Global Strategies for Implementation
This section is designed to provide ideas and strategies for implementing New
Directions recommendations from the field on the local, State, Tribal, and
national levels. While specific implementation strategies have not been
developed for the international community, many of the strategies suggested
below can be adapted to improve victims' rights and services throughout the
world. This section contains the following information:
----------------------------
New Directions Five Global Challenges for the Field
An At a Glance one-page overview of New Directions five global challenges
for the field is provided. The global challenges serve as a summary of the five
key areas of focus for the 250 recommendations presented in New Directions.
The global challenges are formatted into a one-page overview sheet to ease
reproduction for handouts at community forums and State task force meetings,
or for inclusion in training materials.
Initiatives Underway in Response to New Directions
States and communities across the Nation have found many uses for New
Directions. These initial efforts--including using New Directions as a planning
tool and incorporating its comprehensive information into training curricula--are
highlighted in this section to spur similar efforts on the local, State, Tribal, and
national level.
Suggested Strategies and Ideas for Implementing New Directions
There are countless strategies to implement the ideas, recommendations, and
promising practices contained in New Directions. The strategies presented in
this section include using New Directions to: enhance victims' rights; strengthen
policies, procedures and protocol; establish seamless rights across the justice
system; promote public awareness; and expand education and training efforts.
Other ideas include creating New Directions Advisory Committees to help
guide implementation efforts and as a tool for public policy change.
New Directions Five Global Challenges for the Field
More than 1,000 individuals from across the Nation contributed to the
development of New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for
the 21st Century. In the course of compiling the hundreds of recommendations
from the field and in listening to the voices of crime victims, their advocates, and
allied professionals who work with crime victims throughout the Nation, certain
key challenges emerged.
The following five guiding global challenges for responding to victims of crime
form the core of the hundreds of ideas and 250 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.
----------------------------
Initiatives Underway in Response to New Directions
New Directions is being used to enhance victims' rights and services across the
Nation.
The Office for Victims of Crime has received input from victim service
providers and allied professionals across the Nation on how they are using
New Directions to chart the future of victims' rights and services. The following
overview provides some examples of the broad range of implementation efforts
across the Nation to respond to the recommendations set forth in New
Directions, and to utilize the vast resources contained within its pages:
o Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) will include a book review of New
Directions in its special Millennium MADD ADVOCATE publication in
January 2000. This special article, being sent to each of MADD's 500 chapters
nationwide, provides an overview of the five global challenges of New
Directions and encourages MADD's membership to take an activist role in
implementing the recommendations--including the Report's first
recommendation: the passage of a Federal constitutional amendment.
o The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) has highlighted
New Directions at its annual North American Victim Assistance Conferences in
both 1998 and 1999 by dedicating special New Directions plenary sessions.
Leaders from the field debated and discussed the importance of this historic
document, and challenged NOVA's membership to take decisive action to
implement New Directions recommendations in their States and local
communities.
o The National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards
(NACVCB) conducted a special plenary session and breakout discussions on
New Directions at their annual national conference in the fall of 1998.
Discussions focused on reviewing the recommendations for crime victim
compensation and discussing priorities for State program policy or legislative
change. In addition, NACVCB also featured New Directions in the
Association's national newsletter to its membership.
o New Directions has already found a home in the Arizona Peace Officer
Standards and Training Board's recently revised law enforcement statewide
training curriculum to include information contained in the Law Enforcement
chapter of New Directions.
o Based upon many of the recommendations in New Directions, the Victim
Services 2000 project in Medina, Ohio, a comprehensive, communitywide
victim assistance initiative, has prioritized its missions and goals for victim
services in the 21st century and has expanded its advisory board to include
nontraditional victim service providers.
o Recognizing the wealth of information contained within New Directions, the
Senior and Disabled Services Division of the Abuse Prevention Program in
Salem, Oregon, has encouraged elder-issue multidisciplinary teams across the
State to use New Directions as the central resource tool in defining and
enhancing victim services to their elder client populations.
o The Wisconsin Department of Justice Training and Standards Bureau has
placed several New Directions training recommendations before its Advisory
Board for adoption into its current training curriculum.
o The South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium in San Jose,
California, has found New Directions to be a useful, comprehensive resource
tool in curriculum development and in drafting speeches and press releases to
increase public awareness about victim-related issues.
o The University of Texas at Austin and the Texas School of Social Work have
applied the information contained in New Directions in two important ways to
enhance the training of professionals who will come into contact with crime
victims. First, in response to New Directions, both the University of Texas at
Austin and NASW/Texas School of Social Work have included findings from
New Directions in their respective educational curricula. Second, New
Directions has been utilized as the primary resource guide for defining both
schools' planning objectives, especially in the areas of education and mental
health.
o Many agencies, organizations, and academic institutions are utilizing New
Directions in curricula development. For example, the National Victim
Assistance Academy relied extensively on the research, recommendations, and
promising practices cited throughout New Directions in its comprehensive
update of the Academy text in 1999. With the ability to access the contents of
New Directions via the Internet, inclusion of this state-of-the-art information is
readily available for academicians, policymakers, researchers, curriculum
developers, and writers.
o The Texas Office of the Attorney General has assumed a primary role in
implementing New Directions recommendations statewide. The Attorney
General's State agency Task Force on Victim Services has adopted the field's
recommendations set forth in Chapter Six of New Directions (Victim
Assistance) as its road map for defining and implementing statewide victim
services. Additionally, the Attorney General's Office is distributing New
Directions statewide at State coalitions, conferences and other criminal justice
working groups as the model for victim assistance in the 21st century.
o The State of Vermont is using New Directions to enact change and promote
the need for comprehensive victim services statewide. First, hundreds of copies
of New Directions have been distributed to criminal justice agencies statewide
with a strong endorsement from the Vermont Victim Services 2000 initiative, a
comprehensive, communitywide victim assistance project, to review, adopt,
and replicate recommendations and strategies drawn from New Directions.
Policymakers around the State have been sent copies of New Directions
Bulletins to heighten their awareness of the need for the criminal and juvenile
justice community to better respond to crime victims. Vermont Victim Services
2000 also has used New Directions as its primary planning tool to draft the
Vermont Plan for Comprehensive Services to Victims of Crime.
o Strategies and recommendations found in the New Directions chapter on the
Business Community are being used by Victim Services Agency in New York
City to form critical partnerships between private business and public/private
organizations to increase community efforts to assist crime victims.
o The Department of Criminology at California State University-Fresno is using
New Directions as a textbook for its course on public policy and victims' rights
in its Victims Services Summer Institute Certificate Program.
o New Directions is being offered by many victim services trainers across the
Nation as a comprehensive, state-of-the-art, free resource for many diverse
audiences.
----------------------------
Strategies and Ideas for Implementing New Directions Across Our Nation's
Justice Systems
Enhancing Victims' Rights: Federal, State, Tribal, and local justice agencies can
turn to New Directions for useful information about current victims' rights laws
to determine whether they are adhering to existing legislative mandates. Chapter
1 provides an extensive overview of victims' rights in America and provides 25
recommendations for creating more comprehensive and consistent rights for
crime victims.
Strengthening Policies, Procedures, and Protocol: New Directions provides
critical information about model policies, programs, and protocol to address
crime victims rights and concerns in every critical component of the justice
system--law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and corrections. Federal,
State, Tribal, and local justice agencies can review the recommendations
contained in New Directions to determine their relevance to existing agency or
departmental policies, procedures, and protocol. New Directions contains
specific chapters addressing Law Enforcement (Chapter 2); Prosecution
(Chapter 3); Judiciary (Chapter 4); and Corrections (Chapter 5).
Establishing Seamless Implementation of Rights Across the Justice System:
New Directions emphasizes that the seamless implementation of victims' rights
needs to occur across all stages of the justice system. For example, for crime
victims to receive restitution, law enforcement officers must advise them of the
importance of documenting all losses; the prosecutor must request restitution;
the judge must order restitution; and court administrators, institutional, or
community corrections agencies must collect restitution. Model programs for
restitution and countless other victims' rights initiatives are cited throughout New
Directions for replication by victim service providers and allied professionals.
Promoting Criminal Justice Professionals' Awareness of New Directions: Each
chapter of New Directions has been published as an individual bulletin and is
available through the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center. (See the
Overview of Guide & New Directions Resources section for information about
how to obtain free copies of these bulletins.) In addition, the section entitled
Master List of Recommendations in this Implementation Guide provides a
comprehensive list of recommendations for each chapter, including law
enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and corrections, which can serve as
stand-alone handouts or can be distributed with the bulletins. Examples of
criminal justice-related bulletins are listed below:
o Police training academies can distribute a copy of the New Directions Law
Enforcement Bulletin to every sheriff and police chief in their State to increase
the law enforcement community's awareness of victims' issues.
o Statewide prosecutor associations can distribute a copy of the New
Directions Prosecution Bulletin to every prosecutor in their State to increase the
prosecution community's awareness of their roles and responsibilities in
implementing victims' rights and services.
o State judicial training coordinators can distribute a copy of the New
Directions Judiciary Bulletin to every judicial officer and court administrator as a
helpful reference guide.
o State correctional associations (institutions, probation, parole, jails) can
provide a copy of the New Directions Corrections Bulletin to every
correctional agency in their jurisdiction.
A letter that encourages agencies to take a leadership role in implementing
New Directions recommendations should be included as an introduction to the
New Directions Bulletin.
A sample letter is provided in the Implementation Guide section entitled Getting
the Word Out About New Directions.
Expanding Education and Training Efforts
The following ideas provide excellent examples about how the New Directions
recommendations can be used to expand education and training programs for
criminal and juvenile justice personnel nationwide.
Law Enforcement Community
o State Police Training Commission members and county-based police
academy training personnel can convene a meeting to discuss strategies to
incorporate victim-specific New Directions training recommendations into
existing basic and advanced law enforcement training programs and curricula.
o State training academies can designate an individual to oversee the
development of curricula to ensure that local academies are provided current
resources for curricula about victims' rights and services.
o All law enforcement agencies can initiate in-house victims' issues training
programs for newly hired personnel, as well as continuing education programs
for existing staff who interact with crime victims.
Prosecution Community
o Every statewide prosecutor training conference can follow the lead of the
National District Attorneys Association and conduct a victims' rights and
services training track at annual State conferences.
o State prosecutors associations can designate an individual to oversee the
development of curricula to ensure that local and State training programs are
provided up-to-date training resources about victims' rights and services.
o Continuing legal education for prosecutors who interact with crime victims
should include annual mandatory victim-related training.
o The development of in-house victims' issues training programs for newly
hired personnel and continuing education programs for existing staff who
interact with crime victims are important.
Judicial Community
o On the national level, organizations representing the interests of the Nation's
judiciary, such as the State Justice Institute, the National Council of Juvenile
and Family Court Judges, and The National Judicial College have conducted
numerous training programs on victims' rights and services. These training
programs can incorporate recommendations contained in New Directions into
their existing and planned curricula.
o Every State judicial training agency can follow the lead of the California
Judicial College by requiring mandatory training about victims' rights issues for
new judges.
o State judicial training coordinators can take a leadership role in developing
victims' rights and services training programs for judges throughout their States.
At a minimum, a victims' rights and issues training track should be incorporated
into annual State judicial training conferences.
o Continuing legal education for judges should include mandatory annual victim
issues-related training.
o Judges can develop victims' issues training programs for newly hired
personnel and continuing education programs for existing court administrative
staff who interact with crime victims.
o At the State level, judicial organizations can create a Benchbook to be
distributed to all judicial members on victims' rights.
Corrections Community
o State correctional associations can follow the lead of numerous national
correctional associations and conduct victims' issues training tracks and
programs at State and local level training events--including probation, parole,
jails, and institutional corrections. These training programs should incorporate
recommendations contained in New Directions into their existing and future
curricula.
o Corrections officials can develop victims' issues training programs for newly
hired personnel and continuing education programs for existing corrections,
parole, and probation staff who interact with crime victims.
Creating New Directions Advisory Committees
Following the lead of national and State agencies and associations, law
enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges, and corrections and paroling
authorities can create victim advisory committees to guide appropriate revisions
to departmental policies based on the New Directions recommendations.
Similarly, existing victim advisory committees can incorporate New Directions
into their annual strategic plans, goals, and objectives.
Law Enforcement Community
On the national level, organizations such as the National Sheriffs' Association
and the International Association of Chiefs of Police have established victims'
issues committees. Such committees can take a leadership role in reviewing
New Directions recommendations, and setting priorities for the Nation's law
enforcement agencies on key areas for implementation.
Additionally, accreditation agencies and committees, such as the Commission
on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) can further
advance victims' rights and services by reviewing their current victim service
accreditation standards and incorporating recommendations contained in New
Directions that are currently not included in their accreditation standards.
State Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police Associations, as well as Tribal and local law
enforcement agencies, can place New Directions on their meeting agendas to
discuss adopting New Directions recommendations.
Prosecution Community
On the national, State, and Tribal levels, organizations representing prosecutors,
such as the National District Attorneys Association, can establish a crime
victims' issues committee. Once established, a committee can take a leadership
role in reviewing New Directions recommendations and setting priorities for
implementation of New Directions nationwide.
Judicial Community
On the national, State, and Tribal levels, the implementation of New Directions
recommendations for the judiciary can be placed on the agendas of judicial
leadership organizations such as the Conference of Chief Justices and the
Conference of State Court Administrators.
Each chief justice can appoint members of the judiciary within their jurisdiction
to serve on a victims' issues task force or working group to assess the
judiciary's role in implementing New Directions recommendations.
Consideration could also be given to amending Codes of Judicial Conduct to
reflect the fact that crime victims play a pivotal role in the criminal and juvenile
justice systems.
Corrections Community
On the national level, organizations representing the interests of corrections,
such as the American Correctional Association, the American Probation and
Parole Association, the Association of State Correctional Administrators, and
the Association of Paroling Authorities, International have taken a leadership
role in advancing the rights and services for crime victims. Each association has
established a crime victims committee. Throughout the 1990s these associations
have worked diligently to include crime victims' issues as part of their national
agendas. In addition, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has established a crime
victims working group to develop a long-range plan to help the Bureau better
address victims needs. These organizations can further expand their leadership
role in victims' rights by establishing priorities for the Nation's correctional
communities and by supporting the implementation of New Directions
recommendations in State and local correctional agencies.
Each State and regional correctional association should consider following the
lead of national correctional associations by establishing crime victims' issues
committees to focus on setting priorities relevant to the recommendations set
forth for Corrections in Chapter 5 of New Directions.
----------------------------
Legislative Strategies To Implement New Directions
Some of the recommendations from the field contained in New Directions may
require amendments to existing State statutes or new legislative initiatives to
enact certain rights for crime victims. The legislative strategies listed below
provide just a few suggestions for using New Directions as a tool for public
policy development, and as a reference point for entering the legislative arena.
Creation of a Legislative Agenda: New Directions can be used as a basis for
assessing the strength and scope of current victims' rights within a State. By
comparing a State's current legislative scheme with the comprehensive rights
described in New Directions, policymakers and victims' rights advocates can
assess gaps in existing laws. Through this process, New Directions provides a
reliable basis for developing a public policy agenda. The first chapter of New
Directions, entitled New Directions in Victims' Rights, provides a detailed
review of comprehensive, innovative victims' rights laws that have been enacted
across the Nation. This chapter has been published as an individual bulletin and
can be distributed to policymakers. (For information about how to order copies
of this bulletin, see the section entitled Overview of Guide & New Directions
Resources.)
Information for Elected Officials: New Directions can serve as an entry point
for requesting time with State House/Senate Judiciary Committee members to
discuss the need for lawmakers to review existing victims' rights laws for
enhancements or modifications based upon recommendations found within
New Directions. (A sample letter to public officials is included in the section
entitled Getting the Word Out About New Directions in this Implementation
Guide.)
Reference Tool for Public Policy Debates: New Directions can also serve as a
quick reference in public policy debates. For example, most victims' rights laws
described in New Directions contain endnote citations to the specific number
and names of States that have enacted such laws.
Development of Model Legislation: New Directions contains many examples of
model statutes that have been enacted across the Nation to delineate and
enhance victims' rights, with specific examples in both the text and endnotes.
The States cited as models can serve as mentors to spur similar policy
changes in other States in the drafting and enactment of similar legislation.
Establishment of Victims' Rights Policy Coalitions: New Directions can serve as
the basis for creating victims' rights policy coalitions composed of a broad
membership of victim activists, victim advocates, justice system representatives,
and allied professionals who share a common interest of implementing the
recommendations set forth in New Directions to enhance victims' rights.
Coalitions can be formed to pass single legislative measures, or can become
ongoing coalitions of crime victims, victim advocates, and justice officials as an
undeniable force in all criminal and juvenile justice-related policy to the benefit
of each constituency. Once established, such coalitions could expand their
efforts beyond legislation to play a role in assessing and promoting
implementation of victims' rights laws statewide.
Legislative Actions Within Professional Associations: Many local, State, and
national associations with an interest in victim assistance and justice processes
sponsor either public policy or victim issues committees. New Directions can
be utilized as a guide for identifying legislative priorities and gaps in existing laws
that should be filled to promote victim justice.
What Victim Service Providers Can Do To Assist in Nationwide
Implementation of New Directions
Collaborate with Justice Agencies to:
o Identify upcoming State and local criminal justice- and allied
professional-related training events and conferences, and notify conference
organizers of the availability of presenters to conduct a New Directions
workshop or training session. Include relevant sections of the New
Directions Implementation Guide to emphasize the importance of including a
New Directions workshop or training session as part of the conference agenda.
Collaborate with State Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Administrator to:
o Consider hosting a meeting of community VOCA grant subrecipients to
review and develop implementation strategies for New Directions as the State
develops or revises its plan for distribution of Federal VOCA funding at the
State level.
Collaborate with the Health Community to:
o Request time on local hospitals' Board of Director's monthly or quarterly
meeting agendas to outline the critical role that health care providers play in the
continuum of victim services, and stress adoption of New Directions
recommendations within the health care community.
Collaborate with the Mental Health Community to:
o Request that members of the mental health community (State or county
mental health associations) explore key mental health issues raised in New
Directions, such as issues concerning confidentiality. Encourage mental health
associations to incorporate the New Directions Chapter 8 on the Mental Health
Community into their professional continuing education programs. (For
information about how to order copies of the Mental Health Community
Bulletin, see the section entitled Overview of Guide & New Directions
Resources.)
Collaborate with the Business Community to:
o Request presentation time during the chamber of commerce and community
civic organizations' monthly meetings to discuss the importance of the business
community in addressing violence, and adopting New Directions
recommendations for the establishment of uniform policies and procedures in
preventing and responding to workplace violence and victimization.
o Ask the business community to provide, where appropriate, financial
sponsorship of some of the activities listed in this Implementation Guide. For
example, the business community can be approached to help sponsor a
community forum. (See the section of this Guide entitled Suggested Events To
Promote New Directions.)
Collaborate with the Faith Community to:
o Arrange a meeting with members of the community's Interfaith Council to
discuss the adoption and implementation of New Directions recommendations
within the faith community's overall missions and goals.
Collaborate with the Education Community to:
o Reserve space on local county boards of education and local college and
university Departments of Criminal Justice advisory boards' monthly meeting
agendas to discuss the important need to implement New Directions
recommendations for the education community.
Collaborate with the Legal Community to:
o Host a New Directions informational forum on Law Day (May 1) for
members of the State or county bar association to highlight the key role that
attorneys in the private sector play in enhancing victims' legal options.
Collaborate with the News Media to:
o Sponsor a morning breakfast for members of the local news media to
increase their awareness of victims' needs to be treated with sensitivity and
dignity, as well as the important role the media play in increasing the
community's understanding of violence and victimization based on
recommendations contained in New Directions.
o Arrange a meeting with local newspaper editorial boards to discuss New
Directions recommendations for community involvement in meeting the needs of
crime victims in the wake of community violence. (See the section of this
Implementation Guide entitled Getting the Word Out About New Directions for
a sample opinion/editorial column.)
o Contact local cable access channels and propose a program format that
highlights crime in the community, the need for supportive victim services, and
how the community can better respond to crime victims and crime prevention
based on recommendations found in New Directions.
----------------------------
Comprehensive Victims' Rights and Services
A Checklist for Implementing New Directions in Your Community
Crime victims need dignified and compassionate treatment, sustained financial
and emotional support, and enforceable rights throughout the justice process.
Criminal and juvenile justice agencies, victim service providers, crime victim
compensation programs, and allied professionals in the health, mental health,
education, faith, legal, business, and media communities can work together to
ensure that crime victims receive the following rights and services:
Emergency Aid
o On-scene crisis intervention
o 24-hour crisis hotline
o Sensitive death notification
o Information on victims rights and services
o Referrals for emergency financial aid
o Emergency transportation
o Accompaniment to hospital for rape examination
o Referrals for emergency shelter
o Referrals for short- and long-term counseling
o Local emergency fund to aid victims
o Assistance with emergency compensation claim
o Information and assistance on security options
o Emergency restraining or protection orders
o Information and assistance on recovery of stolen property
o Information and assistance on document replacement
o Child care services
o Crime scene cleanup
o Interpreter services
Counseling and Advocacy
o Crisis intervention services
o Short-term counseling
o Long-term counseling
o Access and referrals to self-help support groups
o Group counseling
o Community crisis response
o Access to counseling during criminal and juvenile justice adjudications
o Intervention with employers, creditors, and landlords
o Intervention with public agencies
Investigation
o Regular updates on status of investigation
o Notification of suspect arrest
o Basic information on the criminal justice system
o Compensation claim filing and processing assistance
o Referrals for short- and long-term counseling
o Interpreter services
o Protection from intimidation and harassment
o Notification of pretrial release of accused
o Input into bail/bond release decisions
Prosecution
o Orientation to the criminal justice system
o Regular updates on status of case
o Accompaniment to court
o Witness alert/on-call technology 24 hours per day
o Safe and secure waiting areas
o Employer intervention services
o Notification of plea negotiations
o Victim consultation in plea decisions
o Assistance in recovery of property held as evidence
o Information on restitution
o Restitution routinely requested or an explanation in writing
o Landlord/creditor intervention
o Interpreter services
o Transportation/parking assistance
o Child care services
Sentencing
o Notification of right to submit a victim impact statement
o Victim impact information in presentence investigation report
o Victim impact statement-written
o Victim impact statement-oral
o Victim statement of opinion
o Audio- or videotaped victim impact statement
o Notice of sentence
Post-disposition
o Information/notification of appeal
o Collection of restitution
o Restitution payment as condition of probation or parole
o Notification of parole hearing
o Victim impact statement at parole-written
o Victim impact statement at parole-oral
o Audio- or videotaped victim impact statement at parole
o Notification of violation of parole/probation
o Notification of revocation of parole/probation
o Notification of application for clemency, pardon, or commutation
o Notification of escape and capture
o Notification of custody location
o Name of probation officer or other supervised community release officer
o Notice of execution date in death penalty cases
o Advance notification of release
Global Challenge #1:
To enact and enforce consistent, fundamental rights for crime victims in Federal,
State, juvenile, military, and Tribal justice systems, and administrative
proceedings.
Consistent, Fundamental Rights That Are Enforced
Introduction
o Tremendous strides have been made to enact victims' rights laws and to
foster victim assistance services throughout the Nation. Few other movements
have succeeded in igniting the kind of legislative response that victims' rights
activists have fostered over the past two decades.
o In the early 1980s, State laws addressing victims rights, services, and
financial reparations numbered in the hundreds. Today, there are over 30,000
crime victim-related State statutes, 32 State victims' constitutional amendments,
and basic rights and services for victims of Federal crimes.
o Serious deficiencies nonetheless remain in our Nation's response to crime
victims. The rights of crime victims vary among States and at the Federal level.
At present, victims face a lack of parallel rights on the Federal, State, and local
levels; an absence of rights for victims in some juvenile justice systems; and, all
too often, a lack of rights extended to victims of nonviolent crime.
Examples To Underscore Topic
o While all States have enacted victims' rights statutes, these laws vary
considerably State-to-State. Some States provide comprehensive rights for
crime victims, while others do not make these rights mandatory. Some States
limit the types of crime victims that qualify for certain rights. For example,
victims of felony crimes and victims of misdemeanors may qualify for
different rights.
o Less than half of the States have a fairly comprehensive list of rights for
victims of juvenile offenses. Yet, offenses committed by juvenile offenders are
the fastest growing segment of violent crime in America. According to the U.S.
Department of Justice, arrests for violent juvenile offenses increased more than
50 percent between the late 1980s and the mid-1990s.
o Crime victims potentially face six different sets of rights depending on the
following: the type of offense committed (felony or misdemeanor), the age of
the offender (criminal or juvenile justice system), and the prosecutorial
jurisdiction of the offense (Federal, State, military, or Tribal).
o Even in States that have enacted constitutional rights for victims,
implementation of these rights is still arbitrary. Too often, limitations are based
on the individual practices of the criminal justice officials rather than on uniform
policies and practices. When this is the case, it is not surprising that victims'
rights laws are inconsistently implemented and enforced.
Summary Statements
o The enactment and vigorous enforcement of consistent, fundamental rights
must be one of the priority goals for the 21st century. Victims' rights, especially
the right to be informed of and to participate in criminal and juvenile justice
proceedings, must be parallel at all levels of government and in all justice
systems.
----------------------------
Global Challenge #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.
Equal Access to Comprehensive Services
Introduction
o In 1982, the United States had only an estimated 1,500 victim assistance
programs. Only 37 States had victim compensation programs that helped pay
for medical, mental health, lost wages, and funeral expenses resulting from
crime. Significant Federal and State funding has resulted in more than 10,000
victim assistance programs today, and every State has a victim compensation
program.
o In spite of this progress, only a fraction of the Nation's 31 million crime
victims each year has access to services such as emergency financial assistance,
crisis and mental health counseling, shelter, victim compensation, and
information and advocacy within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
Examples To Underscore Topic
o Many rural areas have no services for crime victims who must travel
hundreds of miles to find a safe shelter, effective counseling, or other specialized
victim assistance services.
o A substantial number of crime victims, particularly victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, do not report the crime. As a result,
countless victims never access victim assistance and compensation programs.
o Victims of what is often referred to as white-collar or nonviolent crime,
including various forms of fraud such as identity theft and telemarketing, often
do not receive needed assistance such as counseling services. This is because
most services are focused on victims of violent crime. For example, despite the
fact that thousands of elderly crime victims lose their life savings due to
telemarketing fraud, few programs have been developed to help these victims.
o Crime victims with disabilities are victimized at an unusually high rate and
have great difficulty accessing services to meet their needs. Many victim
assistance programs are unable to communicate effectively with deaf victims or
provide resources and referrals in braille.
o Victim service providers are often not equipped to meet the needs of victims
from diverse cultures and victims who speak different languages. As a result,
these victims are not adequately informed of the services available to them or of
their rights in the justice system.
o While tremendous progress has been made in responding to victims of
domestic violence, there are still parts of our Nation where domestic violence
victims must travel great distances to seek safety and shelter away from their
abusers.
o Even when services are available, many victims are afraid to access them
because they fear retaliation by the offender or revictimization by the system.
This includes many victims of domestic violence and child abuse, and victims of
gang violence who must continue to live in neighborhoods with ongoing gang
activity.
Summary Statements
o As we prepare for this new century and beyond, it is especially important
that all programs and agencies work to reduce barriers to accessibility,
including those related to physical and mental disabilities, language and
communication, age, competence, and geographic location.
o As a field, the victims' rights discipline must define what a comprehensive
system of victim services entails. It should include immediate trauma and
emergency response, short- and long-term psychological counseling, shelter,
and advocacy throughout the criminal, Tribal, military, and juvenile justice
systems. Crime victims should also have access to diverse sources of
financial recovery including emergency financial assistance, crime victim
compensation, restitution, and civil legal remedies.
o A system of comprehensive services requires dedicated resources. A step
toward that goal was the enactment of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, which
established a creative, nontraditional funding mechanism that relies on the
collection of fines and penalties from convicted Federal offenders, rather
than Federal tax-based appropriations. However, many criminal and juvenile
justice officials and victim advocates continue to assert that the lack of
comprehensive services in every community for victims of crime is primarily due
to inadequate funding. New, creative, and consistent sources of funding must be
found to ensure quality services to all crime victims.
----------------------------
Global Challenge #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.
Education and Training
Introduction
o Enhanced education and training are critical for providing quality victim
services and must be addressed on three fronts--require education about crime
prevention and victims' rights and services in the Nation's schools; improve
educational curricula in colleges and in graduate schools for professionals who
interact with crime victims; and expand opportunities for training professionals
and volunteers in the field.
o The places that provide the best opportunity to reach the most children about
crime prevention strategies and victims' services are our Nation's schools.
Schools should take better advantage of this important responsibility. For
example, children often do not learn in school about how to protect themselves,
where to turn for help, and what services are available to them if they become a
victim of crime.
o Even on many college campuses, where sexual assault and other crimes
affect a significant number of students, information about these crimes and
prevention strategies is rarely incorporated into classes or student activities
beyond student orientation.
o Because many victims turn first to their friends for assistance, it is critical to
educate those most likely to provide advice about what to do. Education about
crime prevention and victims' rights and services must begin in grade school and
continue through college and graduate school.
Examples To Underscore Topic
o On the national level, OVC has supported the training of thousands of victim
service providers over the past decade. Through its funding of national,
regional, Tribal, and State conferences, approximately 40,000 individuals have
been trained in the area of victims' rights and services. Many of OVCs training
initiatives for criminal justice and allied professionals, as well as topic specific
trainings, are cited throughout New Directions.
o In order to make comprehensive, academic-based training available to a
diverse group of victim service providers, including Federal, Tribal, State and
local justice and allied professionals, OVC funded the development of the first
National Victim Assistance Academy (NVAA) in 1995. Now in its sixth year,
the Academy is coordinated by the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization and
a consortium of universities, including California State University-Fresno, the
Medical University of South Carolina, the University of New Haven, and
Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
o In 1997, the Program Against Sexual Violence and the School of Dentistry
at the University of Minnesota received funding from the Office for Victims of
Crime to develop a comprehensive education model for dentists and dental
auxiliaries regarding family violence.
Summary Statements
o Many professionals who deal with crime victims are never taught in school
about the impact of victimization or the best practices to use in the field. The
educational curricula in colleges and in graduate schools for doctors, lawyers,
nurses, social workers, law enforcement, mental health professionals, the
clergy, and others should include specialized training about victim trauma and
related crime victims' issues.
o Where appropriate, these courses should be interdisciplinary and inform
students about effective team approaches to address crime. To provide high
quality, state-of-the-art services, initial and continuing education must be
provided for every allied professional and service provider who regularly
interacts with crime victims. This training should include multicultural sensitivity
and training about the needs of victims from other cultures whose primary
language may not be English.
----------------------------
Global Challenge #4:
To support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims' rights and
services built upon sound research, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary
partnerships.
Promising Practices
Introduction
o In the last two decades, many communities have developed "promising
practices" in victim services. These practices are intended to serve as models
for the Nation. These innovative programs offer services for a variety of crime
victims and generally use a multidisciplinary or team approach to respond to
victims' needs.
Examples To Underscore Topic
o Children's Advocacy Centers. In 1984, the first Center was initiated in
Huntsville, Alabama, by the District Attorney who was tired of seeing sexually
abused children re-victimized by the system. One example was how the
children were being interviewed many different times by numerous agency
officials in frightening settings. He developed an Advocacy Center especially
designed for kids, where governmental agencies work together to reduce the
number of interviews and coordinate case management. This vision led to a
national movement, and today there are more than 300 Children's Advocacy
Centers in 48 States. This kind of interagency model should exist in every
community.
o Comprehensive Victim Service Centers. Jacksonville, Florida, is the site of
the Nation's first comprehensive victim service center. It provides a wide range
of services in one location for all crime victims, expanding on the model used by
Children's Advocacy Centers. Center staff operate an emergency fund for
victims; counselors provide therapy to victims and accompany police to all
homicides; and self-help groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and
Parents of Murdered Children, are co-located in this facility especially designed
for crime victims.
o Community Criminal Justice Partnerships. In 1989, the Sheriff of St. Martin
Parish, Louisiana, began a program to ensure that his department responded to
the needs of elderly crime victims. Called TRIAD, this collaborative program
between law enforcement and senior citizens has been duplicated in many
communities and is co-sponsored by the American Association of Retired
Persons, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National
Sheriffs' Association. In Bridgeport, Connecticut, for example, after meeting
with seniors and hearing their concerns, the Chief of Police provided a bus and
officers who assist seniors who live in a high crime area to go to the market and
safely conduct their banking. Today there are more than 500 of these
cooperative programs in 46 States, plus Canada and England. Additional
services offered by TRIAD programs include crime prevention classes, repairs
to damaged residences, transportation to medical services and criminal
justice proceedings, and courtroom escorts.
o Crisis Response Teams. In 1986, the National Organization for Victim
Assistance (NOVA) sponsored the victim assistance field's first crisis response
team comprised of diverse professionals following the Edmond, Oklahoma,
Post Office shooting in which more than a dozen employees were killed. With
NOVA's leadership and training, many States have organized crisis response
teams made up of many different professionals, including psychologists, law
enforcement, doctors, social workers, victim advocates, and religious leaders.
These teams provide assistance to communities in the aftermath of major
crimes and acts of terrorism such as mass murders and bombings.
For example, South Carolina's crisis response team includes more than 100
specially trained professional volunteers.
o Technologies To Benefit Crime Victims. Emerging technologies hold great
promise for improving services to crime victims. For example, after a woman
was murdered by a former boyfriend just a few days after he posted bail on a
charge of raping her, Kentucky enacted an automated victim notification system
to inform victims when their offenders are released. Although she had requested
notification, no one had informed her of his release. In addition, computers can
be used to link victim services and allied justice agencies together to share
information. Some communities have linked domestic violence shelters through
computers so that if a shelter is full, staff will know where available space exists
to make appropriate referrals.
Summary Statements
o A priority for the victims' rights discipline in the 21st century should be to
support and replicate promising practices, such as "team approaches" and the
use of technology, with the goal of improving the quality of programs and
services nationwide.
o Similar innovative and creative approaches to meeting the needs of crime
victims are highlighted throughout New Directions.
----------------------------
Global Challenge #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.
Listening to Crime Victims
"I discovered long ago that among the most effective advocates I have seen are
the survivors, those who have channeled their pain and anger into activism to
achieve lasting reforms."
--Attorney General Janet Reno, August 15, 1996
Introduction
o The victims' rights discipline owes its many accomplishments to the activism
of crime victims themselves, their families, and supporters. Many crime victims
have struggled to survive their own victimization and also to bring much needed
legal reforms, financial relief, and services to other victims.
o In implementing New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services
for the 21st Century, it is important to never forget the needs, desires, and
potential contributions of crime victims. The input of victims--"victims'
voices"--must remain a powerful guiding force as the crime victims'
discipline and allied professions begin the tremendous task of bringing words on
paper to action in communities across the Nation.
o Since 1982, a substantial number of the 68 recommendations in the
President's Task Force on Victims of Crime have been implemented. From the
passage of the Victims of Crime Act in 1984 to the current 32 State
constitutional amendments, these successes are in large part due to the efforts
of crime victims.
o In an increasing number of communities, victims are requesting opportunities
to meet and have a dialogue with their offenders. Such opportunities allow
victims to define the harm that was caused by the crime; to receive answers to
questions about the crime; and to hold offenders accountable for the
devastation committed against the victims. When offenders listen to victims,
they can learn the true impact that their criminal actions caused.
Examples To Underscore Topic
Victims' Voices
Victims have spoken in countless letters to the President, the Attorney General,
the Office for Victims of Crime, at public hearings, and through Congressional
testimony. Victims of crime have told those who help them that they need:
o A voice that is listened to throughout the justice process.
o Full enforcement of fundamental rights, including the rights to be informed,
present, and heard.
o Financial support, including victim compensation, emergency funds, and
restitution.
o Access to services such as mental health counseling, emergency shelter, and
legal advocacy.
o Protection from intimidation, harassment, and harm.
Summary Statements
o Crime victims play an important role in guiding public policy. They are an
equally valuable resource in developing and participating in crime prevention
programs such as school-based gang violence and drunk driving prevention
programs.
o In addition, victims have a significant role in training programs for service
providers and allied professionals. Basic training for law enforcement,
prosecutors, judges, corrections personnel, and allied professionals should
include victim impact panels, such as those initiated by Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, where crime victims sensitize the participants by discussing the
strengths and weaknesses of the system, and how crime affects their lives and
those of their loved ones. Many offenders benefit from educational programs
that feature crime victims discussing the impact of their victimization.
Conclusion to Talking Points on Global Challenges
o These five important global challenges have helped guide the development of
the 250 recommendations set forth in New Directions.
o The recommendations contained in New Directions include proposals to
improve the response to crime victims from virtually every professional with
whom they interact; proposals to improve reforms to justice systems that
respond to crime victims; and proposals to improve critical areas that need to
be addressed to respond to specific victim populations.
o The global challenges are integrated into every section of this landmark plan
for our Nation's future treatment of victims of crime.