NCJ Number
165818
Date Published
March 2003
Length
181 pages
Annotation
This manual presents 15 protocols to be used as tools for law enforcement agencies that wish to update their policies and procedures for victim services in the context of community policing responsibilities.
Abstract
Two general protocols on victim assistance include one developed by the National Organization for Victim Assistance that offers pertinent definitions and describes the responsibilities of dispatchers, patrol officers, supervisors, and investigators and also discusses crime prevention. The second general protocol is in the form of a General Order of The Chicago Police Department (Illinois), which outlines specific practices and discusses victim compensation. Other sample victim-service protocols focus on specific types of police services to victims. These include services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence under both mandatory-arrest and pro-arrest policies, child victims of sexual abuse (interviewing), child sexual abuse by another juvenile, bias crime, and elder abuse. A sample protocol for crisis response teams is also provided. Sample protocols and checklists are presented for the initial and follow-up death notification. The second section of the manual presents relevant policies and papers of the National Law Enforcement Policy Center of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. These policies and papers pertain to police victim assistance in general, domestic violence, the investigation of sexual assault, the investigation of child abuse, death notification, hate crimes, and dealing with the mentally ill. Although the protocols presented are not viewed as models, they do reflect careful and thoughtful approaches to according victims respect and assistance in the course of investigating the crimes that have impacted their lives.