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Master List of
New Directions Recommendations
Chapter 2
New
Directions from the Field:
Victims'
Rights and Services for the 21st Century
Recommendations
for Law Enforcement |
The recommendations below, which
appear in the May 1998 New Directions Report, have been reformatted
for replication and distribution.
The significance of law enforcement's role in responding to crime victims cannot be overemphasized. The way that victims are treated by dispatchers, the first officers arriving at the scene of the crime, and detectives investigating the case shapes their expectations of how they will be treated throughout the justice process, and their overall opinions of justice officials. It is therefore critical that every law enforcement professional who interacts with crime victims, either in person or over the telephone, knows how to respond in a sensitive and effective manner. Because the range of services provided by law enforcement agencies across the Nation varies significantly, the following recommendations for the law enforcement community are set forth by the field: |
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- Law enforcement agencies should
adopt a community policing philosophy that is both victim and crime
prevention oriented.
- Law enforcement agencies should
provide a basic level of support to crime victims through establishing
victim assistance programs within their agencies and through community
partnerships to ensure that victims have access to emergency services,
counseling, financial assistance, information and referrals, and community
programs.
- Law enforcement agencies should
establish policies for the provision of fundamental victims rights and
services and procedures for their implementation. These policies and
procedures should be disseminated in writing throughout the agency.
- Compliance with victims' rights
policies and procedures should be included as a standard in officers
performance appraisals.
- During their initial contact
with law enforcement officers, victims of crime should receive verbal
and written information about victims rights and services. Law enforcement
personnel should be required to follow up with victims because many
individuals are unable to comprehend assistance and compensation information
in the aftermath of being severely traumatized.
- All law enforcement agencies
should adopt written policies and procedures and implement training
programs for conducting sensitive and culturally appropriate death notification.
- State, Federal, military, and
Tribal law enforcement agencies must implement victims rights laws and
ensure that victims are regularly notified of the status of the investigation,
including arrests, pretrial release of suspects, and case closings.
- Law enforcement should place
a high priority on protecting victims and witnesses from intimidation
and physical harm after they report a crime. Law enforcement agencies
that operate jails or any temporary custody facilities should, upon
request of the victim, immediately notify the victim of a defendants
pretrial release.
- All law enforcement personnel,
from dispatchers through management, should receive initial and ongoing
training about the impact of crime and how to respond sensitively and
effectively to victims.
- Police departments should develop
specialized responses for family members of officers killed in the line
of duty and protocols for responding to injured officers.
- Law enforcement agencies should
establish special protocols to ensure victim participation and confidence
in the system when an officer is accused of a criminal offense.
- Procedures for the swift return
of property to victims and witnesses should be developed at the Federal,
State, and local levels to serve as models for law enforcement agencies
nationwide. Emergency funds should be made available to victims to replace
essential items. Laws providing victims the right to have their property
returned within a reasonable period of time should be enacted in all
States and on the Federal level.
New Directions from the
Field:
Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century |
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