Getting the Word Out About New Directions
Getting the Word Out About New Directions contains a variety of tools and
resources for publicizing both the availability of New Directions and suggested
public awareness events. This section contains the following:
o Sample Press Release
o Sample Newsletter Article
o Sample Opinion/Editorial Column
o Sample Letter to Criminal Justice Associations
o Sample Letter to Allied Professional Associations
o Sample Letter to Public Officials
Sample Press Release
To generate media coverage and to increase public awareness of victims' rights
and services, a sample press release is included in this section. The press
release announces the formation of a New Directions task force. It can also be
used to highlight similar initiatives on the State, Tribal, or local levels. Once a
task force has been created, the press release should be sent to local print and
broadcast media via mail or fax transmission. Usually, local libraries have
reference books listing print and broadcast media that can help create a current
media mailing list.
Sample Newsletter Article
To increase awareness about New Directions, a sample newsletter
article is included for submission to professional associations for reprinting in
newsletters or other publications. The sample article can be used for newsletter
and journal publications in the victim services, justice, and allied professional
communities. The sample newsletter article can be tailored to meet specific
professional or community issues and concerns.
Sample Opinion/Editorial Column
A sample opinion/editorial column is included for submission to newspapers to
enhance public awareness about New Directions. The column can be tailored
to reflect information pertinent to the community in which it is published, such as
adding local crime statistics. To increase the likelihood of its publication,
consider: submitting it on behalf of a community action group, victim services
planning committee, or coalition; scheduling a meeting with members of a
newspaper's editorial board to stress the importance of victims' rights and
services; and timing the submission of the column to coincide with national
commemorative victim-related events, such as National Crime Victims' Rights
Week. (See Suggested Events for a list of national events throughout the year.)
Sample Letters
Three sample letters to criminal justice associations, allied professionals, and
public officials are included in this section. The letters serve as an introduction
to New Directions and encourage professional organizations or public officials
to take action on ideas and recommendations contained in New Directions.
----------------------------
Sample Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Name/Title/Agency)
Date: (Telephone/Fax/E-mail)
(STATE/COMMUNITY) RESPONDS TO NATIONAL
CALL TO ACTION TO AID CRIME VICTIMS
(City Origin of Press Release)--The (State/City/Tribe/Agency/Coalition)
announced its commitment to respond to a national call to action to improve our
Nation's treatment of crime victims. (Agency/Organization) will (establish task
force, hold a community forum, conduct training program, etc.) to begin the
process of implementing the many ideas and recommendations contained in a
landmark national report entitled New Directions from the Field: Victims'
Rights and Services for the 21st Century published by the U.S. Department of
Justice, Office for Victims of Crime.
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century is a comprehensive report on victims' rights and services that chronicles
the extraordinary accomplishments of the victims' rights discipline and outlines
what we, as a society, should strive to achieve for crime victims in the 21st
century. More than 1,000 individuals from across the Nation--including crime
victims and those who serve them in the justice system and allied
professions--contributed to the creation of this blueprint for improving our
Nation's response to crime victims. The Report contains 250 recommendations
targeted to almost every profession that comes in contact with crime victims
from criminal and juvenile justice practitioners to the victim assistance, crime
victim compensation, health care, mental health, legal, education, faith, news
media, and business communities. It also contains scores of "promising
practices" that currently exist to help crime victims in America today. This
important report is the first comprehensive plan regarding how the Nation
should respond to crime victims since the Final Report of the President's Task
Force on Victims of Crime was published in 1982.
According to (spokesperson), tremendous progress has been made in
promoting victims' rights and providing quality victim services since the
inception of the victims' rights discipline nearly 30 years ago.
"We have emerged from trying times when crime victims were kept out of our
courthouses and remote from any sense of justice, to a remarkable period
where crime victims are now becoming central to our justice processes,"
(spokesperson) noted. "New Directions offers (State/city/Tribe/coalition) a
road map that reflects on all that is good and possible in providing
comprehensive, quality services to crime victims in our (jurisdiction)."
"Now, it's up to us to use this landmark document to guide our efforts to
improve victims' rights and services here in (jurisdiction), and to create a true
sense of victim justice in (jurisdiction) by (list action items here),"
(spokesperson) concluded.
For further information about New Directions and local efforts to implement its
recommendations, please contact (name/title/agency/telephone/e-mail/Web site
address).
----------------------------
Sample Article Highlighting New Directions for Newsletters and Professional
Publications
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century challenges the Nation to renew and refocus its efforts to improve the
treatment of victims of crime. Published by the Office for Victims of Crime
within the U.S. Department of Justice, the 250 recommendations set forth in
New Directions were developed to help the crime victims' field, criminal and
juvenile justice agencies, allied professionals, and policymakers meet the needs
of crime victims in the new millennium.
This is the first comprehensive plan for the Nation's response to crime victims
since the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime was published in 1982. It
is a national action plan that represents the vision of the victims' rights discipline
and allied professionals. Crime victims and representatives from national victim
advocacy and service organizations--as well as criminal and juvenile justice,
health and mental health professionals, researchers, and many others--provided
the input that resulted in the recommendations contained in New Directions. In
total, this significant document incorporates the collective wisdom, experience,
and research contributed by more than 1,000 individuals across the Nation.
New Directions Presents Five Global Challenges to the Field
In the course of listening to the voices of crime victims, their advocates, and
allied professionals who work with crime victims, key recommendations
emerged as vital to the provision of comprehensive, quality victim services. The
following five global challenges for responding to victims of crime form the
foundation for the hundreds of ideas and recommendations contained in New
Directions:
1. To enact and enforce consistent, fundamental rights for crime victims in
Federal, State, juvenile, military, and Tribal justice systems, and administrative
proceedings.
2. To provide crime victims with access to comprehensive, quality services
regardless of the nature of their victimization, age, race, religion, gender,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, capability, or geographic location.
3. To integrate crime victims' issues into all levels of the Nation's educational
system to ensure that justice and allied professionals and other service
providers receive comprehensive training on victims' issues as part of their
academic education and continuing training in the field.
4. To support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims' rights and
services built upon sound research, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary
partnerships.
5. To ensure that the voices of crime victims play a central role in the Nation's
response to violence and those victimized by crime.
New Directions provides 250 recommendations that point specifically to the
implementation of these five global challenges. For example, to ensure that
crime victims' rights are comprehensive and consistent across all justice
systems, New Directions provides several recommendations for enhancing
victims' rights in not only the criminal justice system, but also in the Federal,
juvenile, Tribal, and military justice systems.
New Directions emphasizes that just as in the past, crime victims in the future
must play an important role in helping to guide public policy. The first
recommendation in New Directions calls for the passage of a Federal
constitutional amendment for crime victims. Leadership and activism from
national organizations, State coalitions, and local victim assistance practitioners
are vital in passing these much needed national reforms for victims' rights.
New Directions also emphasizes that crime victims are a valuable resource in
developing and participating in victim assistance and violence reduction
programs. For example, survivors of drunk driving crashes serve on victim
impact panels to increase drunk drivers' awareness of the pain and agony
victims suffer at the hands of drunk drivers. In addition, crime victims are an
important component in educational programs for victim service providers and
allied professionals. Many recommendations in New Directions suggest that
basic training for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, corrections personnel,
and allied professionals should include education about the impact of crime on
victims and victims' rights. The participation of crime victims and victim service
providers in all training initiatives, as well as public policy planning, helps
sensitize professionals and volunteers to the plight of victims, as well as their
important role in providing supportive services to victims.
New Directions includes more than 200 innovative promising practices for
assisting crime victims that have been developed throughout the Nation in the
justice system, victim assistance, crime victim compensation, health care, mental
health, legal, education, faith, business, and news media communities.
The Challenge Ahead
New Directions was published to foster a dialogue across the Nation to
develop strategies for providing justice and healing for crime victims in the new
millennium. As such, New Directions urges every American who interacts with
crime victims--from police officers to prosecutors, judges to corrections
officials, members of the clergy to business leaders--to join this dialogue and
implement the programs and reforms that make sense for their own
communities. As a Nation, we have seen the doors of justice gradually open for
some; New Directions offers recommendations and ideas to provide victims'
rights and services for all.
To obtain New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the
21st Century resources contact:
Call: Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center, (800) 627-6872
Write: National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) User Services,
P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000. Request Document (NCJ
170600)
Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/
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Sample Opinion/Editorial Column: New Directions for Victim Justice
A young child who has been the victim of a sexual assault suffers additional
trauma as delays in bringing the case to trial turn into months and sometimes
years of waiting for justice. A mother with three kids has been hospitalized from
the injuries she received as the result of yet another brutal beating from her
husband. She now faces the choice of life in a home where she and her children
risk further violence, or even death on a daily basis, or life on the street where
their safety and well-being may be no more certain. A rape victim becomes
aware that her rapist has been released from prison when she sees him in the
grocery store because no one notified her of his release.
You have probably heard of stories just like these. You may have even read
about them in this very newspaper. If you are like most citizens, hearing of such
injustices may well have sparked your sense of moral outrage at an almost
visceral level. You may have even felt the urge to do something about it--but
what? What can one person do? Indeed, what can an entire community do to
address problems that seem as intractable as they do pervasive? In short, how
do we address the many injustices that crime victims endure in America?
It may surprise you to learn that these difficult questions may actually have
answers that can be found in the pages of a single book--a book published by
our Federal Government, no less. It is entitled New Directions from the Field:
Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century, and is available to you
free. This is no ordinary government publication. It wasn't authored by faceless
bureaucrats who may lack the real world experience necessary to understand
and solve the real problems facing crime victims. Rather, as its title implies, it
was authored by crime victims along with hundreds of victim service and
criminal and juvenile justice professionals.
The Office for Victims of Crime within the U.S. Department of Justice, which
supported the development of the publication, actively sought input through
expert summits, public hearings, focus groups, national training academies, and
symposia that included representatives from the judiciary, law enforcement,
prosecution, corrections, and allied professions, in addition to victims,
advocates, and service providers from every victim constituency. The end result
is a definitive description of the "state of victim justice" in America today, as
well as recommendations for the future. The cumulative knowledge of the
contributors not only allows an unparalleled precision in the delineation of the
problems crime victims face, but more importantly, offers the most promising
solutions to those problems. New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and
Services for the 21st Century incorporates 250 recommendations, and
hundreds of promising practices and practical strategies for individuals,
organizations, and agencies in both the public and private sectors.
For example, New Directions contains an entire chapter on children as victims,
which includes a host of policies, programs, and procedures that have helped
minimize the trauma and emotional distress child sexual assault victims must
endure when they become involved with the criminal justice process. It includes
the fundamental conceptual framework for collaborative community responses
to domestic violence, so victims can avail themselves of the resources that will
allow them to escape a life of torment for one of hope, safety, and security.
New Directions also cites strategies, such as automated victim notification
technologies, that would greatly enhance the ability to provide notice of release
to victims before their perpetrators hit the street.
A just society is best measured by how its citizens are treated by the justice
system. By that standard, we still have a long road ahead of us. New Directions
is by far the best book ever written to guide our Nation's journey toward
justice. Considering that just over 30 million crimes will be committed this year,
according to the U.S. Department of Justice, virtually all of us will be the direct
or indirect victims of crime. It is in everyone's interest to join this journey
toward justice, as long and difficult as it may be. Yet even the journey of a
thousand miles begins with the first step, and that first step is to get a copy of
New Directions. It will give you ideas of what you and your community can do
to improve the quality of justice for our Nation, and our Nation's crime victims.
I invite you to share its strategies and recommendations, in part or in whole,
with friends, colleagues, community leaders, and elected officials--everyone
who cares, or should care, about justice for all, even victims of crime, because
injustice to one of us, is an injustice to all of us.
To obtain New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the
21st Century resources:
Call: Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center, (800) 627-6872
Write: National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) User Services,
P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000. Request Document (NCJ
170600)
Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/
----------------------------
Sample Letter to Criminal Justice Associations
To the (President/Executive Director)
Dear ( ),
I am writing to encourage your (association/agency) to appoint a New
Directions advisory committee to review and act upon recommendations set
forth in a landmark document that has recently been released by the U.S.
Department of Justice, New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and
Services for the 21st Century. This important document provides 250
recommendations to improve the treatment of crime victims across the Nation,
to increase rights for crime victims within our Nation's justice systems, and to
expand greatly needed services and support for crime victims in the aftermath
of being injured by crime. More than 1,000 individuals from every State in the
Nation provided input into the development of this historic document.
New Directions should serve as an essential resource in helping
(association/agency) improve your response to crime victims. While many
members of your (organization/agency) have taken great strides over the past
decade in assisting victims of crime, much work remains to be done. Too many
crime victims still do not receive the rights they are entitled to by law. New
Directions provides specific recommendations for each justice agency--law
enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and corrections to implement victims' rights
laws and to initiate or enhance victim services. It also identifies the important
allied professionals that need to be fully prepared to assist victims, such as
those working in the mental health, health care, education, faith, and legal
arenas.
The establishment of a New Directions advisory committee can be a highly
effective first step to bring professionals within your constituency together with
victim advocates and crime victims to begin planning for a comprehensive and
coordinated response to help victims in the future. New Directions provides a
detailed description of the fundamental laws, policies, programs, and
protocol that can be implemented to provide consistent rights and services for
crime victims across the Nation. The focus of the advisory committee's work
should be to review these recommendations and to establish priorities for action
relevant to your constituency.
I am enclosing copies of pertinent sections of New Directions from the Field:
Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century for your review. I am
available to meet with you or your designated representatives to discuss plans
for taking action on recommendations contained in this landmark report. I
encourage you to take decisive action in appointing an advisory committee to
oversee the adoption and implementation of these important recommendations
for the future, and I am prepared to offer my full support and technical
assistance.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
----------------------------
Sample Letter to Allied Professional Associations
To the (President/Executive Director)
Dear ( ),
This year alone, violence occurring within once safe boundaries--schools,
places of worship, hospitals, and the workplace--reaffirms that no one
individual, institution, or community is immune from the devastating impact of
crime and victimization. No longer can society rely solely on the criminal justice
system to respond to violence in the community and criminal victimization.
Participation by all professions and institutions is required to effectively confront
violence and to assist its victims.
The U.S. Department of Justice has recently released an important document
that provides 250 recommendations for improving the treatment of crime
victims across the Nation. This historic report, entitled New Directions from the
Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century, provides specific
recommendations for professionals working in the (mental health/health
care/education/faith/legal/business/media) disciplines. More than 1,000
individuals from every profession that comes into contact with crime victims
provided input into the development of this historic document.
I am writing to encourage your (association/agency) to appoint a New
Directions advisory committee to review and act upon recommendations set
forth in a landmark document. New Directions can serve as an essential
resource in helping (mental health/health care/education/faith/legal/business/
media) professionals improve their response to crime victims. While many
members of your (association/organization) have taken great strides over the
past decade to develop programs that assist victims of crime, much work
remains to be done. Too many crime victims still do not receive the services
they need and to which they are entitled by law. New Directions has identified
your membership as one of the critically important allied professions that has a
vital role and responsibility to assist victims.
The establishment of a New Directions advisory committee can be a highly
effective first step to bring professionals within your constituency together with
victim advocates and crime victims to begin planning for a comprehensive and
coordinated response to help victims in the future. New Directions provides a
detailed description of the fundamental laws, policies, programs, and protocol
that can be implemented to provide consistent rights and services for crime
victims across the Nation. The focus of the advisory committee's work should
be to review these recommendations and to establish priorities for action
relevant to your constituency.
I am enclosing a copy of New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and
Services for the 21st Century for your review. I am available to meet with you
or your designated representatives to discuss plans for taking action on
recommendations contained in this landmark report. I encourage you to take
decisive action in appointing an advisory committee to oversee the adoption
and implementation of these important recommendations for the future, and I
am prepared to offer my full support and technical assistance.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
----------------------------
Sample Letter to Public Officials
To the Honorable (Governor, Attorney General, State Senator/Representative)
Dear ( ),
I am writing to encourage you to appoint a New Directions Task Force to
review and act upon recommendations set forth in a landmark document that
has recently been released by the U.S. Department of Justice, New Directions
from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century. This
important document provides 250 recommendations to improve the treatment
of crime victims across the Nation. It emphasizes increasing rights for crime
victims within our Nation's justice systems and expanding greatly needed
services and support for crime victims in the aftermath of a crime. More than
1,000 individuals from every State in the Nation provided input into the
development of this historic document.
New Directions can serve as an essential resource in helping our
(State/community) improve its response to crime victims. Our
(State/community) has made great progress over the past decade in assisting
victims of crime. However, too many crime victims still do not receive the rights
they are entitled to under State and Federal laws. New Directions provides
specific recommendations for each justice agency--law enforcement,
prosecution, judiciary, and corrections--to implement victims' rights laws and to
initiate or enhance services for crime victims. It also identifies the important
allied professionals that need to be fully prepared to assist victims, such as
those working in the mental health, health care, education, faith, and legal
disciplines.
While the establishment of a (State/community) Task Force is not a simple
undertaking, it is a necessary first step in bringing together professionals and
volunteers from criminal and juvenile justice, allied professionals, victim
services, and crime victims to begin planning for a comprehensive and
coordinated response to assisting victims in our (State/community). New
Directions provides a detailed description of the fundamental laws that must be
enacted in every State to provide consistent rights for crime victims across the
Nation. A major focus of the Task Force's work should be to review these
recommendations and to take action to amend or enact State laws.
I am enclosing a copy of New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and
Services for the 21st Century for your review. I am available to meet with you
or your designated representatives to discuss plans for taking action on
recommendations contained in this landmark report. I encourage you to take
decisive action in appointing a task force to oversee the adoption and
implementation of these important recommendations for the future, and I am
prepared to offer my full support and technical assistance.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,