky Mountain Community Radio collaborative and KUNC. In 2017, Bente was named Colorado Journalist of the Year by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and she was awarded with a National Investigative Reporting Award by SPJ a year later.
Ava Kian joined CPR News in 2025.