NCJ Number
164718
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (1995) Pages: 142-154
Date Published
1996
Length
13 pages
Annotation
North Carolina's prosecution-based victim-witness programs and the individuals responsible for their service delivery are analyzed, with emphasis on the services offered, the legislative intent, the advocates, and the programs' strengths and weaknesses.
Abstract
The research used a literature review and telephone interviews to determine which of the six major services listed by Finn and Lee each program provides, as well as program and personnel characteristics. The interviews gathered information from 62 of the State's 64 programs. Results revealed that fewer than one-fourth of the programs in North Carolina provide the services deemed most important in the research literature. The legislation establishing the advocate position in each prosecutor's office also ignores these needs; as a result, the programs that provide crisis intervention and counseling do so on their own. The programs can best be described as witness-oriented programs in that their focus is to ensure that witnesses attend court proceedings and cooperate. The law's intent of assisting crime victims has not been met; those served receive no attention from these programs until well after the victimization has occurred. Findings suggest that prosecution-based victim-witness programs do little to meet most needs of crime victims. Further research is recommended. Tables, 13 references, and list of laws cited