NCJ Number
166395
Date Published
1997
Length
23 pages
Annotation
After reviewing Federal legislation pertinent to services for crime victims, this address by the director of the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime describes what is being done for crime victims at the Federal level and profiles some of the local programs of police services for victims.
Abstract
The description of efforts for victims at the Federal level includes a review of the work of the Office for Victims of Crime. This office administers the Crime Victims Fund, which obtains its money from fines and penalty assessments leveled against Federal criminal offenders. More than 90 percent of these funds are distributed to States to support local victim assistance and State victim compensation programs. Federal funds help to support nearly 3,000 victim assistance programs around the Nation, including battered women's shelters, rape treatment centers, and children's advocacy centers. Some funding is used to support 113 victim assistance programs within police departments. Adams advises that diverse professionals are coming together in unprecedented ways to enhance services to crime victims. In New York City police are teaming with social workers to respond to domestic violence calls. In other efforts on behalf of crime victims, doctors are developing new ways of delivering medical care to victims through the use of technology. Some communities are using mobile vans as children's advocacy centers, and in Monroe, Wash., the police department helps to provide victims with emergency funds by serving as an outlet for the various funds available to help victims with their immediate financial needs. In other areas, police and mental health providers are working together in new ways to benefit crime victims.