FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? OVC
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2002???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
NEW HANDBOOK OFFERS GUIDANCE FOR RESPONDING TO CRIME
VICTIMS WITH DISABILITIES
Tips Include: Do not label victims by their
impairment,
Speak directly to the victim
WASHINGTON,
D.C. ?? A new handbook from the Justice
Department?s Office of Justice Programs? (OJP) Office for Victims of Crime
(OVC) describes various disabilities, their common symptoms and ways that law
enforcement officers can be responsive to these victims? needs without
compromising an investigation.
The
handbook, First Response to Victims of Crime Who Have a Disability,
offers specific guidance and tips on working with victims who have Alzheimer?s
disease, mental illness, developmental disabilities, or are blind, visually
impaired, deaf or hard of hearing.? An
estimated 17 percent of the U.S. population has one of these disabilities.
?Every
crime victim deserves to be treated fairly, with compassion and respect,? said
OVC Director John W. Gillis.? ?Law
enforcement officers are often the first ones at a crime scene and it is
essential that they have the tools they need to treat victims with disabilities
with the dignity they deserve.?
The
handbook opens with general guidance that applies to victims with different
types of disabilities.? It follows with
a section covering the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, two laws that require that crime victims
with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from
law enforcement programs and services.
The handbook also features a directory of organizations that can provide
more information about disabilities.
OVC
developed the handbook in partnership with the National Sheriffs? Association
(NSA).? OVC and the NSA consulted with
victim service providers, victim advocates, and experts on working with people
with disabilities.
Copies
of First Response to Victims of Crime Who Have a Disability, as well as
information about other OVC publications, programs and conferences, are
available through the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc and from the
OVC Resource Center at 1-800/627-6872.
Media
should contact OJP?s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at
202/307-0703.? ??????
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