NCJ Number
167243
Date Published
1997
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Using portrayals of program activities and comments by program participants, this video profiles various programs across the country that provide services to crime victims in general and to various types of crime victims.
Abstract
The victim-witness program in Pima County, Ariz., is a national model for community partnerships that focus on effective crisis intervention for crime victims. Through cooperation among law enforcement, prosecutors' offices, and victim service agencies, victim-service volunteers are provided a context in which to focus on the needs of victims from the first contact with police through the completion of case processing and beyond. Another victim-service program portrayed in the video is children's advocacy centers, which were begun in Huntsville, Ala., in 1985 and have broadened to 300 centers throughout the country. The centers, in cooperation with criminal justice agencies, provide services to child victims that ensure they will not be further abused by the criminal justice system as their cases are processed and that they will receive the counseling they need. A third victim-service program portrayed in the video is the sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) program, which is a joint project of police, nurses, and hospitals. This program is designed to ensure that sexual assault victims are treated professionally and sensitively in the course of medical examinations and the obtaining of medical evidence. Other victim-service programs portrayed in the video focus on elderly crime victims, hearing-impaired victims, victims of drunk drivers, and child victims of abuse in rural areas without child abuse experts.