NCJ Number
207325
Editor(s)
Constance Clem
Date Published
August 2004
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This report presents survey results regarding the nature and status of services for crime victims sponsored by State departments of correction (DOC’s).
Abstract
Crime victim services have come to be increasingly recognized as an integral component of the criminal justice system, and as such, programs and initiatives for crime victims have been proliferating in the United States and abroad. The current study by the National Institute of Corrections involved a January 2004 survey to DOC’s in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and protectorates, large municipal governments, and the Federal governments of the United States and Canada. The survey was designed to elicit information regarding the frequency and location of corrections-based victim services, including current and planned future services. Survey responses were received from 50 jurisdictions, including 47 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Correctional Service Canada. The findings indicate that over 90 percent of DOC’s solicit input from crime victims regarding their policies, practices, or decisionmaking, and more than 80 percent of DOC’s solicit input from victims on the management of individual offenders. Nearly 80 percent of DOC’s also participate in, or plan to participate in, formal victim advisory councils or similar systems that garner victim input on correctional policies and practices. Other findings reveal that 62 percent of DOC’s participate in statewide victim services initiatives; 98 percent provide victim notification services; 80 percent have offender programming related to victim issues; and 56 percent have received grant funding for the statewide victim services support. The survey findings highlight areas in which DOC’s can improve their services to victims, such as expanding victim services to include targeted services to child victims. Tables, appendixes