NCJ Number
85272
Journal
Victimology Volume: 5 Issue: 2-4 Dated: (1980) Pages: 428-437
Date Published
1982
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The increase in protection rights offered criminal offenders requires a corresponding societal response to the innocent victims' rights. The 15 rights listed and analyzed illustrate society's obligation to ensure that law-abiding citizens are protected.
Abstract
Victims have a right to expect protection from criminal violence and crime and a duty to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. They must be kept informed by police of the progress of their investigation and by the district attorney as to the case's progress, including final disposition. This latter right also includes notification that the defendant has been released from custody. Victims must be notified of any proposed discretionary disposition, including any plea bargaining arrangement, and of any release of the defendant if incarcerated. They have the right to be notified of any change in a defendant's status after committal to a mental health facility, of available financial and social service assistance, and of employer services available to the victim. They must be provided with adequate witness compensation, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that ensures no victim-defendant contact, and adequate protection from threats of harm arising from cooperation with police. Some of these rights already exist in the form of statutory laws, common law, etc., but only take a small step in actually creating a right (burdensome prerequisites to obtaining victims' rights often remain). Five references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)