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Victim
Assistance Program
Victim
Assistance Information
FBI’s
Role in Victim Assistance
Victim
Rights
Assisting
Victims of Federal Crime:
What Every FBI Agent and Supervisor Should Know
Victim
Specialist Contact Information
FBI’s
Role in Victim Assistance
Why
should the FBI provide victim assistance?
Federal
law and the Attorney General Guidelines on Victim and Witness Assistance
(2000) require the FBI and other federal criminal justice employees
provide victims of federal crimes with information and assistance.
On a practical level, providing information and assistance to victims
benefits investigations and may make victims more willing and able
to cooperate. In many cases, the trauma or hardship resulting from
criminal victimization affects the ability of victims to manage the
most basic aspects of daily living, which means their ability to help
may be limited during the investigative and prosecution process. If
victims receive the appropriate help, they will be better able to cooperate
during the investigation and prosecution.
What
are the Attorney General Guidelines on Victim-Witness Assistance?
The AG
Guidelines are required by federal statute and are designed to
ensure that the federal criminal justice system does everything possible
within limits of available resources to assist victims. It describes
the responsibilities of each component of the justice system -- investigative,
prosecution, and corrections -- and provides examples and practical
options for meeting those requirements. In addition, the AG Guidelines
provide detailed guidance on specific populations of victims, including
children, sexual assault victims, and victims of telemarketing fraud.
Copies are available from the Office for Victim Assistance (OVA)
at headquarters or through the Victim Specialist in each Field Office
and Division. A brief training video on the AG Guidelines is also
available.
Who
is responsible for victim assistance?
Within
the FBI, Special Agents in Charge (SACs) are designated as the "responsible
officials" for ensuring that victims receive the notice and assistance
required by law and the AG Guidelines during the investigation.
Practically speaking, it is up to the case Agent and the Victim Specialist
to carry out these duties.
The
mission of the FBI Victim Assistance Program is to support the mission
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by assisting victims of federal
crimes. By facilitating the victims' receipt of information, notification
and services, as required by federal law and the Attorney General
Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance (2000), Victim Specialists
aid victims in their recovery and facilitate their capacity to participate
and cooperate in the criminal justice process. Victim Specialists
actively participate in their community's efforts to provide/promote
victim assistance/awareness.
Crime
Victims’ Bill of Rights
Federal
criminal justice agencies are required by law (under
42 U.S.C. § 10606(b)) to provide victims with the following
rights:
- The
right to be treated with fairness and with respect for your dignity
and privacy.
- The
right to be reasonably protected from the accused offender.
- The
right to be notified of court proceedings.
- The
right to be present at all public court proceedings related
to the offense, unless the court determines that testimony
by the victim would be materially affected if the victim heard
other testimony at trial.
- The
right to confer with a Government attorney working on the case.
- The
right to restitution.
- The
right to information about the conviction, sentencing, imprisonment,
and release of the offender.
(Victims’ Rights
and Restitution Act of 1990)
Assisting
Victims of Federal Crime:
What Every FBI Agent and Supervisor Should Know
What
help and resources are available?
The Office for Victim Assistance (OVA) is a new office which was created at
FBIHQ in late 2001 to expand and enhance the FBI's victim assistance efforts.
The OVA provides guidance, training, support, and resources to victim specialists
and agents. The OVA is housed in CID, but is available to provide assistance
with victim-related issues across the FBI. The OVA is managed by a senior program
director with assistance from a supervisory special agent. The OVA staff includes
four victim program specialists, a program analyst, a VNS coordinator, two
child interview specialists and a terrorism/major case specialist. The OVA
can provide guidance on legal requirements and practical ways to comply with
requirements. The OVA can provide special assistance with cases involving large
numbers of victims, including the deployment of Victim Response Teams. VNS
technical support and training is also available through the OVA. In addition,
the OVA can provide advice, written information, and training on specific victim
issues, such as working with child victims and sexual assault victims, handling
death notification, dealing with families of homicide victims, and working
with elderly and disabled victims. The OVA can help locate state and local
victim assistance resources. The OVA can provide useful liaison with the State
Department, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Executive Office of
United States Attorney (EOUSA), and other federal agencies on victim-related
issues.
The OVA publishes victim brochures and other educational materials on victim
assistance. The OVA has a web site on the CID Intranet site that will provide
more detailed information, ideas, and guidance on victim assistance issues.
What is a Victim Specialist?
Until recently, most FBI victim specialists were support employees who performed
limited victim assistance tasks as a collateral duty. Not all offices had victim
specialists. In Fiscal Year 2001, Congress amended authorizing language for
the Crime Victims Fund to include annual funding for supporting 112 full-time
victim specialists. These positions have been allocated for field offices,
Indian Country, and some resident agents. The purpose of these positions is
to ensure that the FBI has full-time employees with specialized training and
experience who are dedicated to providing direct services to victims.
Many victim specialists have backgrounds in social work or psychology and have
worked in victim services agencies or in law enforcement or prosecutor-based
victim assistance units. To be really effective victim specialists should work
as a team with agents, since they can relieve agents of some time-consuming
contact with victims and their families and provide advice and help when special
problems or issues arise. Victim specialists can provide information to victims
on their rights, where to go for help, and on important case events. They are
familiar with available services and resources to assist victims. They can
help victims access state crime victims compensation funds and can apply for
emergency victim assistance funds through the HQ/OVA. Victim specialists can
accompany victims to forensic exams, for medical services, or to court. The
31 victim specialists who are deployed on a full-time basis in Indian Country
have been provided with four-wheel drive vehicles to enable them to travel
the long distances commonly found in Indian Country and to transport victims
when necessary.
The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) governs the administration of the Federal Crime
Victims Fund, the source of the funding for the 112 positions. This fund is
derived from fines, assessments and forfeited bail paid by Federal offenders
and not from tax payer monies. Thus, the funds are targeted for limited and
special use, that is, for the direct services to victims of crime. VOCA expressly
forbids the use of these funds for other purposes and prohibits the use of
the positions for collateral duties, such as community outreach or other paralegal
duties. Any misuse of these funded positions could result in disciplinary action.
Each Victim Specialist provides a Monthly Accomplishment Report to FBIHQ OVA.
In this report, each Victim Specialist provides verification to the OVA that
they are not performing collateral duties on a regular and on-going basis which
is expressly prohibited by law. Statistics from these Monthly Accomplishment
Reports are utilized to develop the annual compliance report required by the
Department of Justice (DOJ) and are sent to the DOJ and the FBI Director.
What types of Services can the Victim Specialist provide?
The Victim Specialist can provide a variety of services in an effort to assist
victims of crime. Some of those services are listed below:
· Locating
emergency housing, food and clothing for victims or locating special
needs for victims.
· Assisting
with disabled victims.
· Responding
to the crime scene when requested by Agents to assist victims.
· Accompanying
Agents to interview victims or deliver bad news to victims.
· Facilitating
the cleaning and return of property to victims, assisting with the
return of personal effects to the next of kin, or returning items/evidence
to victims after a case is closed.
· Arranging
for forensic exams for sexual or physical abuse to victims.
· Participation
in Evidence Response Teams (ERT) for the purpose of assessing the needs
of victims, providing support to victims or collecting personal effects
to be returned to victims.
· Assisting
victims with compensation applications.
· Transporting
or accompanying victims to case related appointments.
· Maintaining
an appropriate and victim friendly space in the office for victims
to be interviewed.
· Maintaining
a resource manual of local, state and federal resources readily available
for use as needed by Agents during investigations.
· Providing
training to Agents to enhance victim assistance efforts.
Assisting Agents in identifying victims and processing related forms.
· Providing
written and oral information to victims on their rights and available
services.
· Keeping
victims informed of the case status.
What are Emergency Victim Assistance Funds?
Currently, the OVA has special funds for emergency victim assistance that can
be used in a wide range of circumstances when no other source of financial
assistance is available. The OVA has two Emergency Victim Assistance Funds:
one for general victim needs that includes terrorism victim assistance, and
one for human trafficking victims. These funds may be accessed once the FBI
opens a case. The victim specialist or agent requesting funds must get prior
verbal or written approval from the OVA and must provide required documentation.
These funds can be used only for victims and cannot be used for witnesses who
are not also victims. The funds cannot be used for investigative needs but
only for a limited range of victim services. Allowable activities and expenses
include the following:
· Emergency
food and clothing (at per deim rate)
· Emergency
travel and lodging (per deim or best rate)
· Transportation
necessary for victim to receive emergency crisis and medical services
· Forensic
medical examinations
· Emergency
legal assistance (such as filing restraining orders)
· Shipment
of remains
· Interpreter
services
· Transportation
for secondary victims for provision of support when the primary victim
is deceased, in unusual circumstances, or incompetent/incapacitated
· Short-term
or emergency mental health services
· Replacement
clothing or bedding when needed as evidence Unallowable
costs or activities include:
· Witness
management and protection expenses
· Expert
witnesses
· Investigative
expenses
· Housing,
including rent, deposits, utilities
· Recovering
lost property
· Perpetrator
rehabilitation and counseling
· Funeral
or burial expenses
Why should the FBI provide victim assistance?
Federal law and the Attorney General Guidelines on Victim and Witness Assistance
(2000) require the FBI and other Federal criminal justice employees provide
victims of federal crimes with information and assistance. On a practical level,
providing information and assistance to victims benefits investigations and
may make victims more willing and able to cooperate. It can help victims cope
with and recover from the impact of crime, and this benefits both families
and communities. It is what FBI employees should want for their own loved ones
if they are unfortunate enough to become victims of crime.
What IS required by law?
There are three requirements that are mandatory and non-negotiable. Employees
who fail to perform these requirements may have civil liability. The FBI is
required to:
1. Identify victims of each federal crime, including names and contact
information and the type of injury. Agents should use the Victim Identification
Form (FD-919), and provide it to the Victim Specialist in their office or division.
2. Provide information to victims at the earliest opportunity after detection
of a crime. The information to be provided includes their rights as Federal
crime victims; the availability of crime victims compensation and other assistance
services along with contact information for the FBI employee to whom requests
for services should be made; and the status of case (especially arrests, indictments,
closing).
3. Provide reasonable protection to victims from offender and their representatives.
There are other federal statutes that contain additional requirements, including
some that are specific to certain types of crime. For example, federal law
enforcement agencies investigating sexual assault are required to pay for up
to two anonymous and confidential tests for sexually transmitted diseases as
well as the cost of counseling session by a medically trained professional.
FBI offices handling child abuse cases are required to make referrals for a
medical examination, use forensic interviewing procedures that are designed
to reduce trauma to children, utilize multi-disciplinary child abuse teams
when feasible, and ensure the privacy of child victims and witnesses. The
Attorney General Guidelines on Victim and Witness Assistance (2000) contain
other requirements that should be met except in unusual circumstances. Information
about these requirements can also be found in the MIOG.
What are the Attorney General Guidelines on Victim-Witness Assistance?
The AG Guidelines are required by federal statute and are designed to
ensure that the federal criminal justice system does everything possible within
limits of available resources to assist victims. The AG Guidelines are
organized by stages of the federal criminal justice system component, e.g.,
investigation, prosecution, and corrections. The AG Guidelines provide
a summary of both mandatory requirements and those that can be provided using
a "best efforts" standard. It also explains discretionary aspects
of some requirements and provides case examples and suggestions for how to
meet the requirements in unusual cases and cases involving large numbers of
victims. The AG Guidelines include detailed guidance on specific populations
of victims, including children, sexual assault victims, and victims of telemarketing
fraud. Copies are available from the Office for Victim Assistance (OVA) at
headquarters or through the Victim Specialist in each Field Office and Division.
A brief training video on the AG Guidelines is also available.
Who is considered a victim?
A victim is defined by statute as anyone who has suffered direct physical,
emotional/ psychological, or financial harm as the result of a Federal crime.
Victims include injured victims, next-of-kin of deceased victims, and non-offending
family members or guardians of minor victims. Foreign citizens may be victims
in some cases. In certain circumstances uninjured bystanders may be considered
victims.
Who is NOT a victim?
A person who is culpable for the crime being investigated or prosecuted is
not considered a victim for purposes of the rights and services contained in
the AG Guidelines, however this exclusion does NOT encompass persons
who may be culpable for some other crime, even if the crime is related. Examples
of such persons includes, but is not limited to the following: (1) illegal
aliens who are involuntary servitude victims, transportation and trafficking
victims, inmates victimized in prison, victims of witness intimidation, and
victims of excessive force. Federal departments and state and local governments,
as entities, should not be considered victims for these purposes.
What is the Victim Notification System?
The Victim Notification System (VNS) was created by Executive Order as an automated
tool for providing timely notice to federal crime victims. The system has a
Trusted Guard component and is shared between the FBI, U.S. Attorney Offices,
and the Bureau of Prisons. VNS is dependant upon FBI offices uploading victim
identification and contact information. VNS provides several venues for victims
to obtain notification of case events: agency-generated letters, a victim call-in
system through an 800 number, and a special, password protected website. Victims
are given the option to register with VNS and are given a pin number. VNS can
ensure that victim information is passed along throughout the criminal justice
process. VNS can be especially helpful in cases involving hundreds or thousands
of victims. Field offices with large victim cases should contact the OVA for
advice and assistance.
In summary:
Doing what is right for victims is simple: FBI employees should think about
how they would want their loved ones to be treated if they were victims of
crime. FBI agents do not need to be victim advocates or social workers, but
they can turn to victim specialists and other professionals for help. If an
unusual case or issue arises, agents can call FBIHQ OVA or a Victim Specialist
for assistance and advice.
Victim
Specialist Contact Information
Northern District
of Indiana
(Merrillville RA,
South Bend RA, Fort Wayne RA, & Lafayette RA)
Merrillville
(RA)
1277 E. 85th Avenue
Merrillville, IN 46410
(219)769-3719
(219)650-6205 (fax)
Southern District
of Indiana
(Indianapolis HQ,
Bloomington RA, Evansville RA, Muncie RA, New Albany RA, & Terre
Haute RA)
Indianapolis
HQ
575 N. Pennsylvania
Street Room 679
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317)639-3301
(317)321-6314 (fax)
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