WASHINGTON, DC -- A new Justice Department online directory, http://ovc.ncjrs.org/findvictimservices, will help crime victims find critical assistance quickly and easily. The new directory will enable crime victims to readily locate national and international assistance services and will help victim service providers make appropriate referrals. The Justice Department?s Office of Justice Programs? (OJP) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) created the directory.

     "Too often victims spend days, or even weeks, searching for the right place to get help," said OVC Director John W. Gillis. "The new online directory will enable victims to -- within minutes ? find assistance in their own communities that meets their specific needs."

     The directory allows users to search for victim services by location, type of victimization and type of service needed. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Victim service providers can also request that information about their programs be added to the directory.

     While OVC does not endorse any of the services listed in the directory, it does verify that all the programs included in the directory:

• Provide direct services to crime victims;
• Either have been performing victim services for at least 12 months or are receiving funds through the Victims of Crime Act;
• Are open to the public;
• Are administered by nonprofit organizations or public agencies; and
• Have submitted accurate contact information.

     OVC was created by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1983 and formally established by Congress in 1988 through an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984. OVC?s mission is to enhance the nation?s capacity to assist victims of crime and to provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. VOCA also established the Crime Victims Fund -- the primary source of funding for OVC programs -- comprising fines, penalties, and special assessments imposed on convicted federal defendants and gifts, bequests, and donations.

     The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership in developing the nation?s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises 5 component bureaus and 2 offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and OVC, as well as the Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and the Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education. Information about OJP programs, publications, and conferences is available on the OJP Web site, https://ojp.gov.

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