This file is provided for reference purposes only. It was current when produced, but is no longer maintained and may now be outdated. Please select www.ovc.gov to access current information.

VICTIMS' RESOURCES IN THE INFORMATION AGE

The development of new information technologies -- most notably the growth of the Internet -- has dramatically changed the way in which information on crime victims' issues is being made available to researchers, advocates, and practitioners. As recently as a dozen years ago, the availability of this information was greatly limited by the lack of centralized collection and distribution. Moreover, the form of the information was generally limited to paper documents that required considerable effort to locate and obtain. Today, however, victims and victim service providers can instantly access an enormous store of information specific to the entire range of their personal and professional concerns -- information that includes statistics; model programs and protocols; grant funding sources; and local, state, and national referrals to professional organizations in the victim-serving community. Importantly, this information is available wherever and whenever it is needed -- in homes, shelters, and offices; in the middle of a trial; or in the middle of the night. For victims and victim service providers, this new information access begins with the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

Established in accordance with recommendations of the 1982 President's Task Force on Victims of Crime, the United States Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) serves as the chief advocate for our nation's crime victims, promoting fundamental rights and comprehensive services for victims of crime throughout the United States. OVC's information clearinghouse, the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center (OVCRC), a component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), is on the forefront of these new information technologies, and is using them aggressively to deliver timely and relevant information to the victim-serving community. Since coming "online" in 1994, NCJRS and OVCRC have developed a variety of online services to benefit the victim assistance professional -- services that include an Internet Gopher site; World Wide Web page; Anonymous FTP site; Justice Information (JUST INFO) Electronic Newsletter; and E-Mail Information and Help Line. Together with other electronic access features -- including telephone and online document ordering, and fax-on-demand -- NCJRS and OVCRC have truly made a "quantum leap" forward in fulfilling their mission of "bringing the right information to the right people . . . right now."

ACCESSING NCJRS AND OVCRC ONLINE

NCJRS Online can be accessed in the following ways:

NCJRS WORLD WIDE WEB HOMEPAGE

The homepage provides a graphical interface (a connection that displays graphics or illustrations, as well as text) to NCJRS information, as well as links to other criminal justice resources from around the world. The NCJRS Web page provides information about NCJRS and OJP agencies;

grant-funding opportunities; previews of selected new publications; key-word searching of NCJRS publications; access to the NCJRS Abstracts Data Base; the current NCJRS Catalog; and a topical index. The address for the NCJRS Homepage is <http://www.ncjrs.org>.

NCJRS ANONYMOUS FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP)

The NCJRS Anonymous FTP site allows users to quickly access and download large, complex NCJRS publications and software, whether they are in ASCII text or a binary document. These documents may include annual OJP agency program plans, which contain grant funding information. The Anonymous FTP address is <ncjrs.org/pub/ncjrs>.

JUSTICE INFORMATION (JUST INFO) ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

This free, online newsletter is distributed to your Internet e-mail address on the 1st and 15th of each month. JUST INFO contains information concerning a wide variety of subjects, including news from all Office of Justice Programs (OJP) agencies and the Office of National Drug Control Policy; criminal justice in the news; news of international criminal justice; criminal justice resources on the Internet; federal legislation updates; criminal justice funding and program information; and announcements about new NCJRS products and services. To subscribe, send an e-mail to <listproc@ncjrs.org>. Further instructions will be automatically forwarded.

E-MAIL: INFORMATION AND HELP

First time users can send an e-mail message to this address: <look@ncjrs.org>. The user will automatically receive a reply outlining the services of NCJRS. User requiring technical assistance or having specific questions on criminal and juvenile justice topics can send an e-mail to <askncjrs@ncjrs.org>.

PARTNERSHIPS AGAINST VIOLENCE NETWORK (PAVNET)

PAVNET Online is a searchable database containing information about hundreds of promising programs and resources, providing users with key contacts; program types; target populations; location; project startup date; evaluation information; annual budget; sources of funding; and program description. Users may go directly to the site at <www.pavnet.org>.

OTHER NCJRS ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES

FAX-ON-DEMAND

NCJRS has established a "fax-on-demand" service which allows the user to obtain copies of selected NCJRS documents directly through their own fax machine, using a toll-free telephone number. To access the fax-on-demand menu, simply call 1-800-851-3420, and follow the prompts.

CD-ROM AND ONLINE ACCESS TO THE ABSTRACTS DATA BASE

Users with CD-ROM capability can also obtain the NCJRS Abstracts Data Base on CD-ROM. This disc features citations and abstracts of more than 140,000 criminal justice books, research reports, journal articles, government documents, program descriptions, program evaluations, and training manuals contained in the NCJRS Research and Information Center library collection. The disc also contains search software that supports retrieval using any combination of words to search individual fields or all fields globally. The disc can be searched using "free text" methods, or in combination with the National Criminal Justice Thesaurus. In addition, the NCJRS Abstracts Data Base is available on the NCJRS Homepage at <http://www.ncjrs.org/database.htm>. Details are available by calling NCJRS at (800) 851-3420.

VICTIM-RELATED INTERNET SITES

Crime victims and victim service providers have witnessed a remarkable growth in the amount of information available to them, through the continued development of the Internet -- especially the World Wide Web. Now, victim-serving agencies and advocacy organizations have the ability to reach around the corner or around the world with information about new issues, services, and promising practices designed to improve the welfare of victims of all types of crime. In an effort to present the most comprehensive and timely information available through this vast medium, the Office for Victims of Crime has substantially revised its World Wide Web homepage. OVC encourages crime victims and victim service providers alike to visit this comprehensive resource, located at <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/>.

Many other agencies and organizations are now providing victim-related information through the World Wide Web. The following is a list of sites on the Web that contain information on selected crime victimization topics. Please note that this list is intended only to provide a sample of available resources, and does not constitute an endorsement of opinions, resources, or statements made therein.

GENERAL INFORMATION RESOURCES

National Criminal Justice Reference Service/Justice Information Center http://www.ncjrs.org

National Organization for Victim Assistance http://www.access.digex.net/~nova/

National Victim Center http://www.nvc.org

Office for Victims of Crime http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/

CHILD ABUSE

American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law http://www.abanet.org/child/

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children http://child.cornell.edu/APSAC/apsac.home.html

Child Abuse Prevention Network http://child.cornell.edu

National Children's Advocacy Center http://fly.hiwaay.net/~ncacadm/

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information http://www.calib.com/nccanch

DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE

Domestic Abuse Page of the Nashville Police Department http://www.nashville.net/~police/abuse/index.html

Family Violence Prevention Fund http://www.fvpf.org/fund/index.html

Minnesota Higher Education Center Against Violence and Abuse http://www.mincava.umn.edu

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence http://www.webmerchants.com/ncadv/default.htm

National Domestic Violence Hotline http;//www.justice.gov/vawo/newhotline.htm

Violence Against Women Office (U.S. Department of Justice) http://www.justice.gov/vawo/

DRUNK DRIVING

MADD http://www.madd.org

FRAUD

National Fraud Information Center http://www.fraud.org

National Insurance Crime Bureau http://www.nicb.org

Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.fedworld.gov

U.S. Postal Inspection Service http://www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect/consmenu.htm

MISSING CHILDREN

Childquest International http://www.childquest.org/

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children http://www.missingkids.org

RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE

National Coalition Against Sexual Assault http://www.achiever.com/freehmpg/ncas/

Rape Abuse and Incest National Network http://www.rainn.org

Sexual Assault Information Page http://www.cs.utk.edu/~bartley/saInfoPage.html

SURVIVOR RESOURCES

David Baldwin's Trauma Information Page http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~dvb/trauma.htm

Parents of Murdered Children http://metroguide.com/pomc/

The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only.