Putting Victims First

The theme of the Office for Victims of Crime – “Putting Victims First” – is highly relevant to anyone who is in a position to assist victims and survivors of crime, including family members and friends, victim service providers, criminal and juvenile justice professionals, and the community. By “putting victims first,” we recognize that their rights, needs and concerns are priorities essential to promoting justice, safety and equal rights for all.

The following suggestions can be utilized in many victim/survivor and public education resources, including: speeches and other public presentations that target specific audiences; brochures and newsletters; and on agency Web sites. You can expand these “definitions” of “Putting Victims First” to make them more relevant to your own jurisdiction.

For Families and Friends of Crime Victims and Survivors, “Putting Victims First” Means:

• Offering comfort and support immediately after a crime occurs, and in the days, weeks, months and even years that follow.
  
  
• Letting your loved one or friend know how sorry you are, and that what happened was not his or her fault.
  
  
• Providing encouragement, support and validation to your loved one or friend when he or she wants to talk about what happened, and what will happen in the future.
  
  
• Finding out about the wide range of victims' rights and services that are available to assist victims, survivors and their loved ones in your community, and helping them access these rights and services.
  
  
• Asking about the survivor's most important needs – emotional, physical, financial and spiritual – and referring them to available resources to meet these needs.
  
  
• Monitoring your own range of possible emotional, physical and spiritual reactions to the crime and its effects, and seeking support and services, if needed, that can help promote your personal strength and resiliency.
  
  
• Recognizing that the anniversary date of a crime may be a difficult time for your loved one or friend – and for you as well – and being prepared to address any residual effects that result from the memory of the victimization.

For Victim Service Providers, “Putting Victims First” Means:

• Creating an organizational environment and personal ethical guidelines that help guarantee swift, sensitive and effective assistance to victims of crime, as well as communications that convey empathy, understanding, and a willingness to help.
  
  
• Keeping up-to-date about current victims' rights laws and public policy at the federal, state and local levels, and developing services that help victims understand and exercise their rights.
  
  
• Keeping up-to-date about innovations in victim services that can enhance the assistance you provide to victims, and constantly seeking measures for improvement.
  
  
• Empowering victims by providing them with options and opportunities for assistance and for exercising their rights, and providing support (to the degree possible) for the choices they make.
  
  
• Conducting a needs assessment for victims that identifies their sustenance issues, mental and physical health concerns, issues related to how to access and exercise their rights, and their need for services that can be provided by victim assistance, criminal and juvenile justice, and allied agencies, as well as by their family members and friends.
  
  
• Becoming skilled in addressing the safety needs of victims, and assisting them, if needed, with the creation of personal safety plans.
  
  
• Being culturally competent in the provision of victim services, and the enforcement of victims' rights.
  
  
• Coordinating the provision of victim services, and developing strategic plans that identify gaps and avoid duplication of services.
  
  
• Conducting victim assessment or satisfaction surveys of victims whom you serve, in order to obtain important input that can help you improve the delivery of victim services.

For Criminal and Juvenile Justice Professionals, “Putting Victims First” Means:

• Recognizing your leadership role in helping crime victims understand and implement their rights under law, and how to access victim services.
  
  
• Promoting collaboration to improve consistency in the implementation of victims' rights and the provision of victim services among justice officials and agencies, victim service providers, public policy makers, allied professionals, and community members.
  
  
• Being aware of victims' statutory rights in your state and your role in helping victims to exercise them, including the rights to: information and notification; participation in key justice proceedings; input through victim impact statements and pre-sentence investigation reports; protection and safety; restitution and other legal/financial obligations; victim compensation; and any recourse victims may have in your state if they feel their rights have been violated.
  
  
• Providing quality victim services that identify and address crime victims' most basic needs relevant to exercising their rights, and addressing the emotional, physical, financial and spiritual impact of crime on them.
  
  
• Empowering victims by providing them with options and opportunities for assistance and for exercising their rights, and providing support (to the degree possible) for the choices they make.
  
  
• Sponsoring ongoing venues for victims to give you input about their most important issues and concerns, such as Victim Advisory Councils, focus groups, and/or victim satisfaction surveys.
  
  
• Being culturally competent in the explanation and enforcement of victims' rights, and the provision of victim assistance services.

For Community Members, “Putting Victims First” Means:

• Understanding that crime isn't “something that happens to somebody else.” It is our family members and loved ones, neighbors, friends and co-workers who are profoundly affected by crime and victimization.
  
  
• Becoming educated about the emotional, financial, physical and spiritual impact of crime on victims, so that you can provide timely and effective assistance to someone you know who may need help.
  
  
• Becoming aware of the wide range of victims' rights, as well as the availability of victim assistance programs, that can help victims seek justice and begin the path to recovery in the aftermath of a crime.
  
  
• Volunteering at and providing your ongoing support to victim assistance organizations and criminal and juvenile justice agencies to help crime victims, and promoting victims' rights and community safety.