Manual on Assistance to Tourists Who Are Victims of Crime, Part 1: Organizational Guidelines

• NCJ Number: 198881
• Author(s): J. E. Bruinink; G. J. Slump
• Date Published: May 1997
• Length: 33 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Netherlands Ministry of Justice
• Corporate Author: Van Dijk, Van Soomeren en Partners
• Sale Source: Van Dijk, Van Soomeren en Partners
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: See NCJ-198882 for Part 2; downloaded January 31, 2003.

Annotation

This document serves as a manual to assist tourists who fall prey to crime when abroad.

Abstract

After detailing the organization of this manual, the authors cite the 1995 Amsterdam Tourist Assistance Service (ATAS) as reporting that no less than 9 percent of foreign tourists become victims of crime in the inner city of Amsterdam each year. Noting that the absence of a social safety net causes some victims to feel particularly duped, the authors found that a facility for tourists who become victims of crime exists in Barcelona, influencing Amsterdam officials to institute this form of assistance to victims in the Netherlands as well. Focusing on the organizational components comprising Amsterdam’s large-scale assistance program for tourists who are victims of crime, the authors detail three facilities, an independent organization, a project organization, and a modular organization all designed to serve victims of crime in different ways. Addressing the personnel, accommodation, and financial aspects of the Amsterdam victim-assistance program, the authors begin by describing the administrators, coordinators, facilitators, executors, and staff needed to run the tourist victim program. Discussing the provisions of regular victim support, the authors suggest that the disadvantages of providing assistance to victims of crime are not overwhelming as long as good and clear arrangements are made in advance. Focusing on the financing of assistance to tourists who are victims of crime, the authors present a survey designed to assess the best basis for soliciting funds. Describing the types of assistance and activities designed to help tourist victims of crime, the authors suggest that assistance can be done in person, on the telephone, and/or in writing. The authors maintain that cooperation, network formation, public relations, and education are all key to developing a national support system designed to aid tourists who become victims of crime in Amsterdam.