Title: New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century, Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide
Series: Training Manual
Author: Office for Victims of Crime
Published: February 2000
Subject: Victims' Rights, Victim Services, Victims of Crime
146 pages
287,000 bytes
----------------------------
Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file.
To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file
available from this Web site or order a print copy from Office for Victims of
Crime Resource Center at 800-627-6872.
----------------------------
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century
Strategies for Implementation Tools for Action Guide
"New Directions is a sound compass that will help hold the course true in the
years of work to come. The recommendations offer to all a starting point for
discussion about how best to apply them within individual communities to meet
local needs."
Excerpted from: VISION: A Focus on Victims' Issues, "Victims' Rights and
Services for the 21st Century," Office of the Attorney General, Austin, Texas,
Vol. 1. No. 3, (Fall 1998).
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 and global community, should strive to achieve for crime
victims in the 21st century. The document 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, health
care, mental health, legal, educational, faith, news media, and business
communities. It also contains scores of "promising practices" that are
transforming victim services 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.
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century was published to foster a dialogue across the Nation for developing
strategies to provide justice and healing for crime victims in the new millennium.
New Directions urges every person in America who interacts with crime
victims--from police officers to prosecutors, from judges to corrections
officials, from 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 for providing victims' rights and
services for all.
----------------------------
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street NW.
Washington, DC 20531
Janet Reno
Attorney General
Daniel Marcus
Acting Associate Attorney General
Laurie Robinson
Assistant Attorney General
Noel Brennan
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Kathryn M. Turman
Director, Office for Victims of Crime
Office of Justice Programs
World Wide Web Home Page
www.ojp.usdoj.gov
Office for Victims of Crime
World Wide Web Home Page
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/
For grant and funding information contact
U.S. Department of Justice Response Center
1-800-421-6770
OVC Resource Center
1-800-627-6872
OVC Resource Center Home Page
www.ncjrs.gov
This Implementation Guide was developed by the Office for Victims of Crime,
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Office for Victims
of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes
the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National
Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. Not all points of views expressed in this Implementation Guide
represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice.
----------------------------
NCJ 179558
February 2000
----------------------------
Overview of Guide & New Directions Resources
An Overview of Guide
New Directions: Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide
The Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide provides valuable
resources for implementing the recommendations, ideas, and promising
practices contained in New Directions. The section on Global Strategies for
Implementation suggests approaches for justice system agencies, victim service
providers, allied professionals, public policymakers, and interested citizens to
consider when beginning the challenging task of implementing the many
innovative programs, policies, and recommendations highlighted in New
Directions on the local, State, Tribal, national, and international levels.
The section on Suggested Events To Promote New Directions identifies key
first steps that can be undertaken to launch implementation efforts such as
creating a statewide task force, sponsoring a community forum, and dedicating
a conference plenary session. The Tools for Public Speaking section includes a
sample speech and suggested talking points that can be used when making
presentations about New Directions. The section entitled Camera-Ready
Resources provides useful overheads formatted for reproduction to enhance
speaker presentations, and camera-ready public awareness pocket cards that
can be reproduced and distributed as handouts at a variety of professional
training and community education events.
The section entitled Getting the Word Out About New Directions contains a
variety of tools to increase public awareness, including a sample opinion/
editorial column, press release, and newsletter article. Sample letters
encouraging criminal justice agencies, allied professional associations, and
public officials to take decisive action to implement New Directions are also
provided in this section.
While New Directions contains nearly 450 pages of information, it can seem
overwhelming to some first-time readers. Therefore, an Index is provided in this
Guide for easy access to information contained in New Directions. In addition,
the section entitled Master List of New Directions Recommendations provides
a comprehensive overview of recommendations contained in each of New
Directions' 18 chapters, formatted by chapter for distribution.
Also included is a videotape and accompanying discussion guide about New
Directions. The Office for Victims of Crime supported the development of the
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century videotape to serve as an introduction and overview of New Directions.
The videotape will be distributed widely and as a result, the final section of this
Guide provides suggested discussion questions for a variety of viewing
audiences.
Contents
New Directions: Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide
Master List of New Directions Recommendations
o Chapter 1: Victims' Rights
o Chapter 2: Law Enforcement
o Chapter 3: Prosecution
o Chapter 4: Judiciary
o Chapter 5: Corrections
o Chapter 6: Victim Assistance
o Chapter 7: Health Care
o Chapter 8: Mental Health
o Chapter 9: Legal
o Chapter 10: Education
o Chapter 11: Faith
o Chapter 12: Business
o Chapter 13: News Media
o Chapter 14: Compensation
o Chapter 15: Restitution
o Chapter 16: Civil Remedies
o Chapter 17: Child Victims
o Chapter 18: International
New Directions Index
o Supplement to New Directions--A 16-page index housing key information,
ideas, and recommendations contained in New Directions.
Global Strategies for Implementation
o New Directions Five Global Challenges for the Field
o Initiatives Underway in Response to New Directions
o Strategies and Ideas for Implementing New Directions
o Legislative Strategies
o What Victim Service Providers Can Do
o A Checklist for Implementing New Directions
Overview of Guide & New Directions Resources
o Contents
o Acknowledgments
o New Directions Resources
o Evaluation and Action Form
Camera-Ready Resources
o Public Awareness Pocket Cards
o Community Forum Announcement Flyer
o Overheads Formatted for Speaker Presentation
Getting the Word Out About New Directions
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
Tools for Public Speaking
o Sample Speech
o Suggested Talking Points
Suggested Events To Promote New Directions
o Launching a Task Force
o Sponsoring a Community Forum
o Conducting a Conference Plenary Session
Viewing and Discussing the New Directions Videotape
o Overview of New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for
the 21st Century videotape and suggested discussion questions.
----------------------------
New Directions Resources
Available from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime
In addition to the New Directions Report, a variety of informative New
Directions-related resources have been developed to assist professionals and
volunteers working on the State and national levels to implement the
recommendations and promising practices identified in New Directions.
The report and its companion resources are described below and are available
from the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center (OVCRC), a
component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS).
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century
A comprehensive report about victims' rights and services that chronicles the
extraordinary accomplishments in this field and outlines what we, as a society
and global community, should strive to achieve for crime victims in the 21st
century. (NCJ 170600), 441 pp. Mailing fee: $6 per report for First Class
Postage; $4 per report for Book Rate Postage.
New Directions: Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide
The Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide, in conjunction with
the New Directions Report and its companion videotape, is intended to explain
the goals and concepts behind New Directions and to provide tools for
implementing its recommendations. (NCJ 179558), 100 pp. Up to five
Implementation Guides are available free of charge. For orders of six or
more, please call OVCRC to obtain mailing fees.
New Directions Videotape
Remarks by Kathryn M. Turman, Director, Office for Victims of Crime, are
included on this videotape produced specifically to highlight the global
challenges for comprehensive victim services in the 21st century presented in
the New Directions Report. (NCJ 178283), 18 minutes. Up to five videotapes
are available free of charge. For orders of six or more, please call OVCRC to
obtain mailing fees.
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century Bulletins
Individual chapters of New Directions have been reprinted to target specific
professional communities and issues. Up to five bulletins are available free of
charge. For orders of six or more, please call OVCRC to obtain mailing fees.
To obtain copies of the resources listed above, contact OVCRC at (800)
627-6872 or write to NCJRS, User Services, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD,
20849-6000. Please note that while New Directions and its companion
resources are available free of charge, a mailing fee for some resources may be
imposed.
New Directions Resources (with the exception of the video) are also available
online by accessing OVC's World Wide Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc.
----------------------------
Titles of Bulletins and Order Numbers:
o New Directions Bulletin 1 of 19: Executive Summary (NCJ 172811)
o New Directions Bulletin 2 of 19: Victims' Rights (NCJ 172812)
o New Directions Bulletin 3 of 19: Law Enforcement (NCJ 172813)
o New Directions Bulletin 4 of 19: Prosecution (NCJ 172814)
o New Directions Bulletin 5 of 19: Judiciary (NCJ 172815)
o New Directions Bulletin 6 of 19: Corrections (NCJ 172816)
o New Directions Bulletin 7 of 19: Victim Assistance Community (NCJ
172817)
o New Directions Bulletin 8 of 19: Health Care Community (NCJ 172818)
o New Directions Bulletin 9 of 19: Mental Health Community (NCJ 172819)
o New Directions Bulletin 10 of 19: Legal Community (NCJ 172820)
o New Directions Bulletin 11 of 19: Education Community (NCJ 172821)
o New Directions Bulletin 12 of 19: Faith Community (NCJ 172822)
o New Directions Bulletin 13 of 19: Business Community (NCJ 172823)
o New Directions Bulletin 14 of 19: News Media Community (NCJ 172824)
o New Directions Bulletin 15 of 19: Crime Victims' Compensation (NCJ
172829)
o New Directions Bulletin 16 of 19: Restitution (NCJ 172825)
o New Directions Bulletin 17 of 19: Civil Remedies (NCJ 172826)
o New Directions Bulletin 18 of 19: Child Victims (NCJ 172827)
o New Directions Bulletin 19 of 19: International Perspective (NCJ 172828)
----------------------------
Evaluation and Action Form
New Directions: Strategies for Implementation--Tools for Action Guide
Thank you for taking the time to complete this form. Your comments will be
very useful to the Office for Victims of Crime in two ways: first, in determining
the types of resources most useful to the field, and second, in tracking the
impact of New Directions by finding out about the implementation efforts
undertaken on the local, State, Tribal, and national level.
1. What section/elements of this New Directions Implementation Guide did
you find most useful? Least useful?
2. How do you plan to use the Implementation Guide?
3. What efforts are currently underway in your community/State/Tribe/
organization/agency to implement the many ideas and recommendations
contained in New Directions?
4. What future efforts do you think are needed to implement New Directions
in your community/State/Tribe/nationally?
Please Return this Evaluation Form to: Laura Federline, Program Specialist,
Office of the Director, U.S. Department of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW.,
Washington, DC, 20531
----------------------------
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century
Acknowledgments
Special appreciation is extended to Carolyn Hightower, Deputy Director, U.S.
Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, for her vision and support
during all phases of the development of the Strategies for Implementation--
Tools for Action Guide. Sincere gratitude is also extended to Laura
Federline, Program Specialist, Office of the Director, Office for Victims of
Crime, for inspiring commitment and creativity of project staff in her role as
Project Monitor.
The following individuals are recognized for their hard work and dedication to
the completion of the Guide:
Implementation Guide Project Director and Co-Author
Christine N. Edmunds, Victim Services and Criminal Justice Consultant,
Washington, DC
Implementation Guide Co-Author
Ellen K. Alexander, Victim Services Consultant, Oakton, VA
Implementation Guide Contributors/Editors
David Beatty, National Public Policy Advocate, Ashburn, VA
Anne K. Seymour, Public Safety Consultant, Washington, DC
U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime
Pam Leupen, Publication Program Manager
Theodosia Craig, Writer/Editor, Publication Unit
Debra Christenberry, Writer/Editor, Publication Unit
Graphic Design
Randy and Rose Fletcher, Exarte Design, Inc., Arlington, VA
Index
EEI Communications, Alexandria, VA
New Directions Videotape
Robin Smith, President, Video/Action Fund, Washington, DC
Wendy Kelly, WLK Graphics, Springfield, VA
----------------------------
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
----------------------------
New Directions Index
This section contains an index of New Directions to help readers find the
comprehensive information presented in the report. The index includes
references to: key victims' rights laws and public policy initiatives; significant
historical developments in victims' rights and services; more than 200 promising
practices in serving crime victims; and the report's 250 recommendations from
the field.
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century
Index
A
AAFPRS. See American Academy of Facial Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery
ABA. See American Bar Association
ABA Center on Children and the Law, 385
Abduction, international parental child, 421-422
Aboriginal sentencing circle, 103
Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services, 158-159
ACOG. See American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Acute traumatic stress disorder, 220
ADA. See Americans with Disabilities Act
Administrative proceedings and victims' rights, 32-33
Adolescents. See Children; Youth
ADT Security Services, 297
Adult Protective Services, 167
Advocacy centers, xxi, 79-80, 207, 390, 394-395
Advocacy for Women and Kids in Emergencies, 163, 202
Advocacy programs, 269
Advocates
o assistance to victims, 24
o court-appointed advocates for children, 391
ADWAS. See Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services
Aetna, Inc., 302
Aetna Life & Casualty, 253
AFSCME's Women's Rights Department, 302
AG Guidelines. See Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness
Assistance
Alabama
o children's advocacy center, 79
o Crime Victims Compensation Commission, 332
o domestic violence training program, 205
Allegheny Research Institute, 270
Allied professionals, initiatives of, xxii-xxiii
AMA. See American Medical Association
American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 207
American Bar Association, 249, 253, 259, 385
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 202, 205
American Correctional Association, 8, 121
American Medical Association, 202
American Probation and Parole Association, 8
American Psychological Association, 220
Americans with Disabilities Act, 159-160, 189, 308-309
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 5, 20, 331
Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, 166
APABA. See Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Argentina victim assistance program, 416
Arizona Community Domestic Violence Awareness Center, 100
Arkansas victim compensation program, 333
Arson, 172
Asian Pacific American Bar Association, 252
Asset Investigative Advocates, 174
Athletes Helping Kids campaign, 298
Atlanta Victim-Witness Assistance Program, 156
At-risk victims
o identifying high-risk youth, 393, 403-404
o panic devices for, 49
Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance, 4, 50, 75, 154
Attorneys. See also Legal profession
o civil remedies, 374-375
o Coalition of Victim Attorneys and Consultants, 251, 374
o education in victims' rights, 111, 258-260
o Lawyers for Children, 253
Australia drunk driving laws, 416
Automated victim notification system, 49
AWAKE. See Advocacy for Women and Kids in Emergencies
AYUDA, 157, 251
B
Bank of America, 296
Bank robberies and victim assistance programs, 174-175
Bias Crime Unit, 173
Bias crimes and victim assistance programs, 171-173
BJA. See Bureau of Justice Assistance
Brazil victim assistance program, 416
Brazos County Rape Crisis Center, 176
Bureau of Justice Assistance, 160
Burned Church Coalition, 172
Business community
o accommodating victims who suffer disabling injuries, 308-309
o corporate contributions to victims and victim services, 296-299
o crime prevention measures, 310
o domestic violence impact on the workplace, 301-303, 305-307
o employee assistance programs, 302, 306-307
o psychological counseling for victims, 304-305
o recommendations from the field, 303-310
o reporting violent crime, 309
o responsibilities to crime victims, 295-296, 303-305
o sexual assault awareness, 307
o training on workplace violence, 303-304
o workplace victimization, 307-310
o workplace violence, 299-301
C
California
o California Youth Authority, 129
o Center for Child Protection, 204-205
o Children's advocacy center, 80
o Children's Court, 102
o Children's Hospital Center for Child Protection, 159
o Community Domestic Violence Resource Network, 55
o Crime Victims Legal Clinic, 250-251
o drunk driving prosecution programs, 81
o family violence councils, 100
o Gang Victim Services, 157
o gang violence programs, 56, 171
o Impact of Crime on Victims program, 129
o interview center for investigating child sexual abuse cases, 79
o Loved Ones of Homicide Victims, 166
o multicultural victim assistance program, 157
o Rape Treatment Center, 232, 270
o Royal Family Kids Camps, 285
o Teens on Target program, 208
o Victim and Witness Coordinating Council, 179
o Victim Assistance Academy, 270
o Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, 286
o Violence Prevention Task Force, 206
o Women's Resource Center, 269
California State University-Fresno, victim services program of study, 271
Campaign Against Family Violence, 202
Campus Outreach Services, 273
Campus Security Act, 268
Campus Sexual Assault Victims Bill of Rights, 33, 268
Canada
o Aboriginal sentencing circle, 103
o victim assistance program, 416
Carrington Victims' Litigation Project, 251, 374
Catholic Charities, 284
Caught in the Crossfire project, 171
CCP. See Center for Child Protection
Cellular phone companies, 297
Center for Child Protection, 204-205
Center for Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, 285
Center for the Vulnerable Child, 206-207
Center on Children and the Law, 385
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 385
Child Development-Community Policing Program, 51, 233
Child Pornography Prevention Act, 386-387
Child Sexual Exploitation: Improving Investigations and Protecting Victims--A
Blueprint for Action, 421
Children. See also Youth
o abuse prevention programs, 393, 404
o advocacy centers, xxi, 79-80, 207, 390, 394-395
o alternatives to live in-court testimony, 402
o categorizing child victimization data, 398
o challenging children's capacity to testify, 400-401
o child pornography, 386-387
o child protection social workers, 285
o Children's Bill of Rights, 32
o Children's Court, 102
o Children's Hospital Center for Child Protection, 159
o Children's Legal Advocacy Coalition, 253
o clergy's responsibilities to report child abuse, 286-287, 290
o commercial sexual exploitation of children, 421
o computer exploitation, 404
o court proceedings in victimization cases, 400-402
o "court school" programs, 396-397
o court-appointed special advocates, 391, 402
o Crimes Against Children Program, 49
o cycle of violence, 226-227, 238, 384, 387
o death review teams, 390-391
o effects of witnessing violence, 214, 389, 395
o endangerment from drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 406-407
o Federal Agency Task Force for Missing and Exploited Children, 52
o Federal legislative initiatives, 385-388
o funding research, 404-405
o health insurance provider responsibilities in
o victimization cases, 407-408
o hearsay laws, 399-400
o homicide by abuse, 390-391
o impact of victimization, 384, 387-389
o international parental child abduction, 421-422
o intervention programs, 393, 402-403
o interview center for investigating sexual abuse cases, 79
o juvenile court child protection system, 392
o meeting the requirements of the National Child Protection Act, 397-398
o mental health care, 227-228, 239
o multidisciplinary approaches for abuse and neglect cases, 79, 390
o national programs, 385-387
o Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, 100
o privacy of victim records, 399
o recommendations from the field, 394-408
o removing custody from abusive parents, 406
o reporting child abuse, 395-396
o repressed memories, 229-230
o runaway youth, 393
o Safe Kids/Safe Streets program, 392-393
o schools' responsibilities in identifying missing and exploited children, 275
o sexual abuse, xxi, 79, 159, 284, 383, 421
o "sleeper effects" of abuse, 405
o State legislation, 387-388
o State Missing Children's Clearinghouses, 396
o testifying in court, 398-399
o training for cases involving missing and exploited children, 392
o truancy prosecution programs, 81
o vertical prosecution for child abuse cases, 90
o victimization statistics, 385
-- as victims, xviii-xix
Children's Bill of Rights, 32
Children's Justice Act, 386
Children's Legal Advocacy Coalition, 253
Children's Trust Funds, 393
Christian Society for the Healing of Dissociative Disorders, 285
Chronic victimization, 226-227, 238
Church burnings, 172
Churches. See Faith community
Civil Justice Case Law Database, 252
Civil Legal Remedies for Crime Victims, 378
Civil remedies
o attorney networks, 374-377
o expert consultants, 377
o legislative changes, 375
o providing information to victims, 374-375
o recommendations from the field, 376-378
o restitution orders, 361, 368-369
o statutes of limitations, 378
o training for victim service providers, 378
o victims' rights, 373-374, 376-377
CLAC. See Children's Legal Advocacy Coalition
Clinton, Bill
o Antiterrorism Act, 5
o Victims' rights constitutional amendment, 6
Coalition of Victim Attorneys and Consultants, 251, 374
Code of ethics for victim assistance programs, 185-186
Codes of Conduct for United States Judges, 113-114
Codes of Judicial Conduct, 113-114
College students. See also Educational community
o disciplinary hearings, 32-33
Colleges. See Educational community
Colorado
o Victim Services 2000, 155-156
o Victims' Compensation and Assistance Coordinating Committee, 30
o Victims' Rights Act, 30
Colorado/Oklahoma Resource Council, 285-286
Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, 57-58, 64
Commission on Domestic Violence, 253-254, 259
Communication service companies, 297
Community corrections. See Parole; Probation
Community impact statements, 28, 101
Community notification of release, 126-127, 142-143
Community programs
o community criminal justice partnerships, xxi
o Community Crisis Response programs, 156
o Community Domestic Violence Awareness Center, 100
o Community Domestic Violence Resource Network, 55
o Community Law Center, 255
o Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence program, 55
o court programs, xxii
o mental health centers, 243
o policing programs, xxii, 53, 55-56, 59
o prosecution programs, xxii, 79-81, 85
Compensation for victims
o advisory boards, 344-345
o benefit criteria, 331-332
o for catastrophic physical injury, 340-341
o community outreach, 343-344
o effects of universal health care, 350
o eligibility requirements, 329-330, 339-340
o emergency awards, 332-333, 337
o for Federal victims, 330
o first compensation programs, 325
o funding programs, 335-336, 347-348
o impact of VOCA, 327
o international programs, 419-420
o meeting mental health needs of victims, 338-339
o multidisciplinary approaches, 345
o the Office for Victims of Crime mentoring program, 334-335
o President's Task Force issues, 326-327
o processing claims, 337
o program evaluation, 348
o public awareness, 333-334
o recent trends, 327-329
o recommendations from the field, 336-351
o State programs, 325-326, 349-350
o statutory reporting requirements, 341-342
o time restrictions on filing claims, 342-343
o transportation costs, 351
o using technology for claims processing, 334, 348-349
o victim advocacy, 346
o victim assistance programs, 351
o for victims of crimes occurring in other countries, 330-331, 350-351
o VOCA program requirements, 327
Complex PTSD, 224
Complex trauma therapy, 225
Compliance enforcement programs, 29-31
Computers. See Internet; Technology
Concerns of Police Survivors, 65, 150
Confidentiality issues. See also Privacy issues
o The Confidentiality of Communications Between Sexual Assault or Domestic
Violence Victims and their Counselors, 228
o faith community responsibilities, 286-287
o in the health care system, 213
o mental health care and, 228-229
Confronting a Culture of Violence--A Catholic Framework for Action, 284
Connecticut
o Child Development-Community Policing Program, 51
o Child Study Center, 233
o Lawyers for Children, 253
o reduction of crimes against the elderly, 52
Continuances, prosecution's responsibility regarding, 88-89
Contributions from corporations, 296-299
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 8
Coping with the Iraq/Kuwait Crisis: A Handbook, 420
COPS. See Court-Ordered Payment System; Office of Community Oriented
o Policing Services
C.O.P.S. See Concerns of Police Survivors
CORC. See Colorado/Oklahoma Resource Council
Corporate donations, 296-299
Corrections system
o correctional staff education and training, 139-140
o educating offenders on the impact of crime on
o victims, 129, 141
o mission statements, 133
o providing separate waiting areas for victims, 138-139
o recommendations for parole, 119-120
o recommendations from the field, 131-143
o response to crime victims, 123-131
o restorative justice, 131
o role of victims, 120-123
o victim advisory committees, 132
o victim assistance, 133
o victimization of correctional staff, 130, 140-141
o victim-offender dialogue program, 130, 141-142
o violations of conditions of supervision, 129, 142
Council for Court Excellence, 92
Counseling
o HIV testing and, 27-28
o psychological counseling for victims, 234-238, 304-305
Countrywide Moving and Storage, 297
Court-Ordered Payment System, 360-361
Courts. See also Judicial system
o community court programs, xxii
o juvenile court child protection system, 392
o notice of proceedings to victims, 12-14
o providing separate waiting areas for victims, 113
o reorienting, 115
o restructuring, 101-103
o special advocates for children, 391, 402
o unreasonable delay of proceedings, 21, 88-89
o victims' right to attend proceedings, 15
Courts of the Navajo Nation, 32. See also Tribal court systems
COVAC. See Coalition of Victim Attorneys and Consultants
Cox Broadcasting Corporation v. Cohn, 317
Crime Act of 1994, xix
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 5, 386
Crime Victim Recovery Project, 232
Crime Victim Restitution: An Analysis of Approaches, 356
Crime Victims and the Media, 319
Crime Victims Compensation Commission, 332
Crime Victims Fund, 35, 151, 152
Crime Victims Legal Clinic, 250-251
Crime Victims Protection Act, 317-318
Crimes Against Children Program, 49
The Criminal Justice Response to Rape, 160
Criminal justice system, overview of, xi-xiii
Crisis reaction to victimization, 220
Crisis response teams, xxi-xxii, 156, 186, 292, 420
Crow Tribal Council, 32
Cultural diversity
o guidelines for health care providers, 212-213
o in mental health counseling, 225-226, 237-238
o responsibilities of legal community, 260
o victim assistance challenges, 157-158, 179-180
CVLP. See Carrington Victims' Litigation Project
Cycle of violence, 226-227, 238, 384, 387
The Cycle of Violence, 387
D
Dailey and Associates, 298
Deafness. See Victims with disabilities assistance programs
Death at School, 267
Death notifications
o Death Notification: Breaking the Bad News with Concern for the
Professional and Compassion for the Survivor, 53
o health care professionals, 215-216
o law enforcement protocols, 53-54, 62, 169
Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of
Power, 416-418
Delaware
o victim financial assistance, 332
Department of Housing and Urban Development witness relocation program,
77
DESNOS. See Diagnosis of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified
Diagnosis of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified, 224
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 220
Dialogue programs, 130, 141-142, 286
Disciplinary hearings and victims' rights, 32-33
District of Columbia
o AYUDA, 157, 251
o community prosecution program, 80
o One Voice, 375
o Operation Crackdown, 255
DNA People's Legal Services, Inc., 250
DOJ. See U.S. Department of Justice
Domestic Abuse Code, 32
Domestic violence
o Community Domestic Violence Awareness Center, 100
o Community Domestic Violence Resource Network, 55
o counseling for victims, 51
o Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Antistalking Legislation, 160
o Domestic Violence Advocacy Project, 254
o Domestic Violence and Health Care: Initiatives for the New Millennium, 204
o Domestic Violence Intervention Division, 50-51
o Domestic Violence Law Clinic, 254
o elderly victims, 167
o family violence councils, 100
o health care system programs, 202
o impact on the workplace, 301-303, 305-307
o international programs, 416
o Kenosha Domestic Abuse Intervention Program, 78
o National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 162
o National Domestic Violence Hotline, 161, 187-188
o National Network to End Domestic Violence, 162
o "no drop" policies, 91
o by police officers, 66-67
o programs for victims with special needs, 78
o vertical prosecution, 90
o victim assistance programs, 161-163
Driving under the influence. See also Mothers Against Drunk Driving
o child endangerment, 406-407
o international programs, 416
o legislation, 169
o prosecution programs, 81
o victim assistance programs, 168-170
Drug crimes and community impact statements, 101
Drunk driving. See Driving under the influence
DUI. See Driving under the influence
E
EAP. See Employee assistance programs
Earn-It Program, 358
Education Development Center, 269
Educational community
o college and university campus crime, 267-269, 275-277
o crime in schools, 263-265
o crime prevention strategies, 271-275
o crisis response protocols, 279
o education about victimization, 269-271, 274
o gang activity in schools, 264, 267
o identifying missing and exploited children, 275
o recommendations from the field, 273-279
o resources on victim rights, 279
o sexual assault awareness and prevention programs, 275-277
o training professionals on crime issues, 278
o victim assistance programs in schools, 265-267, 273-274
o victims' rights concerning disciplinary hearings, 278-279
Educational programs
o for attorneys on victims' rights, 111, 258-260
o for clergy, 288-289
o for correctional staff, 139-140
o for health care professionals, 203-206, 209-211
o for judges and court personnel on victims' rights, 104-106
o for law students on victims' rights and sensitivity training, 91-92
o mental health care, 231-233
o for mental health care professionals, 237-238
o for offenders on the impact of crime on victims, 129
o on responding to hate and bias crimes, 173
o training education professionals on crime issues, 278
o victim sensitivity for the news media, 319
o victim service providers, 178-179, 182-183
o for victims' rights professionals, 34-35
Elderly victims
o community criminal justice partnerships, xxi
o domestic abuse, 167
o fraud, 167
o Seniors and Law Enforcement Officers Together Council, 52
o special prosecutors for elder exploitation and neglect, 78
o Triad programs, xxi, 52, 168
o victim assistance programs, 167-168
o Victim-Witness Assistance Program, 79
Emergency medical care compensation programs for victims, 203
Employee assistance programs, 302
Employment, victims' protection against discrimination in, 25-26
Episcopalian Church, 287
Ethnicity. See Cultural diversity
Evangelical Lutheran Church, 287
Exodus Center for Life, 285
F
Faith community
o clergy misconduct, 291
o community crisis response, 292
o confidentiality issues, 286-287, 290
o educating congregations about crime, 291
o educational programs for clergy, 288-289
o multidisciplinary efforts, 285-286
o recommendations from the field, 287-292
o reporting crime to law enforcement, 286-287, 290
o victim assistance programs, 283-285, 287, 289-290
o victim-offender dialogue programs, 286
False Claims Act, 35
False memory syndrome, 229
Family violence. See also Domestic violence
o councils, 100
o court, 102
o Family Violence Prevention Fund, 204
o health care system programs, 202
Family Violence Prevention Fund, 204
"Fast track" policies, 88-89
FBI. See Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Agency Task Force for Missing and Exploited Children, 52
Federal Antistalking Law, 5
Federal Bureau of Investigation
o crime victim interactions, 50
o victim assistance training, 58
o Victim-Witness brochure, 50
Federal Bureau of Prisons victim awareness classes, 129
Federal Gun Control Act, 66
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, 58
Federal Protection for Battered Immigrant Women, 426-427
Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 35-36
Federal Resources on Missing and Exploited Children: A Directory for Law
Enforcement and Other
Public and Private Agencies, 52
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 89
Federal Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment
o opposition to, 10-11
o Presidential endorsement, 6
o proposal, 5-6
o recommendation, 9-12
o rights to be included, x
o supported by Attorney General, 10-11
Final Report, President's Task Force on Victims of Crime, ix, xix, 3-4, 98
A Final Summary Report, 160
Financial recovery. See also Fraud
o crime victim compensation, 325-351
o overview, xvii-xviii
FLETC. See Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Florida
o Crime Victims Protection Act, 317-318
o Crimes Against Children Program, 49
o domestic violence program, 177
o domestic violence unit, 51
o Interagency Workgroup on the Impact of Domestic Violence on the
o Workplace, 302
o special prosecutors for elder exploitation and neglect, 78
o victim service center, 155
o Victim Services Practitioner Designation Training Program, 178
o Victim Services Unit, 269
Florida Star v. B.J.F., 317
Focus on the Future: A Systems Approach to Prosecution and Victim
Assistance, 83, 92
Fort Peck Assiniboine Tribe, 267
France
o victim assistance program, 416
Fraud
o elderly victims, 167
o victim assistance programs, 173-174
Funding of victim assistance services, 35-37
Furnace Street Mission, 284
FVPF. See Family Violence Prevention Fund
G
GANG. See Group Against Neighborhood Graffiti
Gang Victim Services, xxiii, 157
Gang violence
o community policing programs, 56
o counseling and prevention programs, 208-209
o in schools, 264, 267
o support and intervention program, 284
o victim assistance programs, 171
Gatekeepers Elder Assistance Referral System, 168
Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, 250
GEARS. See Gatekeepers Elder Assistance Referral System
George Washington University Law Center, 254
Georgia
o Children's Legal Advocacy Coalition, 253
Global challenges, viii
Globe Communications Corp., 317
Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 399
Group Against Neighborhood Graffiti, 56
Guide for Policymakers, 418
Guidelines Governing Restitution to Victims of Criminal Conduct, 356
Gundersen Lutheran Crime Victim Services and Victim Resource Center, 207
Gunshot victims, counseling and prevention programs for, 208-209, 213-214
H
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 422
Handbook on Justice for Victims, 418
Harassment. See Intimidation and victims' rights
Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress, 204, 233
Hate Crime Statistics Act, 172
Hate crimes, victim assistance programs for, 171-173
Head Start, 393, 402-403
"Healing Hearts/Mending Minds," 269-270
Health care system
o compensation for emergency medical care, 203
o confidentiality and privacy needs of victims, 213
o costs to system, 199
o death notifications by health care professionals, 215-216
o discrimination against victims of crime by insurance companies, 215, 239
o effects of universal health care on victim
o compensation, 350
o family violence programs, 202
o gang violence victim programs, 208-209
o gunshot victim programs, 208-209, 213-214
o impact of reform on mental health care, 229
o multidisciplinary approaches, 206-207
o neuropsychological evaluations, 216
o professional education and training, 203-206, 211
o providing response staff for crisis counseling, 211
o recommendations for hospitals, 200-201
o recommendations from the field, 209-216
o screening patients for abuse indicators, 210
o Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, 164-165, 201, 203, 212
o sexual assault programs, 202-203
o staff victimization, 214
o treating children who witness violence, 214
o using technology to provide services to underserved victims, 215
Health insurance. See Insurance companies
Healthy Start, 393
Hearsay laws, 399-400
Helping Victims and Witnesses in the Juvenile Justice System, 8
Higher Education Center Against Violence and Abuse, 270-271
HIP (domestic violence education program), 205
HIV infection
o high risk youth, 393
o sexual assault victims' right to anonymous testing, 212
o victim testing rights, 26-28
Homeless youth, 393, 403-404
Homicide by abuse, 390-391
Homicide survivors, victim assistance programs for, 165-166
Hospitals
o recommendations for, 200-201
o response staff for crisis counseling, 211
Hotlines
o National Domestic Violence Hotline, 161, 187-188
o sexual abuse hotline, 298
House Select Committee on Aging, 167
HUD. See Department of Housing and Urban Development
I
ICAN. See Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect
Idaho
o community policing programs, 56
Illinois
o panic devices for at-risk victims, 49
o programs for victims with special needs, 79
o Violent Injury Prevention Center, 209
Impact of Crime on Victims program, 129
Impact statements. See Community impact
statements; Victim impact statements
Indian Tribes. See Tribal court systems
Individuals with disabilities. See also Victims with disabilities
o assistance programs
o victim assistance programs, 189
Institutional corrections. See Corrections system
Insurance companies
o discrimination against victims of crime, 215, 239
o responsibilities for payment in child victimization cases, 407-408
Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, 391
International Crime [Victimization] Survey, 415
International issues
o collaboration on victims issues, 417
o commercial sexual exploitation of children, 421
o compensation for victims of crimes occurring in other countries, 330-331,
350-351
o compensation programs, 419-420
o crisis response, 420
o implementation of the Federal Protection for Battered Immigrant Women,
426-427
o International Crime [Victimization] Survey, 415
o parental child abduction, 421-422
o plan of action for responding to U.S. citizens
o victimized abroad, 425-426
o reciprocity in compensation and assistance programs, 424
o recommendations from the field, 422-427
o standards for addressing criminal cases, 424
o standards of victim assistance, 423
o support group for terrorism victims, 426
o technical assistance and training capacity, 423
o terrorism, 420
o tourist assistance programs, 425
o United Nations initiatives, 417-418
o U.S. role in victim assistance, 422
o victim assistance programs, xix, 416
o victim assistance research, 424
o victim care corps, 425
o victimization of tourists, 419
International Victim Compensation Program Directory, 330, 419
Internet. See also Technology
o computer exploitation of children, 404
o notification of release for victims, 14
Interviewing techniques, 65
Intimidation and victims' rights, 18-19, 63-64, 76-77, 84-85, 125-126, 135
IOC program. See Impact of Crime on Victims program
Iowa
o software system for victim compensation claims processing, 334
Issue coding, 260
J
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexual Violent Offender
o Registration Act, 5, 126, 386
Jails. See Corrections system
Journalists. See News media
Judicial system
o alternatives to live in-court testimony for children, 402
o assignments to specialized courts, 114
o challenging children's capacity to testify, 400-401
o children testifying in court, 398-399
o Codes of Judicial Conduct, 113-114
o concerns about implementing victims' rights, 99
o court proceedings for child victimization cases, 400-402
o "court school" programs for children, 396-397
o current system, 116
o education for judges and court personnel, 104-106
o encouraging judicial leadership, 99-100
o judges' role in ensuring victims' rights, 97-98, 104, 106-115
o juvenile court child protection system, 392
o plea agreements, 108-109
o pressures on the court system, 116
o pretrial release orders, 107
o providing separate waiting areas for victims, 113
o recommendations from the field, 103-115
o reorienting courts, 115
o restructuring courts, 101-103
o special advocates for children, 391, 402
Juvenile court child protection system, 392
Juvenile Law Committee, 253
Juvenile offenders
o justice system overview, xi-xiii
o Report and Recommendations on Victims of Juvenile Offenders, 121
o restitution orders, 8, 23
K
Kaiser Permanente, 296, 302
Kentucky
o automated victim notification system, 49
Kentucky v. Stincer, 401
Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, 272
KidStART, 209
Koop, C. Everett, 199
L
Lautenberg Amendment, 66
Law enforcement
o community criminal justice partnerships, xxi
o community policing, xxii, 53, 55-56, 59
o crime reporting by the faith community, 286-287
o criminal conduct by officers, 66-67
o crisis intervention for family members of injured or killed personnel, 65-66
o death notifications, 53-54, 62, 169
o multidisciplinary team approaches, 50-52
o procedures for response to crime victims, 68-69
o protecting victims from intimidation, 63-64
o providing information to victims in writing, 61
o recommendations from the field, 59-67
o return of property to victims and witnesses, 67
o role in responding to crime victims, 47-50, 59-60
o standards of service for victim and witness assistance, 56-57, 61
o training, 57-59, 64-65
o training program on responding to hate and bias crimes, 173
o victim notification of investigation status, 63
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, 47
Law students. See also Attorneys
o victims' rights and sensitivity training, 91-92
Lawsuits. See Civil remedies
Lawyers. See Attorneys; Legal profession
Lawyers for Children, 253
LCAV. See Legal Community Against Violence
LEAA. See Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
Leadership Through Education and Advocacy for the Deaf, 159
Legal Community Against Violence, 254-255
Legal Initiative for Freedom and Empowerment, 253
Legal profession
o ABA Center on Children and the Law, 385
o assisting victims of violence and abuse, 252-255
o community assistance, 255, 257
o continuing education, 258-260
o cultural diversity issues, 260
o multidisciplinary approaches, 256-257
o providing informational materials, 256
o recommendations from the field, 255-260
o role in ensuring crime victims' rights, 249-252, 255-258
o victim-related issue codes or indices, 260
o victims' issues committees, 258
Lehigh University, 268
Litigation. See Civil remedies
Liz Claiborne, Inc., 302
Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council, 78
Loved Ones of Homicide Victims, 166
M
MADD. See Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Maine
o board of parole mission statement, 124
Managed care providers' responsibility for payment in child victimization cases,
407-408
Mandamus, applications for, 28
Mandatory Victim Restitution Act, 20, 356
Marshalls Inc., 297
Maryland
o Community Law Center, 255
o death notification protocols, 53
Massachusetts
o community policing programs, 56
o Earn-It Program, 358
o panic devices for at-risk victims, 49
o Violent Prevention Club, 209
Media. See News media
Mediation/dialogue programs, 130, 141-142, 286
Medical community. See Health care system
Megan's Law, 5, 126, 142-143, 387
Mental health care
o acute traumatic stress disorder, 220, 223
o for children and adolescents, 227-228, 239
o chronic victimization, 226-227, 238
o community mental health centers, 243
o community service programs, 240-241
o compensation programs, 338-339
o confidentiality issues, 228-229
o crime-related psychological trauma, 219-224
o crimes perpetrated by acquaintances, 227
o crisis reaction to victimization, 220, 222-223
o cycle of violence, 226-227, 238, 384, 387
o education programs for professionals, 237-238
o ethnic identification, 225-226
o impact of child victimization, 388-389
o impact of health care reform, 229
o innovative programs, 230-233
o interventions, 224-225, 238
o long-term trauma, 223-224
o multidisciplinary approaches, 242
o posttraumatic stress disorder, 220, 223-224
o recommendations for, 220
o recommendations from the field, 234-243
o recovered memories, 229-230
o referral systems, 242
o repeat victimization, 226-227, 238
o research studies, 231-233
o secondary victims of crime, 241
o short-term trauma, 222-223
o victim activism, 234
o victim counseling, 224-225, 234-236, 238
o victim support groups, 233-234, 240
Midwest LEAD Institute, 159
Military justice proceedings and victims' rights, 31
Minnesota
o Coalition for Battered Women, 162
o domestic violence education program, 205
o Higher Education Center Against Violence and Abuse, 270-271
o Office of the Crime Victims' Ombudsman, 30
Mintz Levin Domestic Violence Project, 303
Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance Program,
392
Missing Children's Assistance Act, 385
Missing Children's Clearinghouses, 396
Mississippi
o Exodus Center for Life, 285
Missouri
o Crime Victim Recovery Project, 232
o Midwest Leadership Through Education and Advocacy for the Deaf, 159
o truancy prosecution programs, 81
MLI. See Midwest LEAD Institute
"Mobo cop" substations, 48
Model Domestic Violence Code, 161
Montana
o Gatekeepers Elder Assistance Referral System, 168
Morita Therapy, 238
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
o creation of, 150, 169
o death notification protocols, 53
o formation of National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network, 5-6
 National Youth Summit on Underage Drinking, 272
o requirements of chapters, 182
o support to schools, 267
o victim support, 234
Multidisciplinary team approaches
o for child abuse and neglect cases, 390
o faith community programs, 285-286
o in health care settings, 206-207
o law enforcement, 50-52
o between legal profession and community service providers, 256-257
o in mental health care, 242
o prosecutors participation in child abuse cases, 79, 85-86
o victim assistance programs, 187
o victim compensation, 345
N
NACC. See National Association of Counsel for Children
NACVCB. See National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards
National Association of Counsel for Children, 251
National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards, 326
National Bias Crimes Training for Law Enforcement and Victim Assistance
Professionals, 173
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 150, 385, 396, 422
National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, 385-386
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 385
National Center on Child Fatality Review, 391
National Child Protection Act, 386, 397-398
National Church Arson Task Force, 172
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
o creation of, 149-150, 202
o free medical services for domestic abuse victims, 207
o function of, 162
National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, 149-150, 164
National Conference of the Judiciary on the Rights of Victims of Crime, 98
National Crime Victimization Survey, 163
National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, 207, 231
National Crime Victims Rights Week, 154
National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence, 272-273
National Domestic Violence Hotline, 161, 187-188
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 299
National Institute of Education, 263
National Institute of Justice, 58, 160, 387-388
National Juvenile Action Plan, 8
National Network to End Domestic Violence, 162
National Network of Children's Advocacy Centers, 390
National Organization for Victim Assistance
o creation of, 149, 153
o crisis response teams, xxi-xxii, 156
o formation of National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network, 5-6
o model program standards, 182
o school-based programs, 269
o training mental health providers, 233
National School Safety Center, 265
National Victim Assistance Academy, 178
National Victim Center
[National Center for Victims of Crime]
o creation of, 150
o function of, 153
o study of implementation of victim rights laws, 11-12
National Victim Services Survey of Adult and Juvenile Correctional Agencies
and Paroling Authorities, 125
National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network, 5-6
National Women's Study, 314
National Workplace Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 301
National Youth Summit on Underage Drinking, 272
Native Americans. See Tribal court systems
Navajo Justice Day, 100
Navajo Nation. See also Tribal court systems
o DNA People's Legal Services, Inc., 250
o peacemaking system, 102
o Uniform Sentencing Policy, 32
NCADV. See National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
NCASA. See National Coalition Against Sexual Assault
NCVC. See National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center
Needs assessments and victim assistance programs, 175-176, 180-181
Neighborhood District Attorney program, 81
Neighbors Who Care, 284
Neuropsychological evaluations, 216
Nevada
o Victim Witness Assistance Center, 77
New Jersey
o Bias Crime Unit, 173
o Rise Above It program, 272
New Mexico
o software system for victim compensation claims processing, 334
New York
o Children's Advocacy Center, 207
o crimes victimizing the community, 101
o domestic violence counseling, 51
o Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, 250
o Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, 100
o Project L.I.F.E., 253
o United Federation of Teachers, 266
-- victim advocacy program, 269
-- Victim Services, 166, 176-177, 205-206, 232-233, 266, 270
-- Youth Empowerment Association, 165
New Zealand
o domestic violence program, 416
o juvenile justice system, 103
News media
o coverage of sexual assault victims, 314-315
o debriefing protocols, 320
o educating victim service providers, 319
o guidelines for journalists, 315-319
o guidelines for victims, 189-191
o legislation to protect crime victim identity, 317-318, 320
o privacy issues, 313
o recommendations from the field, 318-320
o role in public safety, 313
NIJ. See National Institute of Justice
NNEDV. See National Network to End Domestic Violence
"No drop" policies, 91
No More Violence--Reclaiming Our Communities project, 252
"No-contact" provisions, 107
Nolo contendere pleas, 76, 87
Notification of release. See Release notification
NOVA. See National Organization for Victim Assistance
NSSC. See National School Safety Center
NVAA. See National Victim Assistance Academy
NVC. See National Victim Center
NVCAN. See National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network
O
OCVO. See Office of the Crime Victims' Ombudsman
Office for Victims of Crime
o compensation mentoring program, 334-335
o death notification protocols, 53
o educational programs for correctional staff, 140
o function of, 151-152
o funding of mental health services for crime victims, 221
o victim assistance program for individuals with disabilities, 160
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 55-56
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 8, 390
Office of the Crime Victims' Ombudsman, 30
Ohio
o Furnace Street Mission, 284
OJJDP. See Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Oklahoma
o sexual assault program, 52
Ombudsman programs, 29-31
On-call system, 89-90
One Voice, 375
Operation Crackdown, 255
Operation Safe Home, 77
Oregon
o board of parole mission statement, 124
o community prosecution program, 80
OVC. See Office for Victims of Crime
P
Parents
o international parental child abduction, 421-422
o removing custody from abusive parents, 406
o truancy prosecution programs, 81
Parents of Murdered Children, 150, 166, 234
Parole. See also Corrections system
o board of parole mission statements, 124
o role of victims, 122-123
o Task Force recommendations, 119-120
o violations of conditions of supervision, 129, 142
Partnerships. See also Multidisciplinary team approaches
o community policing programs, 53, 55-56
o law enforcement, 50-52
PEARLS. See People Empowered About Real Life Situations
Pennsylvania
o Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, 166
o programs for victims with special needs, 78
Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 399
People Empowered About Real Life Situations, 266
Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, 100
Plea agreements
o consultation with victims of juvenile offenders, 7
o judges' responsibilities, 108-109
o victims' right to consultation, 15-17, 76, 87
Polaroid Corporation, 297, 301
Police departments. See Law enforcement
A Policymakers Guide to Hate Crime, 160
POMC. See Parents of Murdered Children
Pornography, 386-387
Posttrauma counseling/therapy, 225
Posttraumatic stress disorder, 220, 223-224, 388-389
President's Child Safety Partnership, 265
President's Task Force on Victims of Crime, 3-6, 13, 97-98, 150, 220,
326-327
Pretrial release
o "no-contact" provision, 107
o victims' rights to attend hearings, 17-18
Prevalence and Consequences of Child Victimization, 388
Prisons. See Corrections system
Privacy issues. See also Confidentiality issues
o child victim records, 399
o legislation to protect crime victim identity, 317-318
o news media and, 313
Pro Se Divorce Clinic for Domestic Violence Victims, 252
Probation. See also Corrections system
o role of victims, 122-123
Professional athletes, 298
Project L.I.F.E., 253
Project to Develop a Model Anti-Stalking Code for the States, 160, 170
Project Ujima, 208-209
Promising practices, purpose of, xxi
Promising Practices and Strategies for Victim Services in Corrections project,
140, 357
Promising Strategies and Practices for Professional Education grants, 270
Promising Strategies for Victim Services in Probation and Parole, 140
Prosecution
o community programs, xxii, 79-81, 85
o "fast track" policies, 88-89
o increasing victim participation, 75-76, 86-88
o multidisciplinary approach to investigating child abuse cases, 79, 85-86
o "no drop" policies for domestic violence cases, 91
o notifying victims of case status, 82-83, 87
o programs for victims with special needs, 78-79
o prosecutors' response to crime victims, 73-75
o prosecutors' role in crime prevention, 81
o protecting victims and witnesses from intimidation, 76-77, 84-85
o recommendations from the field, 82-92
o return of property to victims, 92
o special prosecution units, 77-78
o use of technology, 89-90
o vertical prosecution, 90
o victims' rights and sensitivity training for law students, 91-92
o victim-witness assistance units, 83
Protection for Battered Immigrant Women, 426-427
PTSD. See Posttraumatic stress disorder
Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, 65-66
R
Racketeering, 35-36
RAINN. See Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
Rape. See also Sexual assault
o crisis programs, 149
o Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 164
o Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, 314
o Rape Treatment Center, 232, 270
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 164
Recovered memories, 229-230
Recovering Your Stolen Property: How to Get it Back Once the Police Find It,
92
Referral systems for mental health care, 242
Regional Seminar Series on Developing Antistalking Codes, 160
Release notification
o automated system, 49
o community notification, 126-127, 142-143
o victims' rights, 13-14, 124-125, 133-135
Religion. See Faith community
Relocation programs, 77
Remove Intoxicated Drivers, 169
Reno, Janet
o Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 8
o support for federal victims' rights constitutional amendment, 10-11
Repeat victimization, 226-227, 238
Report and Recommendations on Victims of Juvenile Offenders, 121
Research studies
o funding research, 404-405
o mental health care, 231-233, 236
o victim assistance research, 424
Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practices in Child Abuse and Neglect
Cases, 392
Responding to Workplace Violence and Staff Victimization, 140
Restitution
o automated systems, 360-361, 366-367
o bond forfeiture, 362
o civil remedies, 361, 368-369
o collection in institutions, 362, 368
o community restitution, 362-363
o coordinated interagency collection, 359-361, 364-365
o correctional agencies' role, 128, 136-137
o determining offender's ability to pay, 366
o documenting losses, 366
o enforcing statutes, 363, 364
o extending sentences for failure to comply, 368
o judges' responsibilities, 112-113
o juvenile offenders and, 23
o legislation affecting, 356
o managing cases, 368
o military justice proceedings and, 31
o models for implementing statutes, 358-359
o obstacles to managing a successful program, 357-358
o priority of payments, 367
o private collection agencies, 363
o recidivism, 357
o recommendations from the field, 364-369
o State requirements, 356-357
o victims' rights, 19-20, 355, 365, 369
"Reverse Miranda" cards, 61, 68
RICO. See Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
RID. See Remove Intoxicated Drivers
Rise Above It program, 272
Royal Family Kids Camps, 285
Runaway youth, 393, 403-404
Rural areas using technology to provide services, 215
Ryke R.O.S.E. Foundation, 297
S
SADD. See Students Against Drunk Driving
Safe and Drug Free Schools Program, 265
Safe Harbor program, 266
Safe Kids/Safe Streets program, 392-393
SALT Council. See Seniors and Law Enforcement Officers Together Council
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Council's Children's Bill of
Rights, 32
San Francisco General Hospital Violence Prevention Task Force, 206
SANE. See Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners
Santa Monica-UCLA Rape Treatment Center, 33
Save Our Sons and Daughters, 166
School Crime: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report, 263
School Resource Officers programs, 266
Schools. See Educational community
Seattle Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services, xxiii
Secondary victims of crime, 241
Security on Campus, Inc., 150, 268
Seniors. See Elderly victims
Seniors and Law Enforcement Officers Together Council, 52
Sentencing
o truth in sentencing reforms, 25, 31
o victims' rights to attend proceedings, 17
Serving Crime Victims and Witnesses, 177-178
Sexual abuse. See also Sexual assault
o children as victims, 383
o children's advocacy centers, xxi
o commercial sexual exploitation of children, 421
o hotline, 298
o interview center for investigating cases involving children, 79
o sex tourism, 421
o victim assistance program for children with disabilities,159
Sexual assault. See also Rape; Sexual abuse
o awareness and prevention programs in schools, 275-277
o awareness in the workplace, 307
o health care system programs, 202-203
o HIV testing, 212
o impact of child victimization, 388-389
o National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, 164
o news media coverage, 314-315
o Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, 164-165, 201, 203, 212
o standardized rape examination kit, 164
o vertical prosecution, 90
o victim assistance programs, 163-165
o victim input, 88
o victim support program, 52
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, 164-165, 201, 203, 212
Sexual Assault on Campus, 273
Sexual offenders
o community notification of release, 126-127, 142-143
o disciplinary hearings, 32-33
o HIV testing, 26-28
SFGH. See San Francisco General Hospital
Shamans, 226
Sioux Tribe, 267
"Sleeper effects" of abuse, 405
Social workers, 285
Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, 221
SOSAD. See Save Our Sons and Daughters
South Africa
o domestic violence education, 416
South Carolina
o Burned Church Coalition, 172
o National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, 207, 231
o Office of the Crime Victims' Ombudsman, 30
Special needs victims. See Victims with disabilities assistance programs
Special prosecution units, 77-78
SRO. See School Resource Officers programs
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 315-317
Stalking
o State legislation, 4
o victim assistance programs, 170
Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies, 57, 60
STAR-DUI, 81
State v. Globe Communications Corp., 317
Statement of Recommended Judicial Practices, 98
States. See also individual States by name
o child abuse legislation, 387, 388
o crime victims' bills of rights, 151
o restitution requirements, 356-357
o State Missing Children's Clearinghouses, 396
o victim compensation programs, 325-326, 349-350
o victims' rights statutes, 3-4, 25
Stephanie Roper Committee, 166
Stuart House, 80
Student Right to Know Campus Security Act of 1990, 33
Students. See also Educational community
o disciplinary hearings, 32-33
Students Against Drunk Driving, 169
Support groups, 233-234, 240, 426
Support services and victims' rights, 21-22
Suppressed memories, 229-230
T
Tariq Khamisa Foundation, 171, 266
Task Force on Adolescent Assault Victim Needs, 208
TCC. See Teens, Crime, and the Community
Teamwork Insuring Elder Support, 168
Technology
o automated restitution systems, 360-361
o automated victim information and notification system, 90
o to benefit crime victims, xxii
o prosecution's use, 89-90
o providing services to underserved victims, 215
o use in victim assistance programs, 176-177, 188
o victim compensation claims processing, 334, 348-349
o for victim notification by correctional agencies, 135-136
o voice response technology for victim notification, 14
Teens, Crime, and the Community, 272
Teens on Target program, 171, 208
Telemedicine, xxii
Television programs, 298-299
Tender Loving Care, 166
Tennessee
o Victim Intervention Program, 50-51
o Victims to Victory, 284
Terrorism
o Antiterrorism Act, 5
o Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 20, 331
o victim assistance, 416, 420, 426
Texas
o Brazos County Rape Crisis Center, 176
o death notification protocols, 53
o family violence court, 102
o "Mobo cop" substations, 48
o Tender Loving Care, 166
o Victim Services 2000, 155-156
o victim-offender dialogue program, 130
TIES. See Teamwork Insuring Elder Support
Title II of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 20
TNT. See Teens on Target program
Tourists
o assistance programs, 425
o victimization of, 419
Training. See also Educational programs
o educating professionals on victims' rights, 34-35
o law enforcement, 57-59, 64-65
Trauma and Recovery, 230
Triad programs, xxi, 52, 168
Tribal court systems
o DNA People's Legal Services, Inc., 250
o Navajo Justice Day, 100
o peacemaking system, 102
o Uniform Sentencing Policy, 32
o victims' rights, 31-32
Truth in sentencing, 25, 31
U
Underserved victims
o programs for, xxiii
o using technology to provide services, 215
Uniform Code of Military Justice, 31
Uniform Sentencing Policy, 32
United Federation of Teachers, 266
United Nations' initiatives addressing crime victim needs, 417-418
United States Catholic Conference, 284
Universities. See Educational community
University of Arizona Domestic Violence Law Clinic, 254
U.S. Department of Justice
o Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 8
o Office for Victims of Crime, 151-152
o victim assistance pilot programs, 149
o Violence Against Women Grants Office, 152, 161
U.S. Department of the Navy, Corrections and Programs Division
impact-of-crime classes, 129
V
VALOR. See Victims' Assistance Legal Organization
VAWA. See Violence Against Women Act
VAWGO. See Violence Against Women Grants Office
Vermont
o victim financial assistance, 332-333
Vertical impact statements, 17-18
Vertical prosecution, 90
Victim activism, 234
Victim and Witness Coordinating Council, 179
Victim and Witness Protection Act, 3
o restitution orders, 356
o statement of purpose, 4
Victim Assistance Academy, 270
Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, 150, 270, 359
Victim assistance programs
o bank robbery victims, 174-175
o code of ethics, 185-186
o community response to crime victims, 155-156, 181-182
o continuing education, 178-179, 182-183
o developing statewide crisis response teams, 186
o development of, 149
o domestic violence victims, 161-163
o drunk driving victims, 168-170
o elderly victims, 167-168
o enactment of state crime victims' bills of rights, 151
o establishing comprehensive services, 181, 192-193
o evaluating effectiveness of, 184-185
o expanding services, 154-155
o faith-based, 283-285
o fraud victims, 173-174
o funding, 35-37
o gang violence victims, 171
o guidelines for victims in dealing with the media, 189-191
o hate and bias crime victims, 171-173
o homicide survivors, 165-166
o impact of the Office for Victims of Crime, 151-152
o impact of the Victims of Crime Act, 151-152
o international programs, 416
o law enforcement standards, 56-57, 61
o law enforcement's role, 47-50, 59-60
o model program elements, 150-151
o multidisciplinary team approaches, 50-52, 187
o National Domestic Violence Hotline, 161, 187-188
o National Organization for Victim Assistance, 153
o National Victim Center, 153
o needs assessments, 175-176, 180-181
o overview, xiii-xvii
o program standards, 177-178, 183
o public awareness, 154, 184
o recommendations from the field, 179-190
o respecting cultural diversity, 157-158, 179-180
o responding to specific victim populations, 160-161
o school-based, 265-267
o services, 153-154
o sexual assault victims, 163-165
o stalking victims, 170
o use of technology, 176-177, 188
o using excess funds from victim compensation, 351
o victims with disabilities, 158-160, 189
o Violence Against Women Grants Office, 152
o white collar crime victims, 173-174
Victim Assistance Provider's Code of Ethics, 185-186
Victim impact awareness, 129, 141
Victim impact statements
o judges' responsibilities, 107-108
o legislation impacting, 5
o at parole hearings, 127-128, 137-139
o State initiatives, 3
o vertical impact statements, 17-18
o victims of juvenile offenders, 7, 22-23
Victim Intervention Program, 50-51
Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, 286
Victim ombudsman programs, 29-31
Victim Resource Center, 30-31
Victim service centers, xxiii
Victim Services, 150, 166, 176-177, 205-206, 232-233, 266, 270
Victim Services 2000, 155-156, 181
Victim Services Practitioner Designation Training Program, 178
Victim Services Unit, 269
Victim support groups, 233-234, 240
Victim Support Program, 266-267
"Victim-assisted" investigations, 55
Victim-offender dialogue programs, 130, 141-142, 286
Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, 178
Victims Committee, 8
Victims of Child Abuse Act, 386
Victims of Crime Act
o funding victim assistance services, 36-37, 47
o impact on mental health services for crime victims, 221
o impact on victim assistance programs, 151-152
o victim compensation and, 327
Victims of Gang Violence: A New Frontier in Victim Services, 208, 214
Victims' rights. See also Victim impact statements
o administrative proceedings, 32-33
o advocate assistance, 24
o attending pretrial release hearings, 17-18
o attending public court proceedings, 12-14, 106-107
o beginnings of change, 3
o community impact statements, 28
o compliance enforcement programs, 29-31
o concerns about implementing, 99
o consultation on case decisions, 15-17, 75-76, 86-88, 108-109
o corrections system role, 132-143
o educating professionals, 34-35
o employer discrimination, 25-26
o enforcement of rights, 29
o explanation of rights and services, 23-24
o Federal initiatives, 4-5
o Federal Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment proposal, 5-6, 9-12
o funding services, 35-37
o HIV testing, 26-28
o implementing legislation, 109-110
o judges' role, 97-98, 104, 106-115
o law enforcement responsibilities, 50
o military justice proceedings, 31
o monitoring compliance of laws, 33-34
o notice of public court proceedings, 12-14
o notice of release, 13-14, 124-125, 133-135
o notification of investigation status, 63
o notification of prosecution status, 82-83
o overview, ix-xi
o prosecution victim-witness assistance units, 83
o prosecution's use of technology, 89-90
o prosecutors' role, 73-75
o reasonable protection from harassment and
o intimidation, 18-19, 63-64, 76-77, 84-85, 125-126, 135
o recommendations from the field, 8-37
o restitution orders, 19-20, 23, 112-113, 128, 136-137
o return of property, 67, 92
o State initiatives, 3-4
o State statutes, 25
o support services, 21-22
o training for law students, 91-92
o Tribal court systems, 31-32
o truth in sentencing reforms, 25
o unreasonable delay of proceedings, 21, 88-89
o victims' bills of rights, 3, 151
o victims of juvenile offenders, 4, 6-8, 22-23
Victims' Rights Act, 30
Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990, 5
Victims' Rights and the Media, 190
Victims' Rights Clarification Act, 5
Victims to Victory, 284
Victims with disabilities assistance programs, xxiii, 78-79, 158-160, 189
Victim-witness assistance units, 83
Victim-Witness Coordinator, 174-175
Violence Against Women Act, 100, 151-152, 161, 228, 375, 426
Violence Against Women Grants Office, 152, 161, 228
Violence Impact Forum, 266
Violence Prevention Task Force, 206
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 5, 27, 55, 356
Violent Injury Prevention Center, 209
Violent Prevention Club, 209
VOCA. See Victims of Crime Act
VOCA Victim Compensation Final Program Guidelines, 329
VRA. See Victims' Rights Act
VRC. See Victim Resource Center
VSP. See Victim Support Program
VWPA. See Victim and Witness Protection Act
W
Walk in the Light--A Pastoral Response to Child Sexual Abuse, 284
Warner Bros. Television, 296
Washington
o automated restitution system, 361
o Center for Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, 285
o emergency assistance for crime victims, 49-50
o Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress, 204, 233
When I Call for Help--A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against
Women, 284
When Will They Ever Learn? Educating to End Domestic Violence, 259
White collar crime, victim assistance programs for, 173-174
Wisconsin
o community prosecution program, 80
o Gundersen Lutheran Crime Victim Services and Victim Resource Center,
207
o Kenosha Domestic Abuse Intervention Program, 78
o Project Ujima, 208-209
o Victim Resource Center, 30-31
Witnesses
o Atlanta Victim-Witness Assistance Program, 156
o Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance, 4, 50, 75,
154
o Helping Victims and Witnesses in the Juvenile Justice System, 8
o law enforcement standards for assistance, 56-57
o prosecution victim-witness assistance units, 83
o protecting victims and witnesses from intimidation, 76-77
o reasonable protection from harassment and intimidation, 84-85, 125-126
o relocation programs, 77
o return of property to victims and witnesses, 67
o Serving Crime Victims and Witnesses, 177-178
o standards of service for victim and witness assistance, 61
o Victim and Witness Coordinating Council, 179
o Victim and Witness Protection Act, 3, 4, 356
o Victim-Witness Assistance Program, 79
o Victim-Witness Coordinator, 174-175
WomanKind, 202
Women's Resource Center, 269
WOMEN'S WORK campaign, 302
Workplace violence, 299-304, 307-310
Y
Youth
o gang violence victim programs, 208-209
o gunshot victim programs, 208-209
o homeless youth, 393, 403-404
o identifying high-risk youth, 393, 403-404
o mental health care, 227-228, 239
o National Youth Summit on Underage Drinking, 272
o runaway youth, 393, 403-404
o Teens, Crime, and the Community, 272
o Teens on Target program, 171, 208
Youth Empowerment Association, 165
Youth Firearms Violence program, 55
----------------------------
Master List of New Directions Recommendations
This section contains the recommendations set forth in New Directions from the
Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century. The recommendations
contained in each of New Directions' 18 chapters have been formatted as
stand-alone documents that can be replicated for public awareness, education,
and advocacy efforts. A detailed explanation of every recommendation can be
found in the New Directions Report. The recommendations contained in this
section are as follows:
Chapter 1: Victims' Rights
Chapter 2: Law Enforcement
Chapter 3: Prosecution
Chapter 4: Judiciary
Chapter 5: Corrections
Chapter 6: Victim Assistance
Chapter 7: Health Care
Chapter 8: Mental Health
Chapter 9: Legal
Chapter 10: Education
Chapter 11: Faith
Chapter 12: Business
Chapter 13: News Media
Chapter 14: Compensation
Chapter 15: Restitution
Chapter 16: Civil Remedies
Chapter 17: Child Victims
Chapter 18: International
Chapter 1: Recommendations for Victims' Rights
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
The enactment of the Nation's first State Bill of Rights for crime victims in 1980
ushered in an era of dramatic progress for victims' rights. Since that time, State
actions in legislating rights for crime victims within the criminal and juvenile
justice systems have been remarkable. Laws extending rights to victims
of Federal crimes have also been passed by Congress. Despite this record of
success, too many crime victims are still being denied fundamental rights in the
Federal, State, Tribal, and military justice systems. Many victims' rights laws
are not being implemented, and few jurisdictions require proof of compliance
from justice agencies mandated to carry out these important rights. To enhance
victims' rights implementation efforts and improve legislative compliance across
all justice systems, the following recommendations are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The U.S. Constitution should be amended to guarantee fundamental rights
for victims of crime. Constitutionally protected rights should include the right to
notice of public court proceedings and to attend them; to make a statement to
the court about bail, sentencing, and accepting a plea; to be told about, to
attend, and to speak at parole hearings; to notice when the defendant or convict
escapes, is released, or dies; to an order of restitution from the convicted
offender; to a disposition free from unreasonable delay; to consideration for the
safety of the victim in determining any release from custody; to notice of these
rights; and to standing to enforce them.
2. Crime victims should have the right to notice of public court proceedings,
including pretrial release hearings, plea agreements, sentencing, appeals, and
appropriate postconviction release proceedings such as probation and parole
hearings. Victims should also have the right to notice of any significant change in
the status of defendants and to receive timely notice, upon request, of inmates'
temporary or permanent release, or inmates' escape or death.
3. Federal and State laws should be strengthened to ensure that victims have
the right to be present throughout all public court proceedings.
4. Prosecutors should provide victims an opportunity for meaningful
consultation prior to major case decisions such as dismissal, reduction of
charges, or acceptance of plea agreements. Judges should not accept plea
agreements without first asking prosecutors on the record if they have consulted
the victim, and judges should take the views of the victim into account before
making a final sentencing decision. Special procedures should be developed for
cases involving multiple crime victims, such as acts of mass violence, massive
antitrust or telemarketing cases, where consultation may be difficult.
5. Crime victims should have the right to be heard in major court proceedings
including pretrial release hearings, bail hearings, at sentencing, and before the
disposition of plea agreements, probation, parole, and commutation. Input
should be permitted through both oral and submission of written, videotaped, or
audiotaped statements.
6. Victims and witnesses of crime should have the right to reasonable
protection, including protection from intimidation. The safety of victims and
witnesses should be considered in determining whether offenders should be
released from custody prior to completing their full sentence.
7. Orders of full restitution for crime victims should be mandatory. Restitution
orders should be automatically entered as civil judgments at the end of the
offender's supervisory period if not paid. Alternatively, legislation could be
enacted giving judges and paroling authorities jurisdiction for enforcing
restitution orders until they are fully paid.
8. Victims should have the right to disposition of proceedings free from
unreasonable delay.
9. All crime victims should have the right to a full range of services and support
to help them recover physically, psychologically, and in practical ways from the
effects of crime, whether or not they report the crime or become involved in
related criminal prosecutions or juvenile adjudications.
10. Crime victims should have fundamental rights that are enforced in all
juvenile justice proceedings.
11. All criminal and juvenile justice agencies, including courts, as well as victim
assistance programs, should help ensure that victims receive information about
their rights in a form they understand.
12. Victims of crime should receive assistance in exercising their participatory
rights. Advocates should be available to explain rights to victims, help them to
exercise those rights and, when necessary, serve as their representatives in
court and other key justice processes when victims are underage or
incapacitated or if representation is otherwise appropriate.
13. States should review their victims' rights statutes and constitutional
amendments to determine if fundamental rights are extended to all crime victims.
14. States that have not already done so should adopt truth in sentencing
reforms to ensure that victims know how long offenders will actually be
incarcerated.
15. Federal and State laws should prohibit employers from taking adverse
action against victims who must miss work to participate in the criminal or
juvenile justice process.
16. In cases where there is good cause to believe that bodily fluids were
exchanged, victims should have the right to be tested and to have the accused
or convicted offender tested at appropriate times for the HIV virus and sexually
transmitted diseases. State statutes should require these tests be conducted by
specially trained personnel who can advise victims of the reliability, limitations,
and significance of the test, as well as HIV treatment options. In addition, laws
should specify the agency that will pay for HIV testing and pre- and posttest
counseling, as well as treatment for any victims who test positive.
17. State and Federal laws should allow and criminal and juvenile justice
agencies should facilitate community impact statements as a means for members
of a neighborhood or community that has been impacted by crime to have input
into sentencing.
18. Victims should have standing to enforce their rights, and sanctions should
be applied to criminal and juvenile justice professionals who deny victims their
fundamental rights.
19. States and the Federal Government should create compliance enforcement
programs, sometimes referred to as victim ombudsman programs, to help
facilitate the implementation of victims' rights.
20. Federal crime victims' rights should apply in military proceedings.
21. Indian tribes should review their legislation, policies, and court systems to
enhance the fundamental rights of Native American victims.
22. Victims of crime should have rights at administrative proceedings, including
the right to have a person of their choice accompany them to the proceedings,
the right to input regarding the sanction, and the right to notification of the
sanction.
23. Criminal and juvenile justice agencies should establish a means of
monitoring their own compliance with crime victims' rights laws and require
public documentation showing that victims were provided their rights or
indicating an appropriate reason why they were not. In addition, independent
audits should be conducted of State and Federal agency compliance with
victims' rights laws.
24. Introductory and continuing education for all criminal and juvenile justice
professionals should address victims rights, needs, and services, and
incorporate involvement from crime victims themselves.
25. New funding mechanisms must be developed to support the expansion and
implementation of victims' rights and services nationwide.
----------------------------
Chapter 2: Recommendations for Law Enforcement
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
The significance of law enforcement's role in responding to crime victims cannot
be overemphasized. The way that victims are treated by dispatchers, the first
officers arriving at the scene of the crime, and detectives investigating the case
shapes their expectations of how they will be treated throughout the justice
process, and their overall opinions of justice officials. It is therefore critical that
every law enforcement professional who interacts with crime victims, either in
person or over the telephone, knows how to respond in a sensitive and
effective manner. Because the range of services provided by law enforcement
agencies across the Nation varies significantly, the following recommendations
for the law enforcement community are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Law enforcement agencies should adopt a community policing philosophy
that is both victim and crime prevention oriented.
2. Law enforcement agencies should provide a basic level of support to crime
victims through establishing victim assistance programs within their agencies and
through community partnerships to ensure that victims have access to
emergency services, counseling, financial assistance, information and referrals,
and community programs.
3. Law enforcement agencies should establish policies for the provision of
fundamental victims rights and services and procedures for their implementation.
These policies and procedures should be disseminated in writing throughout the
agency.
4. Compliance with victims' rights policies and procedures should be included
as a standard in officers performance appraisals.
5. During their initial contact with law enforcement officers, victims of crime
should receive verbal and written information about victims rights and services.
Law enforcement personnel should be required to follow up with victims
because many individuals are unable to comprehend assistance and
compensation information in the aftermath of being severely traumatized.
6. All law enforcement agencies should adopt written policies and procedures
and implement training programs for conducting sensitive and culturally
appropriate death notification.
7. State, Federal, military, and Tribal law enforcement agencies must
implement victims rights laws and ensure that victims are regularly notified of the
status of the investigation, including arrests, pretrial release of suspects, and
case closings.
8. Law enforcement should place a high priority on protecting victims and
witnesses from intimidation and physical harm after they report a crime. Law
enforcement agencies that operate jails or any temporary custody facilities
should, upon request of the victim, immediately notify the victim of a defendants
pretrial release.
9. All law enforcement personnel, from dispatchers through management,
should receive initial and ongoing training about the impact of crime and how to
respond sensitively and effectively to victims.
10. Police departments should develop specialized responses for family
members of officers killed in the line of duty and protocols for responding to
injured officers.
11. Law enforcement agencies should establish special protocols to ensure
victim participation and confidence in the system when an officer is accused of a
criminal offense.
12. Procedures for the swift return of property to victims and witnesses should
be developed at the Federal, State, and local levels to serve as models for law
enforcement agencies nationwide. Emergency funds should be made available
to victims to replace essential items. Laws providing victims the right to have
their property returned within a reasonable period of time should be enacted in
all States and on the Federal level.
----------------------------
Chapter 3: Recommendations for Prosecution
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
One of the most important and basic rights of victims during the prosecution
stage is the right to participate. Victims' satisfaction with prosecutors and the
criminal or juvenile justice system increases dramatically if they are invited to
participate in the decisionmaking process. Heightened sensitivity to the needs of
crime victims by prosecutors and their staff has resulted in increased victim
participation in criminal and juvenile justice processes. To ensure that victims
continue to participate in the prosecution of cases, the following
recommendations for prosecutors and their professional staff are set forth by
the field:
----------------------------
1. Prosecutors' offices should notify victims in a timely manner of the date,
time, and location of the following: charging of defendant, pretrial hearings, plea
negotiations, the trial, all schedule changes, and the sentencing hearing. Timely
notification, orally or in writing, of advanced scheduling should be provided in
relevant languages. Statutes should require prosecutors to verify notifications
with documentation in case files or through another mechanism.
2. Prosecutors should establish victim/witness assistance units to ensure that
victims of crime receive at least a basic level of service, including information,
notification, consultation, and participation. Prosecutors' offices should develop
and incorporate into performance evaluations written definitions of the roles and
responsibilities of prosecuting attorneys, victim/witness professionals, and other
relevant staff and volunteers.
3. Prosecutors should use the full range of measures at their disposal to ensure
that victims and witnesses are protected from intimidation and harassment.
These measures include ensuring that victims are informed about safety
precautions, advising the court of victims fears and concerns about safety prior
to any bail or bond proceedings, automatically requesting no-contact orders
and enforcing them if violated, and utilizing witness relocation programs and
technology to help protect victims.
4. Prosecutors should address criminal and juvenile justice problems that afflict
their communities by exploring the establishment of community prosecution
programs as an adjunct to traditional prosecution. Prosecutors should recognize
the important role that they can play in reducing crime and should use the
authority of their office to support effective crime prevention strategies tailored
to the cultures and language needs of their communities.
5. Prosecutors should play a central role in establishing multidisciplinary efforts
to respond to crime.
6. Prosecutors should advocate for the rights of victims to have their views
heard by judges on bail decisions, continuances, plea bargains, dismissals,
sentencing, and restitution. Policies and procedures should be put into place in
all prosecutors' offices to ensure that victims are informed in a timely manner of
these crucial rights in forms of communication they understand.
7. Prosecutors should make every effort, if the victim has provided a current
address or telephone number, to consult the victim on the terms of any
negotiated plea, including the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
8. In all cases, particularly those involving sexual assault, the prosecuting
attorney should confer with the victim or survivors before deciding not to file
charges or before deciding to seek dismissal of charges already filed.
9. Prosecutors should establish policies to fast track the prosecution of sexual
assault, domestic violence, elderly and child abuse, and other particularly
sensitive cases to shorten the length of time from arrest to disposition.
Prosecutors should encourage judges to give top priority to these cases on the
trial docket and should try to ensure that the case goes to trial when initially
scheduled.
10. Prosecutors' offices should use technology to enhance the implementation
of victims' rights.
11. Prosecutors should adopt vertical prosecution for domestic violence, sexual
assault, and child abuse cases.
12. Prosecutors should work closely with victim service providers and victims
of domestic violence to establish appropriate prosecution policies and support
research to assess the effectiveness of proceeding without victim testimony in
domestic violence cases.
13. Victims' rights and sensitivity education should be provided to all law
students as part of their basic education in law school and to all prosecutors
during their initial orientation and throughout their careers.
14. Prosecutors' offices should establish procedures to ensure the prompt
return of victims' property, absent the need for it as actual evidence in court.
----------------------------
Chapter 4: Recommendations for the Judiciary
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Judges play a crucial role in the day-to-day implementation of victims' rights.
Judges, after all, control the courtroom and make rulings that will affect the
court's observance of victims' rights to be present, notified, and heard. As
respected leaders, judges can and should be catalysts for coordinating the
delivery of services to both victims and offenders. Judges are uniquely situated
to bring together institutions within a community that can address the wide range
of problems that bring offenders and the people they victimize to the justice
system. As such, the following recommendations for the judiciary are
set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The voices and concerns of crime victims should be recognized and
institutionalized within the justice system. Judges should advise victims of their
rights as routinely as they advise defendants of their rights.
2. Judges and all court personnel at all levels of the court system must receive
initial and continuing education on the law concerning victims rights, the impact
of crime on victims and their families, and how the judiciary can implement the
spirit as well as the letter of these rights. This education must include training on
the special needs of some victim populations such as victims with disabilities
and non-English speaking individuals.
3. Judges should facilitate the rights of crime victims and their families to be
present at court proceedings unless the defendant proves that their presence
would interfere with the defendants right to a fair trial.
4. Judges should consider victim and community safety in any prerelease or
postrelease decision. As part of any pretrial release order, including bail, bond,
or personal recognizance, judges should include a no-contact provision stating
that the accused or defendant shall not harass, intimidate, threaten, or commit
physical violence against the victim or victim's family.
5. Before imposing a sentence, judges should permit the victim, the victim's
representative, or, when appropriate, representatives of the community to
present a victim impact statement.
6. Judges should facilitate the input of crime victims into plea agreements and
resulting sentences, and they should request that prosecuting attorneys
demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made to confer with the victim.
7. As leaders within the justice system, judges must ensure that victims' rights
legislation is fully implemented.
8. Judges should play a leadership role in ensuring that police, prosecutors,
defense counsel, judges, and court administrators receive joint training so that
all have a comprehensive picture of what happens to a victim as he or she
navigates through the criminal justice system.
9. Judges have a responsibility to manage their cases and calendars to make
victim involvement as feasible as possible. Modern technology should be used
to give victims greater access to the justice system and should include
multilingual services at no cost to victims.
10. Judges should order restitution from offenders to help compensate victims
for the harm they have suffered. If extraordinary and compelling reasons make
restitution impractical or inappropriate, judges should explain in writing and on
the record why they did not order it.
11. Judges should play a leadership role in ensuring that separate and secure
waiting areas are available in all courthouses for prosecution and defense
witnesses to minimize the contact of victims with defendants, their relatives, and
friends before, during, and after court proceedings.
12. Codes of Judicial Conduct should be amended to reflect the fact that crime
victims play a pivotal role in the criminal justice system.
13. Judicial assignments to specialized courts or family law or juvenile courts
should be based on experience and interest, not on lack of seniority or
punishment.
14. Judges must take a leadership role in conceptualizing and advocating that
the justice system encompass not only traditional adjudication and punishment
but also holistic problem solving and treatment for victims as well as offenders.
Principles of restorative community justice and therapeutic jurisprudence should
be incorporated into court systems with due regard for differing cultures and
ethnic groups.
----------------------------
Chapter 5: Recommendations for Corrections
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Over the past decade, the basic philosophy of correctional agencies has
undergone radical change. Traditionally, correctional agencies viewed their role
as limited to offender management, supervision, and rehabilitation. Today,
serving crime victims is also widely accepted as an important part of their
mission. Increasingly, correctional agencies are recognizing that victims are
important clients who need diverse and vital services. There is, however, a
need for greater consistency between correctional agencies nationwide in
program services, departmental policies and procedures, and compliance with
victim-related laws. To better address this lack of continuity between
correctional agencies, the following recommendations are set forth by the
field:
----------------------------
1. Adult and juvenile correctional agencies should open channels of
communication with the community and with crime victims. As a first step,
every State department of corrections and paroling authority should establish a
victim advisory committee that includes victims and service providers to guide
and support victim-related policies, programs, and services.
2. Correctional agencies should designate staff to provide information,
assistance, and referrals to victims of crime.
3. Mission statements guiding adult and juvenile correctional agencies and
paroling authorities should recognize victims as an important constituency and
address victims rights and services.
4. Correctional agencies should notify victims, upon their request, of any
change in the status of offenders, including clemency or pardon, that would
allow them to have access to the community or the victims.
5. Correctional agencies should place a high priority on ensuring the protection
of victims from inmate intimidation, threats, or physical or other harm from
offenders under their supervision.
6. Correctional agencies should make information about offender status and
victims rights accessible to crime victims through multilingual, toll-free numbers,
and printed materials.
7. Correctional agencies should collect and distribute restitution payments
consistent with the court's order to ensure that victims receive fair compensation
from offenders who are incarcerated or released on probation or parole.
Wage-earning opportunities for inmates, wards, and parolees owing restitution
should be increased. Restitution and other compensatory sanctions must be
enforced, including requiring the timely payment of restitution as an automatic,
essential condition of probation and parole. Paroling authorities should have the
authority to both order restitution and incorporate a judicial restitution order as
a condition of parole. Statutes should be amended to provide that any damages
awarded to offenders from civil suits brought against correctional institutions be
applied first to any outstanding restitution or civil judgments.
8. Victims should have input into all decisions affecting the release of adult and
juvenile offenders. Input can be provided through oral statements; written,
audio- or videotaped victim impact statements; and video teleconferences of
postconviction hearings. Victim impact statements should be included in all
presentence reports for adult and juvenile offenders.
9. Special consideration should be given to the needs of victims who
participate in parole proceedings, especially when these proceedings are
conducted within prisons. Correctional facilities should provide victims with an
orientation to the proceedings and separate waiting areas away from the
offender's family and friends.
10. Information regarding the rights and needs of crime victims should be
incorporated into education for correctional staff at all levels, including
administrative and line staff. When possible, interdisciplinary training programs
should be conducted with other victim service providers. All agency staff and
parole board members should be educated on the impact of victimization and
victim services as part of their job orientation and in ongoing inservice training.
This training should include issues of cultural sensitivity.
11. Each correctional agency should establish written policies and procedures
for responding to correctional staff who are victimized on or off the job, as well
as for responding to critical incidents within correctional institutions.
Correctional agencies should provide training on the impact of crime for staff
and supervisory personnel, beginning with basic academy training.
12. To increase offender awareness of the consequences of their actions on
victims lives, correctional agencies for both adult and juvenile offenders should
use victim impact panels and conduct courses about the effects of crime on
peoples lives.
13. Victim-offender dialogue programs that ensure voluntary victim
involvement, protect and support victims, and use highly trained facilitators and
mediators should be available for victims upon their request.
14. Crime victims should be notified of any violation of the conditions of an
offender's probation or parole and should be allowed to provide input prior to
or during the probation or parole violation hearing.
15. When a sex offender is released, uniform community notification practices
should be developed and implemented to promote public awareness and
provide consistent protection for citizens from State to State.
----------------------------
Chapter 6: Recommendations for the Victim Assistance Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
As the victim assistance field has grown, so has its awareness of the complex
needs of crime victims and the demand for coordinated multidisciplinary
responses to meet their most salient needs. There is an increasing understanding
that services must be tailored to meet the needs of both traditionally served
victims as well as those victims newly identified as "underserved"--diverse
cultural populations, victims with disabilities, victims of gang violence, and
victims of white-collar crime and fraud, to name a few. Communities around the
country are working toward the goal of integrated victim service delivery
systems where quality services are available and accessible to all crime victims.
To facilitate these goals, the following recommendations for the victim
assistance community are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Victim assistance providers should encourage victim involvement in the
development and implementation of all programs and services they provide,
including public awareness, education, and violence prevention programs.
2. Victim assistance programs and services should be designed to reach
diverse constituencies. All policymakers, program administrators, and staff
should be knowledgeable and skilled in serving diverse cultural and ethnic
groups.
3. Victim service providers should join criminal and juvenile justice and allied
professionals to conduct needs assessments in their communities to identify
underserved victim population groups and to determine the types of services
that should be available for these groups.
4. Victim service providers should work with allied professionals, other victim
service providers, and leaders in their community to ensure that a
comprehensive network of services and support is available for crime victims.
5. Standards for victim assistance should be developed and instituted to guide
those who serve victims in community-based programs as well as across all
justice systems.
6. Victim assistance providers must receive basic training and annual continuing
education on crime victims' rights and services.
7. A national commission should be established to develop certification and
accreditation standards for victim advocacy and assistance.
8. Victim service providers should increase public awareness of their programs
and services.
9. Evaluation studies should be conducted to determine if current methods of
victim assistance are effective and to identify critical areas in which additional
victim intervention and assistance services are needed.
10. There should be a clearly defined code of ethics to bind all victim service
providers in the field to designated standards of behavior.
11. Victim assistance providers should expand current statewide networks to
build a capacity for addressing communities in crisis. Each State should develop
a crisis response team and interact with other disaster planning efforts.
12. Victim service providers should develop interagency response protocols for
assisting all crime victims, including child victims, elder abuse victims, and
victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
13. A national hotline that provides 24-hour immediate crisis counseling,
information, and referral services for all victims of crime should be established.
In addition, every State should establish statewide, toll-free 800 numbers to
provide information and referrals for victims of crime.
14. Victim assistance programs should integrate technological advancements
into their programs to help better meet the needs of crime victims.
15. Victim assistance programs should comply fully with the 1990 Americans
with Disabilities Act to ensure that victims with disabilities can access available
services. More programs that focus on serving victims with disabilities must be
established. Additional research should be conducted to determine the extent of
victimization against people with disabilities and to guide strategies to increase
reporting and prevent this type of victimization. Criminal justice professionals
and the victim service community must receive additional training in providing
outreach and assistance to victims with disabilities.
16. Victim service providers should be trained to assist crime victims who
interact with members of the media.
----------------------------
Chapter 7: Recommendations for the Health Care Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
The health care, social service, criminal and juvenile justice, and other
professional communities must integrate their response to violence if crime
victims are to be provided a safety net that functions effectively. Health care
professionals are beginning to recognize that they must cooperate with and
understand justice and other allied professionals' roles when responding to
criminal victimization. Many medical associations and professional organizations
have taken a strong and visible role in efforts to reduce violence and create a
safer, healthier society. To ensure these important efforts continue, the following
recommendations for health care professionals are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. All professional schools that educate future health care professionals,
including schools of medicine, nursing, social work, rehabilitation, hospital
administration, and public health, should incorporate victim issues into their
curricula.
2. All patients should be routinely assessed for indications of domestic abuse
or other history of violence, and any signs or symptoms of abuse should be
documented in their medical records.
3. Hospitals should establish training programs and protocols for all hospital
personnel about the rights and needs of victims of crime.
4. Medical facilities including hospitals and rehabilitation and trauma centers
should serve as gateways to assist victims of crime. Response staff should be
available in these settings to provide onsite crisis counseling, followup with
patients, and serve as links to inhouse and community resources.
5. Victims of sexual assault should be given emergency medical care, forensic
examinations, and testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases at no
out-of-pocket cost and in a supportive setting. More hospitals should consider
establishing Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs to respond sensitively to
the needs of sexual assault victims.
6. Cultural competency guidelines should be developed to help health care
providers improve screening and intervention services for victims from diverse
backgrounds.
7. Medical personnel should be knowledgeable about and have policies in
place to ensure that statutory privacy protections are applied to medical
records, abuse reporting forms, and medical legal evidence. They should
respect the confidentiality and privacy needs of all victims of crime and assist
them in dealing with unwanted media attention, especially in cases of sexual
assault and assaults on children.
8. Counseling and prevention programs and/or a referral system to such
programs should be established in medical facilities that treat violence-related
injury, including gunshot victims, to address the broad spectrum of needs of
these victims.
9. Protocols for appropriate security and safety procedures should be
developed to assist hospital personnel in responding to incidents of gang, family,
and other violence that might result in staff victimization.
10. Pediatricians, family practitioners, internists, and other health care
professionals treating young children should be educated about the effects on
children of witnessing domestic violence and violence in the community.
11. Technology should be utilized to improve medical services for crime
victims, especially in underserved and rural areas.
12. Statutes and policies should be adopted to prevent insurance companies
from discriminating against victims of crime by denying and/or canceling
coverage or by charging higher premiums for such coverage.
13. All health care professionals should be educated about sensitive death
notification techniques.
14. Catastrophic physical injury victims, including assault and drunk driving
crash survivors with serious injuries, should receive specialized
neuropsychological evaluation in health care facilities.
----------------------------
Chapter 8: Recommendations for the Mental Health Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Crime-related psychological trauma is a major public health and mental health
problem for our Nation. Violent crime puts a large number of Americans
at risk for debilitating problems that can limit their ability to live productive,
emotionally healthy lives. Due to the sheer number of Americans suffering from
crime-related mental health problems, their treatment is one of the most
pressing issues. To find workable solutions, the following recommendations for
the Nation's mental health professionals are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The mental health community should develop linkages with crime victim
compensation, victim assistance programs, and criminal and juvenile justice
agencies to ensure that victims have access to adequate counseling or mental
health treatment at each stage of the justice process, from the time the crime
occurs through incarceration, pardon, parole, and appeals. Federal and State
laws should be amended to ensure that government covers mental health
counseling costs for crime victims throughout the criminal justice process and
beyond in cases of long-term psychological trauma.
2. Legislation should be enacted in every State and at the Federal level to
ensure that designated victim counseling is legally privileged.
3. Research on the mental health consequences of victimization and treatment
of crime-related psychological disorders should be expanded.
4. Initial and continuing education programs for mental health professionals
should include education on the crisis, short- and long-term trauma issues
arising from victimization and appropriate mental health treatment for crime
victims and their families, including counseling options available to them.
Training also should include information regarding the cultural diversity of
victims, stressing the importance of responding with sensitivity to ethnic and
cultural differences.
5. Interventions and counseling services should be developed for victims with
multiple mental health problems. Special attention should be given to individuals
suffering from repeat or chronic victimization and individuals with limited access
to financial, social service, and health care resources.
6. Greater emphasis should be placed on mental health treatment for child
victims and witnesses, including preventive interventions that focus on reducing
the risk of subsequent mental health problems, antisocial and violent behavior,
substance abuse, and revictimization.
7. Insurance companies and managed health care companies should provide
coverage for targeted mental health treatment for crime victims.
8. Mental health providers should recognize the healing benefits that
participation in support groups can provide for many crime victims and provide
referrals to these programs when appropriate.
9. Mental health providers should help victims of crime become involved in
community service programs when this type of work can assist in the healing
process.
10. Mental health professionals should assist in identifying secondary victims of
crime and ensure that they receive appropriate counseling and mental health
services.
11. Mental health professionals should work with multidisciplinary teams of
other trained crisis interveners, including victim service providers, law
enforcement officers, emergency medical responders, and clergy, to respond to
violent incidents and help communities prepare crisis response protocols.
12. Reciprocal referral systems should be established among victim service
providers, crisis interveners, counselors, mental health professionals, and justice
practitioners.
13. Community mental health centers should participate in communitywide
networks of victim services and crisis response planning, protocols, and
services.
----------------------------
Chapter 9: Recommendations for the Legal Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Over the past 15 years, attorneys and bar associations have recognized they
are important conduits to victim services. They have worked to improve access
to the justice system for victims, developed programs that assist them, and
explored legal options to provide victims with greater relief, particularly
throughout the civil justice process. However, most members of the legal
profession serve in positions outside the justice system, but frequently come into
contact with crime victims in their work. These attorneys often lack an
understanding of the dynamics of victimization or appropriate victim-related
referral services. To initiate efforts to address these critical voids in victim
support and service within the legal profession, the following recommendations
are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The legal community should expand its commitment of resources to victims
to ensure that the barriers to meeting crime victims' needs are removed.
2. Bar associations and members of the legal community should produce and
distribute informational materials, including videotapes, to help crime victims
understand court proceedings and how to pursue their rights in the justice
system.
3. Bar associations and members of the legal community should develop
multidisciplinary alliances and networks between attorneys and other service
providers within the community to identify and meet the needs of crime victims.
4. Bar associations and members of the legal community should develop
information about victims' rights and programs and disseminate it widely in the
community.
5. Legal professionals who serve in the criminal, juvenile, and civil justice
systems should work with one another and with victim service providers to
adequately inform crime victims of all of their legal options, including civil
litigation.
6. Attorneys in the private sector who, due to the nature of their practice, have
frequent contact with crime victims (for example, personal injury attorneys,
insurance attorneys, and premises liability attorneys) should be encouraged to
develop or join coalitions of attorneys who serve crime victims in the civil
justice process.
7. Bar associations should establish victims issues committees to address issues
in the criminal and civil justice systems, and they should ensure that the
members of the committees represent victims interests.
8. Bar associations and law schools should offer courses on victims' rights and
issues, incorporating multidisciplinary curricula.
9. Bar associations and members of the legal community should ensure
adequate representation and involvement of minority, multicultural, and
multilingual attorneys in order to respond more effectively to diverse
populations victimized by crime.
10. Publishers of case reporters, legal compilations, and treatises should
expand their issue coding and indices to include crime victim-related categories.
----------------------------
Chapter 10: Recommendations for the Education Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Schools and universities today face serious problems resulting from crime and
victimization. For too many students, teachers, and administrators, school is no
longer a safe haven. Daily threats to the safety of students and staff, including
violent assaults, are commonplace in many communities. Academic institutions
also must play an important role in providing educational programs at the
undergraduate and graduate levels on victims' rights and services. Therefore,
the following recommendations for the education community are set forth by
the field:
----------------------------
1. Schools should establish comprehensive programs to assist students, faculty,
and staff who are victimized by crime or who witness violence. These programs
should be coordinated closely with local crime victim assistance programs and
law enforcement agencies.
2. Schools should incorporate into their core curricula age-appropriate
education about the impact of victimization, the availability of victim services,
and victim rights information, including basic information about the criminal and
juvenile justice systems.
3. Crime prevention strategies should be taught to students in every grade,
beginning in preschool, and schools should involve youth as peer educators
about victimization and crime prevention.
4. Schools should implement procedures to help identify missing and exploited
children who may be enrolled in their educational systems.
5. Age-appropriate sexual assault and dating violence awareness and
prevention programs should be a required component of school curricula.
Schools should work with law enforcement agencies and rape crisis centers to
develop strategies for preventing sexual violence and for assisting victims of
such crimes.
6. Colleges and universities should establish comprehensive programs to assist
students, faculty members, and staff who are victimized by crime. These
programs should be coordinated closely with local crime victim assistance
programs.
7. Colleges and universities should offer interdisciplinary credit courses on
victim issues and rights in departments that train professionals who interact with
crime victims. Victim issues also should be incorporated into professional
licensing exams.
8. All college and university campuses should adopt sexual assault and dating
violence protocol that include clear definitions of proscribed conduct. These
policies should be disseminated to all students, campus staff, and faculty.
Campus staff and faculty should be trained in procedures for responding to
students who have been sexually assaulted.
9. All school districts, colleges, and universities should design and implement a
standardized system for documenting, analyzing, and reporting crimes to law
enforcement.
10. Schools, colleges, and universities should develop specialized education
and training programs for faculty, administrators, and staff on crime victim
issues.
11. Victims should have certain rights in disciplinary hearings involving crimes in
schools and on college campuses. These rights should include the right to notice
of the hearing, the right to be accompanied to the hearing by a person of their
choice, the right to give a victim impact statement before a penalty is assessed,
and the right to be informed of the outcome of the hearing. In addition, victims
should be protected from irrelevant questions about their past sexual history.
12. School and college campuses should develop crisis response protocols so
that they are prepared to respond to major incidents of violence.
13. School and university libraries should incorporate resources on victim
rights, victim services, and violence prevention into their collections and
information displays.
----------------------------
Chapter 11: Recommendations for the Faith Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Tens of millions of Americans call upon clergy and faith community leaders for
spiritual guidance, support, and information in times of personal crisis. While the
faith community has historically provided prison ministry programs, few religious
institutions have developed programs to specifically serve and support victims
of crime. However, religious entities and congregations working in conjunction
with victim assistance agencies have the capacity to provide important services
to crime victims. In an effort to increase awareness about the key role of the
faith community in the delivery of comprehensive and sensitive victim support
services, the following recommendations are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The faith community should recognize that the victim is in need of aid,
comfort, and spiritual ministry, and faith-based congregations and organizations
should provide assistance to victims whenever possible.
2. Courses on crime victimization and crime victim assistance should be
established in clergy educational institutions and theological seminaries,
including both worship and pastoral counseling courses.
3. Continuing education on crime victimization and crime victim assistance
should be provided for all clergy and religious leaders, including chaplains in
hospitals, police departments, the military, and other individuals within the faith
community who may come into contact with victims.
4. Religious institutions at all levels should cooperate with victim assistance
agencies and organizations to offer joint services to victims of crime and to
disseminate publications on crime victim assistance.
5. The clergy should provide training for victim assistance providers, criminal
justice officials, State victim assistance administrators, compensation program
directors, and other public officials about the important role they can play in
assisting victims.
6. Requiring clergy to report suspected cases of child abuse should be
seriously considered by religious institutions and governmental agencies, and
appropriate policies should be developed to ensure children are protected.
Even in cases involving confidential communications, the clergy should hold the
needs of children paramount and recognize their moral responsibility to help and
protect child victims.
7. Communities of faith should hold clergy and other religious leaders in
positions of trust within their congregations accountable for crimes they commit,
including sexual acts against adults and children. Policies and procedures should
be developed to ensure that appropriate cases of clergy misconduct are
referred to law enforcement agencies.
8. Religious and spiritual leaders should be encouraged to use their pulpits to
educate and sensitize their congregations about crime and victimization issues.
9. Religious and spiritual leaders should be willing to serve in leadership roles
on community crisis response teams providing services in the aftermath of mass
violence and other crimes that have significant impact upon entire communities.
----------------------------
Chapter 12: Recommendations for the Business Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Studies clearly indicate that crime has an impact on where people choose to
live, work, and shop. Over the past 15 years, employers have recognized that it
is good business to offer employees a full spectrum of assistance programs to
help them deal with problems, including criminal victimization, that affect job
performance and the safety of the workplace. They are beginning to develop
efforts to prevent violence in the workplace. When violence strikes, employers
now realize that they must deal with both the physical injury and the emotional
consequences of trauma. Unfortunately, many barriers still block corporate
America's ability and willingness to respond fully and appropriately to
crime victims. In an effort to address these barriers, the following
recommendations for the business community are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Business leaders should commit resources in addition to money to victim
assistance and crime prevention efforts.
2. All managers, supervisors, union officials, shop stewards, and other
designated employee representatives should receive training on how workplace
violence impacts employees and the company; how to develop and implement
policies and procedures to resolve conflicts before they erupt into violence; and
how to develop and implement crisis response plans in the aftermath of
violence.
3. In cases of serious trauma and multiple victims, employees should be
assisted by long-term expert psychological counseling.
4. Counseling for psychological injuries suffered by victims of terrorist attacks
in the workplace should be covered by workers compensation and other
employer-sponsored insurance.
5. Workplace policies and programs should be responsive to the needs of all
crime victims, including victims of domestic violence.
6. Employers and unions should work together to adopt leave and benefit
policies that accommodate the needs of victimized employees to go to court,
counseling, or a shelter without penalizing them with unexcused absences or
dismissal.
7. All managers, supervisors, union officials, and shop stewards should receive
training on how to recognize signs of domestic violence in their staff and apply
organizational policies and programs to employees or members who are victims
of domestic violence.
8. Employee assistance program (EAP) staff, corporate fitness and wellness
programs, and workplace health services providers such as occupational nurses
and medical directors should receive specialized training in how to deal with
employees who have been victimized.
9. All workplaces should educate their employees to increase awareness of
domestic violence and sexual assault as societal and workplace issues. Such
education will promote compassionate responses to the needs of these victims
and will serve to encourage victims to seek services available to them in the
workplace and in their community.
10. Research is needed that focuses on the risks and costs of workplace
victimization to both the company and the employee.
11. Due to the complex issues and effects of workplace victimization, a
comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to delivering services for these
victims must be developed and implemented at the national, State, and local
levels.
12. Employers should adopt policies and practices that accommodate crime
victims who suffer physical and psychological disabilities as a result of their
victimization in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
13. Employers should report all violent crime that occurs on their premises and
encourage their employees to do likewise.
14. Workers compensation programs should be combined with employee
benefit programs to cover all expenses and lost income employees incur as the
result of violent victimization on the job.
15. Employers should develop and implement crime prevention and safety
measures to protect their employees, clients, and customers.
----------------------------
Chapter 13: Recommendations for the News Media Community
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
The news media play a significant role in public safety by providing important
information about the nature and the extent of crime occurring in communities,
and efforts to prevent crime and assist victims. Yet the news media also can
have a negative impact on individual lives when victims are thrust, often
unwillingly, into the limelight solely because of the crimes committed against
them. Inconsistent reporting and insensitivity to a victim's privacy compound
the drama of crime and often re-victimize the victim. To increase the news
media's awareness of victims' needs for sensitive treatment and respect of
privacy, the following recommendations are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The news media should adopt codes of ethics or guiding principles that
clearly delineate policies sensitive to and respectful of crime victims. These
guidelines should include policies that discourage the identification of victims of
sexual assault and other vulnerable victims, including children, without the
victim's consent.
2. News organizations, victims, and victim service providers should sponsor
frequent educational forums for journalists on sensitive media coverage of crime
and victimization.
3. University departments of journalism should incorporate curricula that teach
students about sensitivity to victims in the news media's coverage of crime.
4. Victim service providers should receive education about media relations and
how to be a valuable resource for the press. Training and technical assistance
for service providers should be made available from professionals in the
journalism community.
5. The victim service and mental health professions, in conjunction with media
representatives, should develop debriefing protocols to help journalists cope
with the trauma and stress of covering crime and victimization.
6. State public policy leaders and media representatives should explore the
development of legislation that would appropriately limit general public access
to confidential information about sensitive victims.
----------------------------
Chapter 14: Recommendations for Crime Victim Compensation
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Compensation for victims of crime is one of the earliest forms of victim
assistance. As of May 1998, victim compensation programs operate in all 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands to help crime victims
deal with some of the financial losses they incur as a result of criminal
victimization. Although many compensation programs have sponsored extensive
efforts to increase benefits, expand services and public awareness efforts, and
eliminate minimum loss requirements, gaps in coverage still remain in some
States that must be addressed. In an effort to encourage compensation
programs to increase their efforts for outreach and advocacy on behalf of crime
victims, and to improve overall operation and efficiency, the following
recommendations are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Every State victim compensation program should establish goals to process
claims, including emergency awards, in the most expeditious manner possible.
2. States should examine the nature, level, and scope of benefits they provide
for mental health treatment to ensure that all victims traumatized by crime
receive financial support for adequate and culturally meaningful counseling
services or healing practices. To achieve this goal, victim compensation
programs should consult with advisory groups composed of mental health
experts to develop guidelines for counseling benefits, including appropriate
treatment lengths and types of mental health providers, documentation
requirements for treatment plans and progress reports, and payment levels.
3. Victim compensation programs should expand the types of victims eligible to
receive counseling benefits.
4. Victim compensation programs should increase medical benefits for victims
of catastrophic physical injury.
5. Victim compensation programs should eliminate restrictive statutory
reporting requirements and permit victims to report the crime within a
reasonable period of time and to agencies other than law enforcement.
6. Statutorily mandated time restrictions on filing claims that require crime
victims to apply for compensation within one year of the crime should be
reevaluated. State compensation programs should consider eliminating filing
restrictions or at least extending the time limit to three years, as was done in
Texas and Massachusetts.
7. Every victim compensation program should coordinate with victim
assistance programs to develop an effective community outreach strategy to
increase public awareness about the purpose and availability of crime victim
compensation. This strategy should include extensive outreach efforts to ensure
that all victims, regardless of their race, culture, or language, have knowledge of
and access to compensation program benefits.
8. Victim compensation programs have a responsibility to listen to and address
the issues of the victims they serve. All programs should establish advisory
boards that include victims. When developing policies for eligibility and benefits,
compensation programs should seek the input of victim service groups, and
criminal justice and allied professionals.
9. Victim compensation programs should establish multidisciplinary
cross-training programs to ensure that victim advocates and allied professionals
are fully informed of the scope of compensation programs and that
compensation professionals are kept up to date on the services victims need
most.
10. Victim advocacy should be institutionalized in victim compensation
programs. Every program should include an advocate on staff to help victims
access services and resources that are not available from the program.
11. States should maximize a victim's ability to recover losses and cover
expenses, and should institute mechanisms for ensuring sufficient funding
sources for victim compensation programs.
12. All State compensation programs should evaluate themselves to determine
whether: (1) there are barriers to compensation that should be removed, (2) the
program's outreach efforts are effective, (3) the services provided are effective,
(4) the scope of victims that qualify for compensation is broad enough, (5)
claims are processed as efficiently as possible, (6) available benefits for mental
health treatment are sufficient, and (7) reasons for denial of compensation
claims.
13. Compensation programs should make effective use of advanced
technologies such as automated claims management systems and electronic
linkages with medical providers, insurance companies, and criminal justice
agencies.
14. State compensation programs should work with other State programs that
provide funding for victim services to ensure that victims needs are met
comprehensively throughout the State.
15. Compensation programs should consider the effects that more universal
health care coverage (through expanded public benefits and broader private
coverage) might have on their eligibility and benefits structures.
16. Compensation programs throughout the world should agree to compensate
victims of crime within their borders regardless of nationality. The U.S.
Departments of State and Justice should continue to work together to establish
this principle as a basis for coverage in all countries.
17. Compensation programs should consider providing funds to cover
transportation costs for victims who must travel across State lines to attend
criminal proceedings.
18. Compensation programs should use excess funds to support victim
assistance.
----------------------------
Chapter 15: Recommendations for Restitution
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Despite the passage of Federal and State laws, restitution remains one of the
most underenforced victims' right within the criminal and juvenile justice
systems. Evidence of this is apparent both in decisions to order restitution and
in efforts to monitor, collect, and disperse restitution payments to victims.
However, national research studies indicate that restitution is a significant factor
affecting the satisfaction of victims with the criminal and juvenile justice process.
The prevailing belief among victims, service providers, and justice professionals
is that restitution is not a punishment or an alternative to fines, sanctions, or
interventions with the offender, but a responsibility to hold offenders partially or
fully accountable for the financial losses suffered by the victims of their crime. In
an effort to further advance this belief, the following recommendations
addressing restitution are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Restitution orders should be mandatory and consistent nationwide. Full
restitution should include all immediate and expected monetary costs of the
crime to victims, including property loss, health and mental health costs, and,
when appropriate, compensation for pain and suffering. When a victim cannot
be identified to receive restitution, judges should consider ordering payment to
national, State, or local victim assistance or compensation programs. Judges
should review restitution orders periodically to assess whether the victim has
incurred additional costs as a result of the crime and whether the offender is
making timely payments. Restitution payment plans should include provisions
for immediate payment of full restitution should the offender obtain additional
financial assets.
2. A coordinated interagency response throughout the justice system is
essential for the effective collection of restitution.
3. Restitution must be a priority for all criminal justice agencies if it is to be
implemented successfully.
4. Victims should be informed as early as possible in the justice process of
their right to receive restitution from the offender. They should be notified of the
disposition of the case, advised of realistic expectations for payment, and
provided with information about their rights when offenders fail to pay.
5. At the time of sentencing, courts should have sufficient information about
both the victim and the offender to determine the amount of full restitution and a
payment schedule.
6. The use of technology can greatly enhance the tracking and payment of
restitution orders. Those responsible for monitoring restitution should automate
their program.
7. Offenders should be held accountable for restitution payments; State
legislation should make restitution payments a priority over other payments due
from the offender, including fines, fees, and restitution to entities other than the
crime victim; and restitution payments should be collected before fines or
penalties.
8. Corrections agencies, including prisons, jails, probation departments, and
paroling authorities, should designate one person to be responsible for victim
inquiries and contact regarding restitution.
9. A probation or parole officer's proficiency in managing restitution cases
should be a component of evaluating his or her job performance.
10. Failure to comply with a restitution order should result in an extended
sentence of the offender's community supervision.
11. Civil remedies should be applied on a routine and consistent basis to assist
crime victims in collecting restitution.
12. Victims should have the right to petition to amend the payment schedule for
restitution, the amount of restitution ordered, and any failure to order restitution.
13. Before the court modifies a payment plan or makes other changes to a
restitution order, it should notify the victim and give them an opportunity to be
heard on the matter.
----------------------------
Chapter 16: Recommendations for Civil Remedies
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Traditional sources to compensate crime victims often fall considerably short of
covering victims' total financial losses related to criminal victimization.
Increasingly, more victims are looking to the civil justice system for reparations
for the physical, psychological, and financial losses they incur as a result of
criminal acts. In the last decade, civil litigation has emerged as a meaningful
option for crime victims seeking financial and emotional redress. However, the
ability of victims to seek civil remedies has been hampered by a lack of
information about their civil justice options. The following recommendations are
set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Crime victims should be fully informed of their legal rights to pursue civil
remedies.
2. State and local networks of civil attorneys who have experience
representing crime victims should be expanded. Education and training on civil
remedies for victims should be offered to attorneys to increase the pool of
qualified lawyers in these networks and to maintain the level of expertise
between member attorneys. Nonattorney experts and professionals should
participate in this training and network to educate attorneys on victim issues and
make their representation more effective.
3. Increased efforts should be made to identify consultants with the expertise to
testify on issues relevant to victimization in civil and criminal cases.
4. Civil attorneys should work with victim service providers, law enforcement
officials, and prosecutors in their communities to develop an easy-to-
understand pamphlet about civil remedies for crime victims.
5. Civil attorneys should provide training to victim service providers on civil
remedies for crime victims.
6. Statutes of limitations for civil actions involving child abuse cases should be
extended, as has been done in a number of States. States also should examine
statutes of limitations for civil actions relating to other criminal acts to determine
whether they should be extended to provide a meaningful opportunity for crime
victims to obtain needed relief.
----------------------------
Chapter 17: Recommendations for Child Victims
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
Victimization is a serious threat to America's children and youth. Each year in
our country, hundreds of children write to the President, First Lady, and the
Attorney General about being abused. They ask to be protected. They ask for
police officers and judges to intervene. They harbor hope that somebody who
is "in charge" will help. Numerous State and Federal laws now exist to protect
children from physical and sexual abuse, and to provide an array of rights and
services for child victims who participate in the criminal or juvenile justice
process. More can be done, however, to protect the rights and improve the
treatment of child victims. Therefore, to address the need for increased victim
services and rights for our Nation's children who are touched by crime, the
following recommendations are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. Communities should establish children's advocacy centers to provide
child-friendly locations where abused children can receive the services they
need to heal and information for the evaluation and investigation of their cases.
To ensure the highest quality of intervention, training should be provided to
professionals on conducting forensic interviews, to medical professionals on
conducting child abuse examinations, and to mental health professionals on
employing abuse-specific treatment approaches.
2. Children who witness violence should be provided the same level of victim
assistance and special protections within the criminal and juvenile justice
systems as child victims.
3. To ensure child abuse cases are recognized and reported as early as
possible, training on the identification and signs of abuse, as well as the impact
of child victimization, should be provided to all professionals who come into
contact with child victims.
4. There should be an improved governmental response to the problem of
missing, abducted, and sexually exploited children.
5. All jurisdictions should establish or support court school programs to help
educate child victims and witnesses about the court process and their role
within it.
6. States should enact legislation to open access to criminal history records,
and they should adopt regulations and policies necessary to meet the
requirements of the National Child Protection Act.
7. The Federal Government should examine data collection regarding child
victimization to ensure that all crimes against children, from their birth through
the age of majority, are uniformly reported, categorized (by age of the child,
type of crime, and offender relationship to the child), and analyzed at the State
and Federal levels.
8. All States should authorize judges to exclude from the courtroom persons
who are not necessary to child-related court proceedings if requested by the
victim or the victim's representative or if the court determines that there would
be substantial psychological harm if the child were to testify in open court.
9. State laws should be reviewed and amended where necessary to protect the
privacy of child victim records including audio- and videotaped interviews.
10. All States and the Federal Government should enact or amend child
hearsay rules to govern the admission into evidence of reliable statements made
by children under 16 years of age to an adult concerning acts of physical and
sexual abuse.
11. Additional court procedures should be implemented to assist in the
prosecution of child victimization cases.
12. Courts and prosecutors need to be provided uniform guidance on
establishing competency when a child's capacity to testify is challenged.
13. All States should enact statutes requiring speedy criminal trials and civil
child protection adjudications for child victims. In addition, all court cases
involving child victims, including criminal, juvenile, domestic violence, and
domestic relations, should implement speedy trial and appellate provisions and
utilize child victim court dockets. In every case involving a child victim, judges
should weigh the adverse effect of continuances and delays.
14. All States should consider alternatives to live in-court testimony for children
under the age of 18.
15. Specially trained lawyers and court-appointed special advocates should be
provided to children in all civil child protection and other abuse-related
proceedings.
16. Early intervention programs such as Head Start and Healthy Start programs
should be implemented nationwide. The staff of these programs must be trained
to recognize the signs of child abuse, how to report abuse to appropriate
authorities, and how to provide referrals for victims and their families.
17. Child-serving institutions such as schools, social service, and law
enforcement agencies should make diligent efforts to identify troubled youth and
refer them to social service or victim assistance programs before they run away
from home. Efforts also should be undertaken to identify and assist runaway,
thrown-away, and homeless child victims.
18. Child abuse prevention programs that address computer exploitation should
be developed and publicized.
19. Federal and State governments should support the significant additional
research that is needed to document effective treatments for child victims,
especially victims of child sexual and physical abuse and children who witness
violence.
20. Convictions and substantiated allegations of spousal or child abuse should
create a rebuttable presumption against awarding temporary or permanent
custody to an offending parent. Parents convicted of child or spousal abuse
should not be granted the right to visitation without independent supervision.
21. States should include driving while under the influence of alcohol or other
drugs with children in the vehicle as a form of child endangerment. Such drivers
should receive enhanced sanctions when criminally convicted, and evidence of
driving under the influence should be considered by family and juvenile courts
when determining custody and visitation rights in cases affecting the
parent-child relationship.
22. Health insurance providers, particularly managed care providers, should
ensure that their practices facilitate immediate, specialized assistance for child
victims and witnesses of crime. Managed care providers should join
multidisciplinary children's advocacy centers or teams and should authorize
payments for out-of-plan examinations by specialists in the treatment of child
abuse without prior approval.
----------------------------
Chapter 18: Recommendations for International Victim Assistance
The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution.
----------------------------
The United States is visited by millions of foreign nationals each year, and
citizens of the United States travel and live in virtually every part of the world.
Yet there is no where in the world that is immune from crime and victimization.
According to recent international crime surveys, it is estimated that no more
than 10 percent of crime victims worldwide receive assistance from a
specialized victim service agency. Crime and victimization have become
transnational, and countries must look beyond their national boundaries to share
information, technology, and resources to assist victims. To address this critical
need, the following recommendations to establish or enhance international
victim services are set forth by the field:
----------------------------
1. The United States should continue to play a leadership role in the area of
international victim assistance.
2. International standards of victim assistance and victim rights should be
established, including standards for criminal justice and allied professionals who
work with crime victims.
3. An international network of information, dissemination, training, and
technical assistance on victim rights and assistance should be established.
4. Cross-cultural and multinational research on victimization, violence, and
victim assistance should be promoted.
5. International reciprocity in the provision of victim compensation, restitution,
and other assistance in cases involving foreign nationals should be promoted.
6. Standards and procedures should be developed to address criminal cases
involving foreign crime victims.
7. Communities with large numbers of tourists should establish special
programs to assist international tourists who are victims of crime.
8. An international victim care corps under the auspices of the United Nations
or an alternative body should be established.
9. The Federal Government should develop a coordinated plan of action to
respond to the needs of U.S. citizens who are victimized abroad. The State and
Justice Departments should examine whether an ombudsman is needed to
ensure effective information and services for these victims.
10. The Federal Government should create a support group for victims of
terrorism abroad.
11. The Federal Government should make every effort to fully implement the
Federal Protection for Battered Immigrant Women and Child provision of the
Violence Against Women Act, including mandatory training for all Immigration
and Naturalization Service and asylum officers and others who work with
immigrant populations.
----------------------------
Suggested Events To Promote New Directions
The overall goal of New Directions is that each of its recommendations be
reviewed, and where appropriate, implemented into communities across the
Nation to ensure comprehensive and consistent rights and services for crime
victims on the Federal, State, Tribal, and local levels. An important goal of
New Directions is to provide the opportunity for key stakeholders in victims'
rights and services to review its recommendations and, where appropriate and
relevant, plan and implement initiatives based upon the recommendations to
promote consistent and collaborative victims' rights and services.
This section of the Implementation Guide provides readers with three suggested
strategies to bring key players throughout all justice systems, allied professions,
State and local leaders, crime victims, and community members together to:
assess current levels of crime victims' rights and services; identify important
crime victim concerns; and establish priorities for implementing the field's
recommendations contained in New Directions. These strategies include:
o Launching a New Directions State or Community Task Force
o Sponsoring a New Directions Community Forum
o Conducting a Plenary Session on New Directions at a Training Venue
Step-by-step instructions are given for each strategy, including suggestions
regarding: planning the event; who should be invited; publicizing the event; and
suggested agenda topics. Throughout this Implementation Guide, many
additional resource tools are provided that will assist efforts in planning and
conducting these suggested events.
----------------------------
Launching A New Directions State or Community Task Force
Establishing a New Directions Task Force:
The formation of a New Directions State or Community Task Force can be a
highly effective and efficient tool to review the current status of a state or
community in its provision of victims' rights and services. The information
provided about task force development is offered as one vehicle to help bring
key stakeholders together to begin to review current program services and
victims' rights, and to compare them with the recommendations found within
New Directions. In addition, these resources may be appropriate for
implementation by individual agency- and discipline-specific organizations or
professional groups.
New Directions Task Force Goals
The following sample goals for a New Directions Task Force provide a
framework to begin addressing New Directions' five global challenges for
responding to victims of crime well into the next century:
o Identify and assess local, State, and regional governmental and nonprofit
agencies and programs that currently provide services or support to crime
victims to identify gaps in services.
o Assess the comprehensiveness of victims' rights laws to determine the need
for additional legislation or enhancement of current laws.
o Evaluate and address compliance with victims' rights laws on State, Tribal, or
local levels and within specific agencies.
o Identify current funding opportunities and future funding possibilities.
o Identify and assess all available victim assistance-related training programs,
including continuing education opportunities, e.g., victim assistance standards
and training programs, police academies, colleges and universities, professional
associations and organizations, discipline-specific training conferences, etc.
o Identify and determine appropriate replication of promising victim assistance
practices and strategies highlighted in New Directions.
Task Force Membership
A New Directions Task Force should include a variety of participants who can
bring insight, expertise, and change into their respective agencies, disciplines, or
communities. When inviting persons to serve on the Task Force, consideration
should be given to including a representative mix of the same professional
discipline from local, county, State, and Federal levels. Representatives from
Tribal and military communities should be involved where appropriate. In
addition, consideration should be given to diversity by gender, culture, and
geography. Suggestions for task force members include:
o Prosecutors
o Law enforcement officials
o Prosecution-based victim assistance staff
o Probation and parole officials
o Judges
o Court administrators
o Elected State and county officials (Attorney General, State legislator,
representative of the Governor, mayor, county commissioner, etc.)
o School board officials (State or county superintendent, principal, PTA
president, etc.)
o Higher education representatives (chair of criminology department, law
school professor, university public safety official, etc.)
o Nonprofit community assistance programs representatives (domestic
violence shelters and programs, adult and child sexual assault rape crisis
centers, child advocacy centers, MADD, etc.)
o State or local victim compensation program representative(s)
o State Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) administrators
o Legal community
o State and county government agency representatives (Departments of Public
Health, Mental Health, Health and Human Services, Aging, Social Security
Administration, and Indian Health Services, etc.)
o Health care representatives (doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, medical
examiners, insurance company representatives, hospital social workers, etc.)
o Mental health representatives (psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical
social workers, etc.)
o Business leaders (executive officers or owners of corporations or
independently owned businesses, bank presidents, presidents of local
business-related civic clubs, such as the Lion's Club, Rotarians, etc.)
o Religious and faith community representatives (including members from a
variety of denominations)
o Chairpersons of current statewide victim or public safety-issue committees
and task forces
o Citizen/community action groups (neighborhood/community crime prevention
programs, TRIAD, American Association of Retired Persons, etc.)
o Media representatives (crime reporters, newspaper editors, and radio and
television station general mangers, etc.)
o Other professional associations representatives (State and county bar, health,
mental health care, and educational associations, etc.)
New Directions Task Force Organizational Structure
One of the most effective methods to organize a New Directions Task Force is
to create issue-specific subcommittees to review particular topics and to
present their findings and recommendations to the larger Task Force for
consideration or adoption. Subcommittee formation allows Task Force
members to select issues related to their area of expertise so that substantial
contributions can be made in a short period of time. Proposed New Directions
Task Force subcommittees may include:
Public Awareness and Education Committee: Devises strategies to increase the
public's awareness of issues facing crime victims, their rights to services and
information, and how to publicize existing programs and services that assist and
support victims.
Legislative Committee: Tracks State and Federal statutes pertaining to crime
victims to alert interested parties of changes that may affect mandated programs
and services and reviews the need to introduce new legislation or to modify
existing laws based upon New Directions recommendations. (For suggested
legislative strategies, please refer to the Global Strategies for Implementation
section of this Guide.)
Implementation Committee: Devises strategies to implement proposed
New Directions Task Force goals and recommendations.
Victim Assistance Committee: Tracks emerging trends in the delivery of
services to crime victims; reviews current victim assistance programs to identify
gaps in service; and develops and implements service programs to meet new or
emerging victim assistance needs. (For suggested victim service strategies,
please refer to the Global Strategies for Implementation section of this Guide.)
Training Committee: Identifies and reviews current victim assistance training
programs and curricula, and develops strategies to establish or enhance training
and educational opportunities.
Compliance Committee: Reviews mechanisms established to ensure compliance
with State, Tribal, and Federal victims' rights laws, and where less than
adequate, develops strategies to help increase compliance.
Releasing Findings of the New Directions Task Force
In addition to creating plans of actions, a New Directions Task Force can
release final findings and recommendations to members of the criminal and
juvenile justice community, public policymakers, and the community to help
increase awareness about the devastating financial and emotional impact of
crime on victims. New Directions Task Force members can release their
findings in the form of an Executive Summary or a news media press release.
Below is a list of suggested community or State representatives that should be
provided with information about the final findings of the New Directions
Task Force:
o Local, State, and regional print and broadcast media
o Local and State elected officials
o Professional associations
o State and local bar associations
o Allied criminal justice professionals
o Governmental agencies with mandates to provide victim assistance services
o Nonprofits and other community-based programs that provide direct
services to crime victims
o Chairs of current statewide victim or public safety-issue committees and task
forces
o Participants at victim- and justice-related State, Tribal, and local conferences
----------------------------
Sponsoring a New Directions Community Forum
Timing of the release of New Directions Task Force findings and
recommendations is a critical element that should be explored by organizers of
the Task Force so that the findings are well received by both the public and the
media. Task Force members may wish to consider releasing their findings and
recommendations to coincide with the schedule of one or more victim-related
weeks held throughout the year. For example, the release of New Directions
Task Force findings and recommendations can be released during National
Crime Victims' Rights Week in April or during Domestic Violence Awareness
Month in October. A Commemorative Calendar with other possible
victim/crime-related days, weeks, and months can be found at the end of this
section.
Historically, community forums have been used to bring together a variety of
individuals who share a common interest, issue, or concern. For instance, a
community forum using New Directions as its planning guide is one way a
community can improve communications among its citizens and city, county,
State, Tribal, and military leaders about individual and community crime
and victimization. The success of a community forum depends upon
collaborative sponsorship that reflects the interests of all key stakeholders in
justice. A cross-agency planning committee also will ensure that the workload is
shared to implement the New Directions Community Forum. Consider teaming
with other allied victim service professionals, business leaders, nonprofit
advocacy groups, and other interested community partners to host the forum.
The following planning steps address logistical issues that should be considered
when planning a New Directions Community Forum.
Step One: Incorporating New Directions into the Community Forum
o Review the New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for
the 21st Century Report, Implementation Guide, and its companion New
Directions videotape to determine an appropriate community agenda and
central theme for discussion/presentation during the forum.
o Once a central theme has been identified, consideration should be given to
the replication and distribution of appropriate resources found in this
Implementation Guide to increase public awareness of the forum's chosen issue
or concern. For example, if the forum is being held to review local law
enforcement's response to crime victims, it would be appropriate to copy and
distribute the law enforcement pocket cards found in the Camera-Ready
Resources section or the law enforcement-specific recommendations found in
the Master List of New Directions Recommendations section to all forum
attendees.
Step Two: Determining the Format
All formats should allow for questions from the audience either during or at the
conclusion of the presentation.
A sample New Directions Community Forum might include:
o Moderated Panel Presentations: A panel discussion by community
officials, victim service program providers, and crime victims about the
community's concerns relevant to crime and victimization, and how New
Directions' five global challenges might be incorporated into existing programs
and services to improve the community's overall response to crime victims.
(A listing of the five global challenges can be found in the Global Strategies for
Implementation section of this Guide, along with suggested strategies for
action.)
o New Directions Task Force Panel: A panel discussion by members of
community or statewide New Directions Task Forces to release findings for
community implementation of New Directions recommendations.
o New Directions Videotape Review: A screening of the 18-minute companion
videotape to the New Directions publication, incorporating "stop" and "start"
points during the viewing to allow for panel and audience discussion of key
points, and how its contents can be applied to enhance the community's
awareness of victim-related issues. (Suggested key questions for the
videotape discussion can be found in the New Directions Videotape discussion
guide.)
Note: When selecting a moderator for any of the suggested New Directions
Community Forum formats, consideration should be given to selecting someone
who is both knowledgeable about victim rights and services, and is comfortable
speaking in front of large audiences. Suggested moderators could include: a
crime victim, justice system officials, elected officials, or a chairperson of a
victim-related task force or advisory group.
Step Three: Who Should Be Invited?
Community Forum attendees might include:
o Crime victims and victim service professionals.
o Elected local officials.
o Representatives of local print and broadcast media.
o Representatives of the criminal justice continuum, i.e., law enforcement,
prosecutorial, judicial, corrections, and court administrative representatives.
o Citizen action civic groups.
o Educators and academia.
o Medical and mental health practitioners.
o Religious and spiritual leaders.
o Representatives from the business community.
o Representatives of philanthropic groups.
New Directions Community Forum organizers also may wish to consider
additional methods to increase participation among community members who
may wish to attend. These additional methods may include:
o Providing onsite, live participation via the Internet.
o Partnering with a local radio talk show to air the forum and allow for viewer
listening call-in response.
o Asking a local cable access channel to air the forum live and allow for viewer
call-in response.
o Linking multiple sites together utilizing compressed video or other satellite
technologies.
Step Four: Selecting a Location to Hold the Community Forum
An appropriate location to convene the Community Forum might include a:
o School or hospital auditorium.
o Municipal or county courthouse.
o Local church or synagogue.
o Public library.
o Courtroom.
o Civic auditorium.
Step Five: Selecting a Date for the Community Forum
Consideration should be given to holding the Community Forum in conjunction
with a national public safety and victim awareness commemorative event to
increase media attention and garner public support. Sponsors can join local
advocacy organizations in a celebration of a victim/criminal justice-related
commemorative event. For example, consider co-hosting the forum with local
victim assistance programs during National Crime Victims' Rights Week or
local domestic violence programs and shelters during Domestic Violence
Awareness Month. Commemorative weeks and months for 2000 include:
----------------------------
Samples of Some National Crime-Related Commemorative Events
April
o National Child Abuse Prevention Month
o National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
o National Crime Victims' Rights Week
May
o National Law Day
o National Correctional Officers Week
o National SAFE KIDS Week
o National Police Week
o National Missing Children's Day
August
o National Night Out
October
o Crime Prevention Month
o Domestic Violence Awareness Month
o American's Safe Schools Week
o Annual Week Without Violence
o National Red Ribbon Week
November
o Ninth Annual Speak Out
December
o National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Month
----------------------------
Step Six: Concluding the New Directions Community Forum
When organizing the New Directions Community Forum, consideration should
be given to the forum's conclusion, including:
o Who will make closing remarks indicating the conclusion of the forum?
(Suggested speakers might include the moderator, a criminal justice official, or
elected official.)
o Will there be a process to continue the study of ongoing concerns or issues,
and/or the implementation of solutions made by panel members or members of
the general audience to address specific issues or concerns discussed during the
forum? Which person or agency will be assigned this responsibility?
o How can the sponsors challenge the participants to take individual and
collective action to improve victims' rights and services?
o How will followup information be shared with the group in the future?
o Who will thank panel and audience members for their participation?
----------------------------
Conducting a New Directions Plenary Session
This Implementation Guide provides several tools for creating a dynamic
conference plenary session to introduce New Directions to a wide variety of
audiences. For example, in the Getting the Word Out About New Directions
section of the Guide, a sample speech and companion talking points are
provided to help speakers prepare a New Directions oral presentation. In the
section entitled Camera-Ready Resources, corresponding overhead
transparencies can be found to visually augment the speech; these overheads
can be used as a group or as individual visual aids to emphasize specific
topics for the presentation. Included in this Guide is an 18-minute New
Directions videotape, which also serves as a valuable tool to build audience
interest in New Directions. To further stimulate discussion about issues
highlighted in the video, a companion video discussion guide has been
developed and is enclosed in this Guide.
Organization of Plenary Session
New Directions presents a comprehensive communitywide response to crime
victims. A New Directions plenary session brings all key stakeholders to the
table to discuss a community's current response to victims' rights and services.
New Directions serves as a template for program assessment, planning, and
implementation. A panel of speakers can provide a diverse and interesting
response to the many recommendations presented in New Directions. One of
the most powerful ways of presenting a plenary session about New Directions
is to invite a representative from each justice agency in the community to sit on
the panel. Each panelist can provide a brief overview of the most important
recommendations in New Directions. Crime victims and community victim
service providers also should be represented on the panel to ensure that the
voices of victims are strongly heard!
Suggested Speakers
Panel Moderator: Consider a justice system official, elected official, or a
chairperson of a victim-related task force or advisory group to serve as the
moderator.
Five or Six Panelists: Consider justice system officials and allied professionals,
victim service providers, and crime victims for panelists.
Sample Agenda for Plenary Session
o Opening Presentation: Introduce panel and topic. The New Directions
sample speech, talking points, and overhead transparencies contained in this
Guide provide moderators with the resources they need to plan and conduct
the plenary session.
o Play New Directions Videotape (Refer to the videotape discussion guide for
an overview of the video and pertinent discussion points and questions.)
o Ask each panel member to offer a brief reaction to the video and discuss the
key recommendations contained in New Directions that affect his or her
work/profession/community. Note: It is important to provide speakers with a
copy of their pertinent section/ chapter of New Directions in advance in order
for the speaker to select salient points and recommendations to focus the
discussion. Be sure to limit each speaker to no more than 10 minutes.
o Another interesting way to present the plenary session is to have panelists
react to each of the five global challenges presented in New Directions. In other
words, introduce the first global challenge and then ask the panelists to
respond. This provides for a more lively panel presentation because each
panelist has several opportunities to react, rather than just one opportunity. (An
overview of the five global challenges can be found in two sections of this
Guide: Global Strategies for Implementation and Camera-Ready Resources,
Overheads.)
Audience Interaction: Be sure to save time for questions from the audience. The
moderator should ask the members of the panel to repeat the question for
clarification.
Recording the Session: Many insightful ideas and critical issues can be raised in
this type of plenary session that can assist future planning, implementation, and
advocacy efforts. It is important to record the session for future reference by
the use of videotape, audiotape, or written transcription. When employing any
type of recording device it is critical to provide advance notice to all speakers
and to receive written approval for the use of such equipment. In addition, at
the beginning of the session, audience members should be informed if the
session will be recorded.
Closing: In closing, challenge the audience to take action in their community/
profession/agency to begin to implement the vision and recommendations of
New Directions.
----------------------------
Tools for Public Speaking
Tools for Public Speaking contains resources to enhance public presentations
about New Directions. This section contains the following:
o Sample Speech
o Suggested Talking Points
How To Use the Sample Speech
A sample 20-minute speech that provides an overview of New Directions is
presented in this section. The sample speech is designed to use as a keynote
speech about New Directions, and can be used when opening a statewide task
force, community forum, or plenary session. It is built in segment--after a brief
introduction to New Directions, the speech lays out challenges to enhance
victims' rights, discusses the critical role of each stage of the justice system, and
highlights what allied professions can do to help crime victims. Given the type of
the audience and time allotted for the presentation, the speech can be reduced
to 10 minutes (noted in speech). The speech can be even more persuasive and
powerful if presenters incorporate their experiences into the speech. Please
note: when using crime victim stories, always seek permission from the victim
before including such information in any speech.
How To Use the Talking Points for Presentation
The suggested talking points presented in this section highlight key issues and
ideas, promising practices, and recommendations found within New Directions.
They are organized to correspond with New Directions' five global challenges.
Talking points are provided for each global challenge in an easy to use format
that includes introductory statements, examples to underscore the topic, and
summary statements. The talking points are designed to enhance any
presentation. When combined with specific examples from local, State, Tribal,
national, or international speaker experiences and concerns, presentations can
be even more informative and useful.
----------------------------
Sample New Directions Speech
Even though nearly 30,000 victims' rights laws have been enacted across the
Nation and 10,000 victim assistance programs have been established in
communities to help crime victims, the trauma of victimization is very painful for
too many of America's 31 million crime victims each year. Let's consider just
three examples of crime victims' experiences in the aftermath of criminal
victimization. While these cases are hypothetical, they contain real problems
experienced by real crime victims in communities across the Nation every day.
Johnnie, a molested child, is so frightened by the strange and daunting criminal
justice system that when it comes time to testify in court, he is too afraid to
speak--the molester goes free. Sophie, the mother of three children, has been
hospitalized from the injuries she received as the result of yet another brutal
beating at the hands of her husband. Sophie now must choose between life in a
home where she and her children risk further violence on a daily basis or life on
the street where their safety and well-being are no more certain. Susan, a rape
victim, becomes aware that her attacker has been released from prison when
she sees him in the grocery store because no one bothered to tell her in
advance that he would be getting out of prison.
You have probably heard stories just like these. You see them on televison or
read about them in the paper every day. You or someone you know might have
even experienced such injustice first hand. Such affronts to our basic principles
of justice seem to affect us at a visceral level, shaking our belief in the
fundamental fairness of our society and our criminal justice system.
Though the U.S. Department of Justice reports that for the past several years
crime rates have been decreasing overall, evidence of violence and fear of
crime seem to surround us in our daily lives. Statistics indicate that crime is on
the decline, but Americans feel less safe now than at any other time in our
Nation's history. The problems of crime and crime victims seem overwhelming
and intractable. Some choose to look the other way, rendered helpless and
hopeless by the nature and magnitude of the problem. Yet even if you are
someone whose sense of moral outrage at such injustice urges you to action,
what can be done that will make any difference?
What can one person do? Indeed, what can an entire community do to address
problems that seem as formidable as they do pervasive? In short, how do we
address the many injustices crime victims suffer under our Nation's current
system of justice? Tough questions that seem to have no easy answers.
It may surprise you to learn that I stand before you today, ready to suggest
answers to these difficult questions--or at least to suggest a place to begin
looking for solutions--the answer is as simple as turning to a single book. [Hold
up New Directions]--a book representing the collective knowledge of more
than 1,000 individuals from communities across the Nation and published by
the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. It's called New
Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century,
and it's available to you absolutely free. This is no ordinary government
publication. Rather, as its title implies, it sets forth recommendations from
individuals across the Nation. New Directions represents the voices of crime
victims, along with hundreds of victim services and justice professionals, who
contributed to the development of this groundbreaking publication. New
Directions provides recommendations from the field for the field for improving
the treatment of crime victims in every part of the Nation.
The Office for Victims of Crime, within the U.S. Department of Justice,
supported the development of this publication by soliciting input through expert
summits, public hearings, focus groups, national training academies, and
symposia. These forums included professionals representing the judiciary, law
enforcement, prosecution, and corrections. Also included were crime victims,
victim service providers, crime victim compensation program personnel, and
allied victim services professionals from every constituency. The result of these
efforts is a definitive description of the "state of crime victim justice" in America
today and recommendations for the future. The cumulative knowledge gained
from the contributors allows unparalleled precision in defining the problems of
crime victims and, more importantly, offers the most promising solutions to
those problems. New Directions incorporates 250 recommendations and
hundreds of promising practices and practical strategies to those individuals,
organizations, and agencies who provide victims' rights and services in either the
private or public sector.
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 victims of sexual assault must
endure during their involvement with the criminal justice process. This chapter
discusses programs, such as child advocacy centers, which provide a caring,
sensitive environment for taking care of the legal and emotional needs of child
victims such as young Johnnie. 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 suggests
countless ways for the criminal justice system to protect and keep safe victims
such as Sophie, including enforcing anti-stalking laws. New Directions also cites
strategies, such as automated notification, which would greatly enhance the
ability to provide notice of a perpetrator's release to the victim before the
perpetrator hits the street. This would allow crime victims like Susan, a rape
survivor, to feel some sense of safety and security knowing that at least she will
know the status and location of her offender.
Perhaps more than to any other segment of our society, New Directions speaks
to criminal and juvenile justice officials who have the primary responsibility for
keeping our democracy's most sacred promise--the promise of justice for all its
citizens. Indeed, justice officials often define what "justice" really means for our
Nation's crime victims. They define its nature and its scope. New Directions
challenges those both inside and outside the criminal and juvenile justice
systems to re-examine the way in which they administer victim justice.
New Directions, in essence, poses the question, "What, indeed, are the
boundaries of justice?" The answer resulting from years of input from a diverse
community of professionals and volunteers serving victims is this: Helping
victims should not be about boundaries. Justice officials and society as a whole
must stop asking, "What is the least we can do for crime victims?" Rather,
justice officials and society must start asking, "What is the most we can do for
crime victims?" The provision of quality victim services extends beyond the
enforcement of victims' rights. It asks justice officials to do more than live
up to the letter of victim-related laws, but go further and live up to the spirit of
those laws. This means that provision of quality victim services means doing
what is right for victims to make them feel respected and validated, to help them
reconstruct their lives in the aftermath of a crime, and to show that the justice
process can be caring, concerned, and just.
Justice practitioners, in particular, can use New Directions as a road map for
victim justice. Traditionally, like Johnnie, Sophie, and Susan, victims have
endured numerous detours and roadblocks in their search for justice. This
remarkable book [hold up book] offers simply that: new directions toward a
Nation and communities that make quality victim services and expanded
victims' rights a destination, rather than a dream. (10 minute stop point)
New Directions offers law enforcement vital resources on how to best fulfill
their role as the "first responders" to crime and victims. It emphasizes promising
practices that will result in positive victims' memories and opinions of their first
encounter with the justice system. The numerous recommendations, policies,
protocols, and procedures offered by New Directions provide a sound
basis for realizing law enforcement's fundamental mandate to "protect and
serve" victims of crime.
New Directions provides prosecutors specific recommendations for their role
and responsibilities for the implementation of victims' core rights, which are
notification, participation, input, and protection. Equally important, New
Directions highlights the vital and central role of the prosecutor to important
collaborative efforts involving allied professions and the community in pursuit of
victim justice. As a primary purveyor of victim justice, prosecutors can serve
as guides to victims who journey toward justice, using the guideposts provided
by New Directions.
New Directions clearly recognizes and describes the significant leadership role
of judges. The judiciary has the power and responsibility to ensure a fair and
respectful justice process to all parties involved, including victims. New
Directions validates this key leadership role and offers promising practices that
encourage judges to use and cultivate their inherent leadership responsibilities to
promote justice for all.
New Directions documents the tremendous progress that has been made in the
past two decades in victims' rights and services during the post-sentencing
phases of cases. While the role of community and institutional corrections has
traditionally focused on offender management and supervision, their
responsibilities for implementing victims' rights and services and focusing on
community protection and safety are without parallel. For corrections officials,
New Directions offers many model policies, programs, and practices that have
been developed through partnerships between victim services and correctional
agencies. Together they strive to achieve a balance of the rights, needs, and
interests of victims, offenders, and the community.
New Directions rightfully recognizes our Nation's victim services community as
"the glue that holds it all together." Many people are surprised to learn that there
are more than 10,000 programs that serve victims of crime, located in
communities of all kinds--large, small, urban, and rural. While the policies
and programs of victim services communities may vary, their central mission
remains the same. They want to ensure that victims of crime are afforded rights
and services in a manner respectful of the trauma they have endured and
insightful into their most critical needs. New Directions offers valuable
perspectives into the roles of victim service providers, who act as catalysts for
positive change and as caregivers in victims' time of need.
For allied professional stakeholders on the road to victim justice, New
Directions provides both a road map and indispensable "roadside services" that
help victims progress. These services take the form of concrete, creative
examples of programs and practices that recognize the mutual responsibility of
the Nation, the community, and the individuals to secure justice for victims of
crime.
The justice system alone cannot accomplish the lofty goals of victim justice.
Rather, it relies on the active involvement and creative, collaborative responses
of individuals and agencies seeking to improve society's perception and
treatment of crime victims. Everyone can help--health and mental health
professionals, educators, members of the news media, the faith community, and
business and legal professionals. What is the most important is that, as
Maryland homicide victim Stephanie Roper recorded in her journal before her
tragic murder, "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try."
New Directions challenges key stakeholders to support initiatives that improve
the plight of victims and provides countless, creative solutions that have been
developed over the life of the victims' rights discipline that have made a
significant difference for victims.
It is often said that a "just" society is best measured by how its citizens are
treated by the justice system. By that standard, we live in a world of unfulfilled
promise and potential when it comes to victim justice. New Directions is by far
the best book ever written to guide our Nation in its journey toward that justice.
Consider that 31 million crimes will be committed this year. This means that
virtually everyone will be a direct or indirect victim of crime. It is in everyone's
interest to join in the journey even though the trip may be long and difficult.
Even though the first generation of the victims' rights movement has shortened
our journey by many miles, the end is not in sight. We may not make it to the
promised land, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but we can take
solace in knowing that each day, in big and small ways, we take steps that will
ease the journey to justice for the countless generations of victims who will
follow in our footsteps.
New Directions offers us the opportunity to take the small steps that will allow
our Nation to take giant leaps forward for victims. It provides the blue print and
the tools, but it is up to all of us, joined together, to build the road. Remember,
"many hands make light work," so I encourage each and every one of you to
spread the word. Share New Directions, share its ideas, share its vision of
victim justice. Share it in part or in whole, with friends, with colleagues, with
community leaders, and with elected officials. Share everyone who cares, or
should care, about the quality of justice in America. Injustice to one of us is an
injustice to all of us. . . especially to victims of crime.
----------------------------
Talking Points for New Directions: Five Global Challenges for the Field
Certain key recommendations emerged during compilation of the hundreds
of recommendations from the field and from listening to the voices of crime
victims, their advocates, and the allied professionals working with crime
victims throughout the Nation.
The following five global challenges for responding to crime victims form
the core of 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.
----------------------------
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.
----------------------------
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/
----------------------------
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,
----------------------------
Camera-Ready Resources
o Public Awareness Pocket Cards
o Overheads Formatted for Speaker Presentation
o Community Forum Announcement Flyer
How To Use Public Awareness Pocket Cards
To enhance professional and public education efforts, pocket cards have been
developed for reproduction and distribution at various meetings, forums,
conferences, and training programs. To facilitate replication, the pocket cards
have been formatted to fit three pocket cards per an 8- by 11-inch page. Note:
the first pocket card in the series is designed to serve as the master front of
each pocket card. The back of each pocket card can be changed for
appropriate audiences. For example, when replicating the pocket cards for
justice system audiences, the first pocket card can serve as the cover, and then
each of the pocket cards on law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and
corrections, can be reproduced on the back of the pocket card for the
appropriate discipline.
How To Use Overheads for Public Speaking
This section contains 39 overheads that have been designed in an 8- by 11-inch
format for reproduction on overhead transparencies. The overheads highlight a
brief historical review of New Directions and correspond to its five global
challenges. However, many of the overheads can serve as stand-alone visual
aids to emphasize key points and concepts in speaker presentations. For
example, several overheads address the justice system and many contain
quotes from crime victims emphasizing the need for enhanced victims' rights and
services.
Electronic Availability of Camera-Ready Materials
All camera-ready resources, including a color version of the overheads, are
available in electronic format by visiting the OVC's World Wide Web site at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc.
----------------------------
[Note: The Public Awareness Pocket Cards and the Community Forum
Announcement Flyer can be viewed on the Adobe Acrobat version of this
document]
1. New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century
2. What is New Directions?
A Compass for the Future...250 Recommendations
A Reflection of Voices from Across the Nation...More Than 1,000
Contributors
A Documentation of the Tremendous Achievements To Improve the Treatment
of Crime Victims in America and Around the World...More Than 200
Promising Practices
3. Where Did This Document Come From?
New Directions is truly "a report from the Nation" from:
o Crime victims.
o Those who serve them in the public and private sectors.
o Countless leaders on the local, State, Tribal, military, Federal, national, and
international levels.
4. History of New Directions
New Directions is a 15-year update of the landmark 1982 Final Report of the
President's Task Force on Victims of Crime.
The 1982 Task Force identified the American justice system as "appallingly out
of balance," and issued 68 recommendations to improve the Nation's treatment
of crime victims.
5. The Voice of a Crime Victim in 1982
"To be a victim at the hands of the criminal is an unforgettable nightmare. But to
then become a victim at the hands of the criminal justice system is an
unforgivable travesty. It makes the criminal and the criminal justice system
partners in crime."
--Robert Grayson
1982 Final Report
President's Task Force on Victims of Crime
6. The 1982 Task Force recommended the passage of a new Federal law to
support crime victim compensation and assistance programs.
o As a result, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was enacted in 1984.
o As of today, VOCA has provided more than 2 billion dollars to State
compensation and local victim assistance programs.
7. New Directions Charts Historic Progress Over the Past 15 Years
o Over 10,000 victim assistance programs have been established...
--New Directions, 1998
o Over 30,000 victims' rights laws have been enacted...
--National Center for Victims of Crime, 1999
8. New Directions Charts Historic Progress Over the Past 15 Years (cont.)
o 32 States have adopted victims' rights constitutional amendments...
--National Constitutional Amendment Network
o Hundreds of promising practices that assist and support crime victims have
been initiated in communities across the Nation.
o The vital role of victims in enhancing system- and community-based victim
services is clear.
9. In Spite of Great Progress, Continue To Listen to the Voices of Crime
Victims Today
"I don't believe half of the American population or even a small portion know
what can happen to you when you are a victim of crime going through the
criminal justice process."
-- A Victim of Crime, New Directions, 1998
10. Victims' Voices On Victims' Rights
"Sadly today, victims' rights largely remain 'paper promises.' For too many
victims and families, the criminal justice system remains more 'criminal' than
'just' when it comes to protecting their rights."
--Roberta Roper, Homicide Survivor and Activist, Maryland
11. Overview
New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st
Century
Executive Summary: An introduction to New Directions and a brief overview of
each section of the report.
"New Directions is an important road map for comprehensive and consistent
rights and services for all victims of crime in the 21st century."
--Aileen Adams, former Director, Office for Victims of Crime
12. New Directions is Divided into Key Topical Sections
I. Victims' Rights
II. Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Agencies
III. Victim Assistance and Allied Professions
IV. Financial Recovery
V. Child Victims
VI. International Victim Assistance
13. New Directions Establishes Five Significant Global Challenges
Summary of Global Challenges
1. Enact and Enforce Victims' Rights
2. Provide Access to Comprehensive Victim Services
3. Enhance Education and Training Efforts
4. Support and Replicate Promising Practices
5. Ensure Strong Victims' Voices Each Step of the Way
14. About the Five Global Challenges
o The global challenges are the result of years of synthesizing background
research and holding reaction and focus groups to seek input and ideas from
key stakeholders throughout the Nation.
o In total, more than 1,000 individuals contributed ideas and recommendations
for New Directions.
o What are these new challenges for the field?
15. Voice of Leadership
"At the core of New Directions is the challenge of creating and implementing
consistent, fundamental rights for all crime victims regardless of whether they
are in Federal, State, juvenile, military, or Tribal courts."
--Kathryn Turman, Director, Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of
Justice, New Directions videotape
16. 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."
17. 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."
18. 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."
19. Global Challenge #4
"To support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims' rights and
services built upon sound research, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary
partnerships."
20. 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."
21. A Victim's Voice
"Survivors of violence have a very unique understanding of the impact of
violence on people, individuals, on families, on communities. I think the country
really needs to tap into that understanding."
--Father of a murdered child, New Directions videotape
22. What Can We Ask of Our Justice System?
Are all components of the criminal and juvenile justice systems meeting the
needs of crime victims?
New Directions documents that victims' rights are not consistently implemented
across the Nation today.
23. The Voice of Leadership
"Let us make sure that we give our victims the right to be heard--not in some
dispassionate way in an impact statement, but in a courtroom, if they want to be
heard, so that people can know what it's like to be a victim. Let us give them an
opportunity to participate, to be there, and to hold the criminal justice system at
every level accountable."
--U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
New York City National Candlelight Vigil, 1993
24. Voices from the Justice System
Law Enforcement: "It is about the law keeping its promise."
--Sergeant Mark Wynn, Nashville Police Department, New Directions, 1998
25. Voices from the Justice System
Prosecution: "Victims of crime are uniformly stunned by the fact that this whole
process is out of their control."
--Ray Larson, Commonwealth Attorney, Lexington, Kentucky, New
Directions videotape
26. Voices from the Justice System
Judiciary: "The courtroom is the focal point of the entire criminal justice
system...The judge who presides over a court becomes not only the final arbiter
of each evidentiary and procedural issue, but also establishes the tone, the
pace, and the very nature of the proceedings. Particularly for the victims, the
judge is the personification of justice."
--Lois Haight, California Juvenile Court Judge and Chair of the 1982
President's Task Force on Victims of Crime
27. A Crime Victim Addresses the Court
"I remember shaking and being very hesitant in my voice--it was really difficult,
but I got out what I had to say and that was very important."
--A rape victim's experience in addressing the court, New Directions videotape
28. Voices from the Justice System
Corrections: "We have been in denial in essence about the role of the victims in
corrections itself. Corrections has probably been the last major entity in the
criminal justice system to really get involved with victims' issues. So as
President, I really want the American Correctional Association to embrace the
notion of victims' issues, victims' rights, and the role of victim survivors."
--Reginald A. Wilkinson, former President, American Correctional Association,
and Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
29. New Directions for Victim Assistance and Allied Professions
Chapters 1-5 address victims' rights and the justice process.
The report also sets forth recommendations for the victim assistance field and
for the following key allied professions who come into contact with crime
victims in the community:
Chapter 6: The Victim Assistance Community
Chapter 7: The Health Care Community
Chapter 8: The Mental Health Community
30. New Directions for Victim Assistance and Allied Professions (cont.)
Chapter 9: The Legal Community
Chapter 10: The Education Community
Chapter 11: The Faith Community
Chapter 12: The Business Community
Chapter 13: The News Media Community
31. New Directions in Financial Recovery
Three chapters of New Directions focus on meeting the financial needs of crime
victims:
Chapter 14: Crime Victim Compensation
Chapter 15: Restitution
Chapter 16: Civil Remedies
32. New Directions for Child Victims
An entire section of New Directions is devoted to child victims.
Recommendations address:
o Victims' rights laws enacted specifically for child victims.
o Promising practices in assisting child victims.
o Critical areas for research concerning child victims.
33. New Directions for International Victim Assistance
International perspectives and recommendations include:
o Approaches that have been taken in other countries to address crime victims'
needs.
o Recommendations for improving services to American citizens who are
victimized abroad and foreign citizens who are victimized in the United States.
o Recommendations for continued collaboration and reciprocity in the
provision of victim services worldwide.
34. Summary of New Directions
o In total, 250 recommendations to enhance crime victims' rights and services
are set forth in New Directions.
o New Directions challenges the Nation to debate and discuss these
recommendations and to work hard to incorporate the many ideas and
promising practices for serving crime victims on the local, State, Tribal, national,
and international levels.
35. Where Can We Focus Our Efforts?
o Enacting and enforcing victims' rights?
o Training and education?
o Developing and demonstrating promising practices?
o Increasing services for underserved victims of crime?
o Or all of the above?
36. How Can We Evaluate and Assess Our Progress?
o Through establishing State task forces?
o Through holding community forums?
o Through conducting statewide or local surveys and assessments on victims'
rights and services?
37. New Directions State Task Force
The first step in bringing key stakeholders together to plan a comprehensive and
coordinated response to enhance crime victims' rights and services.
38. Goals of New Directions Task Force
Identify and Assess:
o Current victim assistance programs and gaps in service delivery.
o Compliance with the implementation of victims' rights laws.
o Funding opportunities.
o Professional and volunteer training opportunities.
o Promising strategies and practices for victim assistance.
39. New Directions Community Forum
o An opportunity to bring together a variety of individuals who share a
common interest, issue, or concern about crime victims and community safety.
o How can our community enhance its services for crime victims?