Crime Victims Assistance Initiative

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Victims of violent crime can experience mental, physical, and emotional trauma that can have devastating lifelong impacts. Through this initiative, the Suffolk County Police Department has acknowledged that an empathetic response by police officers and investigators, couples with timely and appropriate follow-up assistance and support services from professional victim advocates, can help to reduce dramatically the negative, long-term impact that violent crime can have on victims, and can actually increase the potential for victim participation in the criminal justice process. As a result, the Suffolk County Police Department formed an unprecedented partnership with a local nonprofit to ensure all victims of violent crimes are not only informed of their rights under the law and have access to the support services to which they are entitled, but that they are also proactively contacted and encouraged to take full advantage of all available resources. This partnership with the Crime Victims Center (CVC) empowers victims by providing tools, knowledge, and strategies that assist in reducing the potential of re-victimization and contribute to reducing crime.