NCJ Number
248460
Date Published
December 2004
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Following an outline of the U.S. Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime's (OVC's) Oral History Project, this paper features a retrospective of one of the main events of this history, i.e., the 1982 President's Task Force on Victims of Crime.
Abstract
This task force was formed in response to an executive order by President Ronal Reagan for the purpose of conducting a nationwide study to assess the treatment of crime victims by the criminal justice system. Based largely on the solicitation of the views and experiences of crime victims throughout the Nation, the task force assessed the issues facing crime victims. The task force's final report continues to provide a framework for the development of policy, programs, and protocols that define and protect crime victims' rights. The task force report contained 68 recommendations in five areas. These areas are proposed executive and legislative action at the Federal and State levels, proposed Federal action, action for criminal justice agencies, action for private-sector organizations, and an amendment to the Federal Constitution. With the exception of the Federal constitutional amendment, most of the task force recommendations have resulted in significant changes in policy, programs, and practices at the Federal, State, and local levels. One of the significant results of task force proposals was the establishment in 1983 of the Office for Victims of Crime within the U.S. Justice Department. Other achievements were the passage of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, which funds victim services through fines and fees levied against Federal offenders, and the establishment of crime victim services in criminal justice agencies and community-services agencies, both public and private.