Victim assistance programs and legislation refers to support programing developed to meet the needs of victims of crime. Often this programming is legislated in an act or other mandate. This topic is relevant to students and professionals in the fields of psychology, social work, criminal justice, sociology, and criminology because they are likely to enter into helping professions that work closely with victims. This article is organized to first provide a brief historical understanding of victim assistance programming, important dates and events, followed by a discussion of such programming, including specific services available to victims. The relevant legislation that resulted in the development of such programming is also presented.
Brief History
Victim assistance programs have been established to provide services and assistance to victims of crime. These programs, while prominent today, are the result of the 1970s’ crime victims’ movement and subsequently in part from the first National Crime (Victimization) Survey (NCVS) in 1973 that revealed the dark figure of crime. This dark figure or hidden figure of crime is criminal victimization that occurs but is not reported to authorities. Advocates began to realize that reported crime statistics were underestimates of the true amount of crime. From this realization came a great concern for victims of crime, regardless of whether the criminal activity is reported or unreported.
In 1975, a prominent district attorney in Philadelphia, PA, established the first victims’ rights week. This was the first time that victimization was viewed more as a societal problem and less as an individual problem. The weeklong activities and events were organized to provide concrete and practical ideas for serving crime victims. Today, two organizations, the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) and the National Office of Victim Assistance (NOVA) under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Justice, continue this legacy by providing resource guides to ensure that victims of crime receive justice.
The crime victims’ movement ignited an awareness of criminal victimization that resulted in the creation of programs that provided services based on the needs of the victims and also allowed victims a voice in the criminal justice system. Before this movement, crime victims were viewed primarily as evidence, or as witnesses, to help in the prosecution of a criminal act and oftentimes the victims had little or no role in the process. Not much attention was given to victims’ injuries beyond linking those injuries to the accused. Through the efforts of victim advocates, victims began to have a greater influence and role in the criminal justice process.
In 1972, the first three victim assistance programs were established in St. Louis, MO; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC. Victim assistance programs are designed to assist victims in the recovery process following criminal victimization. Often victimization has lasting impacts that go beyond the crime itself and include physical injury, psychological distress, and economic loss. Crime victim services provided by these a ssistance programs include compensation programs, crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, information and referral, specialized services, and offender-based services. These services address the harm associated with the crime itself and the stress resulting from criminal victimization. Restorative justice is often the goal of such programming. With emphasis placed more on the victim and community and less on the offender, restorative justice is an attempt to repair the harm done by the crime.
Victim Assistance Programming
All states have victim assistance programs and some form of crime victim compensation programs. The first compensation program was established in California in 1965. By 1970, four other states and one U.S. territory created similar programs: New York, Hawaii, Massachusetts,
Maryland, and the Virgin Islands. It is difficult to estimate the cost associated with criminal victimization; however, compensation programs have been established to provide resources to victims to help defray some of the financial burden associated with the victimization. These programs are set up to provide financial resources to victims for harm incurred in a criminal victimization that cannot be covered by other sources. For example, funds are available to victims and their families to pay for expenses associated with medical, dental, and psychological services; individual and group counseling expenses; and funeral or burial costs. In addition, funds are available for missed employment and other loss of wages due to the criminal victimization. The maximum amount of compensation varies from state to state; however, all states have compensation funds or programs, and the amounts vary based on the victims’ needs and the services required. States receiving any federal money to support such compensation funds must also contribute state funds to these programs.
There are two national organizations supported by the federal government that provide information about victim services: The NCVC and the NOVA. The NCVC is an advocacy and resource center for victims of crime and those who serve these victims. Victim advocates can find an array of resources on its website. The NCVC advocates for stronger rights, protections, and services for crime victims.
NOVA provides services to victims while focusing on the nature and extent of the crime. Because there are different needs and perspectives, NOVA has created specializations focused on 17 specific areas to provide victims with contacts at the local, state, and national levels. These specializations include abuse of authority, child harm, disabilities harm, domestic and family violence, domestic and family violence special populations, elder harm, financial harm, harassment and stalking, hate crimes, homicide/murder and survivors, human trafficking, identity theft, impaired driving, Internet and electronic privacy, military-related harm, Native American and tribal harm, and sexual violence.
Arguably, the most important service provided to victims is an understanding of how the criminal justice system works. Before advocacy groups were formed, victims were often revictimized by the system. Unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, victims generally have no idea what to expect in the process nor understand how slowly the wheels of justice can turn. The criminal justice system attempts to discern the amount of shared responsibility in the criminal victimization, and by doing so, it can treat victims as if they are on trial. For example, rape victims, in particular, often find the criminal justice system, especially defense attorneys, putting their behavior on trial, attempting to shift culpability for the crime to the victim. Many rape myths or misconceptions are the focus of defense attorney’s cross-examination strategies. Relying on these tactics can cause emotional pain for the victim, which is also described as secondary victimization or victim blaming that tends to marginalize the victim, making it harder for them to come forward and report the offense. Victim blaming is any attitude that shifts the blame away from the offender and puts it on the victim. Victim blaming is found in attitudes characterized by statements such as “She was drunk,” “She was out late,” and “She left with him.” These attitudes cause additional emotional harm to victims. Without understanding how the criminal justice system operates, victims are likely to experience such secondary victimization.
Crime victim services are at the cornerstone of victim assistance programs. Early in their development, these programs were housed in prosecutors’ or district attorneys’ offices. Today, victim assistance programs are located in a myriad of criminal justice agencies including police departments, prosecutors’ offices, courts, probation, and parole offices. This expansion of housing such programs in other areas of the criminal justice system has resulted in victims having services regardless of the disposition of the case.
To further respond to the needs of crime victims, victim–offender reconciliation programs have been established. These programs allow the offender and victim to meet with a mediator in an effort to achieve a just resolution to the case, perhaps more satisfying than going to court, and with the emphasis on restoring the victim. Victim– offender reconciliation programs, which typically accept only cases involving minor offenses, offer an opportunity for victims and offenders to meet and perhaps bring about a better resolution for both parties. These sessions are intended to empower victims by allowing them to have a real voice in the proceedings. Moreover, the face-toface exchanges generally result in an admission of responsibility and an apology from the offender.
There are several key pieces of legislation that the U.S. Congress passed to help victims of crime receive compensation and assistance programming. The legislation provides an array of services for specific crimes including clearinghouse information and technical assistance, self-help support groups, and prevention and awareness strategies to address victimization. Legislation can be grouped into the following broad categories:
- Victimization of Children: Child Abuse and Prevention and Treatment Act (1974), Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (1980), Missing Children’s Act (1982), Missing Children’s Assistance Act (1984), Children’s Justice Act (1985), Victims of Child Abuse Act (1990), National Child Search Assistance Act (1990), Child Sexual Abuse Registry Act (1993), Community Notification Act (Megan’s Law, 1996), Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (2006);
- Domestic Violence: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (1984), Battered Women’s Testimony Act (1992);
- Drunk Driving: Drunk Driving Prevention Act (1988). Prior to this legislation, Mothers Against Drunk Driving was established as a nonprofit organization to fight drunk driving; and
- Violence Against Women: Violence Against Women Act (1994).
While these specific acts provide awareness and services for victims of specific crimes, there are two pieces of legislation that are applicable to all victims of crime: the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 and the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004. Victims of Crime Act is a federal victim compensation account funded through the collection of fines from criminal convictions. The Department of Justice under the direction of President Ronald Reagan established a President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982 to study criminal victimization. At that time, the Task Force was concerned that existing victim compensation programs were not operating as intended based on reported findings such as the general lack of awareness that such programs existed, burdensome paperwork and long wait times to receive compensation, and the fear that available resources would be depleted and that staff would be overworked. The Task Force’s findings resulted in Victims of Crime Act establishing the Crime Victims’ Fund.
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act empowers victims of crime through a set of rights. The act entails several rights that must be provided to victims in federal criminal cases:
- The right to be reasonably protected from the accused
- The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding or any parole proceeding involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused
- The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding
- The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding
- The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the government in the case
- The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law
- The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay
- The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy
As of 2018, there is no federal Constitutional Victims’ Bill of Rights. However, many state constitutions and state laws provide the rights listed in the Crime Victims’ Rights Act to their residents and others victimized in their states.
References:
- Crime Victims’ Right Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771. (2004). Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/usao/ resources/crime-victims-rights-ombudsman/ victims-rights-act
- Kurst-Swanger, K. (2007). Victim services: Past, present and future. In L. J. Moriarty & R. A. Jerin (Eds.), Current issues in victimology research (2nd ed., pp. 1–20). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
- Smith, M. R. (2003). Victim-offender reconciliation programs. In L. J. Moriarty (Ed.), Controversies in victimology (pp. 103–116). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.
Websites
- National Center for Victims of Crime. Retrieved from https://victimsofcrime.org
- National Organization for Victim Assistance. Retrieved from http://www.trynova.org/crime-victim