NCJ Number
220926
Journal
THE POLICE CHIEF Volume: 74 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2007 Pages: 44,46-48,50
Date Published
October 2007
Length
5 pages
Annotation
After summarizing the results of the International Association of Police Chiefs' (IACP's) pilot project for its draft strategy designed to improve police agencies' responses to crime victims, this article discusses the benefits and challenges of implementing the proposed strategy, as well as leadership objectives.
Abstract
Based on critical lessons learned from the pilot process, the IACP finalized the draft strategy and created two companion documents: the Implementation Guide, which provides operational guidelines; and the Resource Toolkit, which contains sample documents, materials, and templates developed by the pilot sites. The strategy presented in these documents will be further validated at eight additional sites, including a broader variety of environments and functions that will include State, county, municipal, college, and university law enforcement agencies. The findings from these sites will shape the completion of the strategy for national implementation. The strategy focuses on the role of law enforcement agencies in addressing the following critical needs of crime victims: safety, support, information, access, continuity, voice, and justice. The four core areas of law enforcement planning and action in meeting these needs are leadership, partnering, training, and performance monitoring. The challenges in implementing this strategy for enhancing law enforcement agencies' responses to victims pertain to changes in some of the values, attitudes, and protocols of the current organization of these agencies. This article offers suggestions for how law enforcement leaders can address these challenges. The article concludes with discussions of the importance and nature of partnerships with other agencies in addressing crime victims' needs, as well as the setting of victim-response goals as measures of performance. 4 notes