Each section and chapter is based on papers submitted by leading experts in the field as well as the input of victim advocates, justice system and allied professionals, crime victims, and others who participated in public hearings, working group meetings, and those who provided individual comments and review as the document progressed toward completion. Five global challenges for responding to crime victims form the core of the hundreds of ideas and recommendations presented in this report. First, it recommends the enactment and enforcement of consistent, fundamental rights for crime victims in Federal, State, juvenile, military, and tribal justice systems, as well as administrative proceedings. Second, it recommends that crime victims have access to comprehensive, quality services regardless of the nature of their victimization, age, race, religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, capability, or geographic location. Third, crime victims' issues should be integrated into all levels of the Nation's educational system to ensure that justice and allied professionals and other service providers receive comprehensive training on victims' issues as part of their academic education and continuing training in the field. Fourth, there should be support, improvement, and replication of promising practices in victims' rights and services built upon sound research, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary partnerships. Fifth, crime victims should play a central role in the Nation's response to violence and those victimized by crime. This executive summary also provides a sampling of promising practices that are transforming victim services.
New Directions From the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century- Executive Summary
NCJ Number
172811
Date Published
1998
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This executive summary of "New Directions From the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century" identifies hundreds of innovative public policy initiatives and community partnerships that are revolutionizing the treatment of crime victims in America today, and it recommends improvements that still need to be implemented for crime victims.
Abstract