Criminology For Dummies. Steven Briggs

know about this system or don’t know how to use it, so advocates help them. Advocates also may help victims deal with unwanted contact from criminals while they’re on probation or parole.

Because each state is different, all these services may be performed by a variety of people in different agencies, or perhaps by just one overworked person in a small police department. These government advocate positions often rely heavily on private organizations and volunteers for the bulk of services.

      Direct help from private, nonprofit groups

      Although government-run victim programs are the conduit for providing services to victims, nonprofit organizations provide the day-in and day-out crucial help that victims need.

      For instance, private organizations almost always run the domestic violence shelters to which government-employed victim advocates send abused women. These private, nonprofit organizations are made up of citizens who care passionately about victims of crime. They fund their efforts with private donations, public and private grants, and contracts with the government.

      

Without these private services, a victim advocate often would have nowhere to refer a victim. Note, however, that nonprofit care providers (and government-run victim assistance offices) have little money and rely heavily on volunteers to provide services such as the following:

       Answering phone hotlines (such as rape, domestic violence, or suicide lines)

       Providing crisis response — immediate, in-the-field care to victims

       Helping with victim compensation

       Accompanying a victim to court

       Accompanying police or other officials when notifying a family member of a death

       Helping to run the service provider’s office

       Securing address confidentiality for the victim to make sure a criminal doesn’t learn the victim’s new address

       Preparing meals for shelter residents

Observing the Laws That Protect Victims’ Rights

      All the victim services I discuss in the previous section are offered, for the most part, outside of the court system. However, victim’s interests are considered inside the courtroom, too. Every state has passed laws that create victims’ rights, and a majority of states have even made such laws part of their state constitutions.

      Invoking victims’ rights

      The victims’ rights movement that swept across the United States seeks to give the victim a voice in the criminal justice process. For instance, most states have enacted laws that require the court system or the prosecutor to notify victims of all release hearings related to their attackers and to give the victims the right to be heard at those hearings.

      Imagine that your ex-boyfriend (or ex-girlfriend) has been stalking you and recently set your car on fire. He was arrested, but what happens next? Will he get out? Will he come back to hurt you? Thanks to the victims’ rights movement, if your ex-boyfriend requests a release hearing, you have the right not only to be present but also to tell the judge why your ex shouldn’t be released.

      Here are some of the victims’ rights that most states have enacted:

       Notification of all hearings: A victim has the right to know what’s going on at every step of a case she’s involved in. This notification applies to appeal hearings, too.

       Opportunity to speak at a release hearing: If the victim wants to comment, the judge must listen to the victim’s concerns before deciding whether to release a defendant pretrial. Victims can speak in person or just write out a statement and give it to the prosecutor to read to the court.

       Option to obtain a “no contact” order: If the victim wants the defendant to stay away from her, the judge has the power to issue a “no contact” order, which prohibits the defendant from contacting the victim. Violation of the order can mean the defendant is arrested and placed back in jail.

       Address confidentiality: A defendant has the right to all police reports involving his case. However, the prosecutor must black out all references to where the victim is living if the victim requests such an action.

       HIV and disease testing: If the crime involved the exchange of bodily fluids, the victim can have the defendant tested to see whether he has a disease.

       Consultation about plea offers: The victim can request that the prosecutor confer with her about any deals the state plans to offer the defendant. This right doesn’t mean the prosecutor has to do what the victim wants, however.It’s important to note that prosecutors are not the victims’ lawyers; they represent the state. Sometimes victims don’t want the defendant to be prosecuted (a situation that frequently occurs in domestic violence cases). But the prosecutor can go ahead with the case anyway.

       Option to refuse to be interviewed by the defense attorney or investigator: Although in most states anyone can refuse to be interviewed, victims can make this declaration early in the process and, theoretically, not be bothered at all by the defendant’s representatives.

       Opportunity to give a statement at sentencing: One of the most important victims’ rights is known as the victim impact statement, which means that, at the time of sentencing, the victim gets to tell the judge how the crime impacted her. The victim can address the court directly or have the prosecutor read a statement.

       Restitution: If a victim suffered financial loss, she has a right to a court order that requires the defendant to pay the money back. Typically, the defendant makes monthly payments to the court, which then distributes the money back to the victim.

      Enforcing victims’ rights

      What happens when someone in the justice system violates one of these rights? In many states, the answer is nothing. Victims’ rights often don’t have any teeth. However, a number of states have begun to enact laws to give victims some recourse in the event that they believe their rights have been violated. Even so, protecting victims’ rights can quickly become complicated.

      Picture this scenario: A victim is notified that the defendant who attacked her is about to be arraigned. She doesn’t attend the hearing because the victim advocate told her that nothing significant usually happens at an arraignment. But at the arraignment, the defendant receives the plea offer and decides to take the deal and be sentenced. The victim clearly hasn’t been notified of the sentencing proceeding.

      Should the judge go forward with the case? Or should the judge slow down the whole system and schedule a new hearing so that the victim can be notified and given the right to be present? The judge faces a choice between achieving greater efficiency and notifying the victim. In an overburdened system, the temptation to quickly resolve the case is great. If the judge decides to go forward with the case, the victim doesn’t have much recourse.

A few states, however, have created mechanisms through which victims can file complaints about violations of rights. For example, for certain serious crimes in Colorado, if a victim feels her rights were violated, she can file a complaint with a committee responsible for enforcing victims’ rights. The committee may conduct a hearing to assess the facts. If it determines that a violation occurred, it may issue recommendations to resolve the complaint. For instance, if a prosecutor failed to notify a victim of an important hearing, the prosecutor’s office may be required to create a formal policy for victim notification and to train its staff on how to notify victims. Although these kinds of repercussions may not do an individual victim much good, they do help to improve the overall system.

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