NCJ Number
106351
Date Published
1984
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This report presents 13 recommendations regarding victim services and victim rights that the Special Subcommittee On Crime Victims and Domestic Violence felt needed priority attention by the South Carolina General Assembly and other policymakers.
Abstract
The report presents statistics on criminal victimizations in the United States and South Carolina, characteristics of crime victims, the incidence of domestic violence and child abuse, and the relationship between criminal behavior and drug and alcohol use. It first recommends enactment of a comprehensive Victim's Bill of Rights that covers victim/witness intimidation, information on a case's progress, reparations for victims, recovery of property, due process rights, and special services for very young, elderly, or handicapped victims. Other recommendations concern the victim impact statement, jurisdictions' assuming the costs of evidentiary collection, reforms in the current victim compensation law, public release of a victim's name and address, and confidential counseling. Additional issues considered include developing victim/witness programs in prosecutors' offices, guidelines for law enforcement on reports of missing persons, laws relating to domestic violence and marital rape, and protective services for children.