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Victim Assistance and the Elderly (From Impact of Crime on the Elderly - Hearing, P 139-151, 1983 - See NCJ-94673)

NCJ Number
94679
Author(s)
J H Stein
Date Published
1983
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A representative of the National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA) reviews the impact of criminal victimization, with attention to elderly victims, and describes eight services essential to meeting the needs of all victims.
Abstract
NOVA's 9 years of analysis have revealed that victims suffer three primary injuries: physical injury, financial loss, and psychological injury. Even minor injuries can have a devastating effect on the frail and aging who also are unprepared to cope with financial loss because of fixed incomes and lack of insurance. In addition, aging persons have a diminished capacity to respond to stresses of victimization. Victims are subject to a secondary type of injury from the criminal justice system which blames them in part for the incident and stigmatizes them through police interviews, hearings, and other court proceedings. There are eight important stages of services needed by victims and witnesses: emergency response rendered by the first person whom a victim contacts after the crime; victim stabilization; resource mobilization in which losses are assessed and the victim is helped to cope with them; postarrest, when the victim should be informed of charging and bail decisions; precourt appearance services, which provide information on the case's status and preparation for testifying; court appearance, where services are oriented toward practical concerns and reducing costs of participating in the justice system; presentence, which focuses on the victim impact statement; and postsentence, which notifies the victim of parole and probation matters.