1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide. 1996 NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK RESOURCE GUIDE ON DISK Table of Contents Letter from the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime VALOR Letter of Introduction Acknowledgements 1 Tips for Using the 1996 NCVRW Resource Guide 3 Resource Guide Co-sponsors 8 Field-initiated Ideas for Public Awareness and Outreach 15 Sample Planning Committee Letter 24 Sample Proclamation 25 Sample Public Service Announcements 26 Sample Press Release 27 Sample Opinion/Editorial Column 28 Sample Speech 30 Sample Sermon 32 Notable Quotables 34 Accessing Information: OVC Resource Center and Other Services 36 Resources on Crime and Victimization from NCJRS 39 Additional Documents and Resources: Resource Guide Evaluation Crime Victims' Rights in America: An Historical Overview Statistical Overviews Child Abuse and Victimization Cost of Crime Crime and Education Crime and Victimization Domestic Violence Drunk Driving Elder Abuse and Neglect Hate and Bias Crimes Homicide Juvenile Crime and Victimization Rape and Sexual Assault Substance Abuse and Crime Workplace Violence and Crime Sample Certificate of Appreciation 1996 NCVRW Resource Guide Computer Disk Order Form U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office for Victims of Crime Dear Colleague: This year will mark the 15th commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, which will be observed April 21 - 27, 1996. The week affords us an opportunity to pay tribute to millions of Americans who have been victimized by crime, set new priorities to improve victim services throughout the country, and renew our commitment to provide justice and healing for all victims of crime. The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is very pleased to provide the funding for the enclosed National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide, which was prepared by the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc. (VALOR) through a competitive grant. It contains many materials and suggestions that will help you commemorate this important week, including a Proclamation and press release, fact sheets, public service announcements, a sample speech and sermon, and camera-ready artwork for a variety of public awareness activities. I encourage you to use this guide to help honor and publicize the accomplishments of the victims' movement and work for needed changes. OVC serves as the federal government's chief advocate for America's crime victims and administers the Crime Victims Fund, which is derived from fines paid by federal criminal offenders, not from tax dollars. Most of the money collected, about $234 million in Federal Fiscal Year 1996, is distributed to states to fund victim assistance and compensation programs -- the lifeline services that enable many victims to heal. More than 2,500 local victim service agencies such as domestic violence shelters, children's advocacy centers, and rape crisis programs, benefit from these funds. As you commemorate 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, we hope that you will recognize the extraordinary work of victim service providers who have dedicated their lives to helping victims. We also encourage you to honor the outstanding contributions of crime victims themselves, who have become one of our country's most effective voices against crime. Perhaps the best way to commemorate this important week is to increase our efforts to ensure that all victims have fundamental rights in the criminal justice system, that every person with whom they interact in the system treats them with dignity, and that every victimized child and every adult is given the opportunity to heal. These are goals to strive for not only during National Crime Victims' Rights Week, but throughout the year. We look forward to working closely with you in this effort. Best regards, Aileen Adams Director VALOR VICTIMS' ASSISTANCE LEGAL ORGANIZATION, INC. P.O. Box 862, McLean, Virginia 22101-0862 January 2, 1996 Dear Colleague: When we consider the progress made since former President Ronald Reagan honored crime victims in the first Rose Garden Ceremony in 1981, it is clear that the crime victims' rights movement has had a profound impact on our entire nation. Thousands of laws have been passed in the last fifteen years and thousands of crime victim service programs have become established. A new day is dawning for crime victims. It is a day when all crime victims are treated with dignity and respect and have the right to participate fully in criminal justice proceedings related to their cases. During the week of April 21 to 27, 1996, we have the opportunity to pay tribute to victims of crime and violence and to recognize the many advocates and allied professionals who provide much needed assistance and support. The theme for 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) is Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns. As we commemorate National Crime Victims' Rights Week this year, let us remember the earlier days and renew our commitment to ensuring the new days of fair treatment and comprehensive services for all victims. VALOR, the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc., is pleased to have the opportunity to produce the 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide with the support of the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. This Resource Guide contains a variety of materials that will assist you in planning your community and statewide activities to commemorate NCVRW. We are also very pleased that, for the first time in the history of our field, the Guide is ready for your use four months before NCVRW. VALOR is a national non-profit crime victims' advocacy organization. To produce this Guide, VALOR tapped the outstanding talents of consultants Christine Edmunds and Anne Seymour. We are also grateful to the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. for assisting to conduct an art contest for students. Selected Corcoran students' work is contained in this year's Resource Guide. In addition, we are pleased to have 24 national organizations join us as co-sponsors. This year, the devastating impact of crime will be felt by forty-four million people in America. As you strive to respond to the needs of crime victims in your community, we hope that your National Crime Victims' Rights Week activities will bring new attention and resources to assist victims and combat crime. Sincerely, Eric Smith Jane Nady Burnley, Ph.D. President Executive Director ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS VALOR greatly appreciates the confidence and support of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, especially Celestine Williams, who served as our Federal Project Officer. We are also grateful for the outstanding work of our consultants, Christine Edmunds, Anne Seymour, Jann Taylor, and Kathylynn Beiro, who ensured the completion of this project in time for an early January distribution of the 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide to the field. We would also like to recognize Mothers Against Drunk Driving for the contribution of a full-size color poster that will be distributed with each 1996 Resource Guide. Finally, we appreciate the many individuals and organizations who shared their ideas with us so that we could share them with you. Resource Guide Co-authors Jane Nady Burnley, Ph.D. Christine N. Edmunds Anne K. Seymour Rev. David W. Delaplane E. B. (Skip) Sigmon III Contributing Organizations and Individuals The Corcoran School of Art Beth Saidel, Director of Student Services Student Art Contest Winners: Kevin S. Hanna Shadi Ardalan Robert E. Lee, III Ronnie Williams Andersen Consulting Mothers Against Drunk Driving National Crime Prevention Council National Victim Center The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services Graphic Design Jennifer Spalding, Park Graphics ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Co-sponsoring Organizations American Correctional Association Victims Committee American Probation and Parole Association Association of Paroling Authorities International California State University-Fresno, Victim Services Institute Center for the Study of Crime Victims' Rights, Remedies, and Resources Childhelp, Tyler Village Foundation Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. Family Violence Prevention Fund Mothers Against Drunk Driving National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards National Center on Elder Abuse National Center for Missing and Exploited Children National Coalition Against Domestic Violence National Coalition Against Sexual Assault National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center National District Attorneys Association National Organization for Victim Assistance National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse National Resource Center on Domestic Violence National Victim Center Neighbors Who Care Parents of Murdered Children, Inc. Police Executive Research Forum The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services VALOR, Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc. "This product was supported by Grant Number 95-VF-GX-K009 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs coordinates the activities of the following program offices and bureaus: Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice." TIPS FOR USING THE RESOURCE GUIDE INTRODUCTION National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) is a time-honored tradition that has been observed for 15 years by crime victims and those who serve them in the United States. The 1996 NCVRW Resource Guide, published by the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR) and the Office for Victims of Crime -- with co- sponsorship from 24 additional national organizations -- is designed to help victim service providers plan and implement public awareness activities to commemorate this special week. The theme for 1996 NCVRW is "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns." The theme reflects the optimism that drives America's victims' rights movement, as well as the opportunities that emerge with every new day of victims' rights and services. It is reflected in all the Resource Guide components and, similar to most of the contents of this Guide, can be utilized throughout the year in public education and community outreach efforts. The contents of the NCVRW Resource Guide include: public education and community awareness materials; information about resources available free from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, both in paper and electronic formats; resources for the news media to help promote NCVRW; statistical overviews that address 13 topics relevant to crime and victimization; a list of 17 toll-free information and referral numbers for victim assistance; and camera-ready artwork for posters, brochures, bookmarks, buttons and NCVRW letterhead. Victim advocates and allied professionals should take a few moments to review these tips for using the NCVRW Resource Guide, which provide useful ideas for utilizing these valuable resources to ensure the best implementation of 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week. The tips are listed in the order in which the contents appear in the Guide. RESOURCE GUIDE CO-SPONSORS Twenty-four national organizations have joined with VALOR and the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime to co-sponsor the 1996 NCVRW Resource Guide. We are pleased that our co-sponsors encompass a wide range of national organizations, including national resource centers on subjects of importance in our field. Each co-sponsor has provided a description of its activities and contact information. As you review this material you will find numerous resources that are available to assist you in your ongoing work on behalf of crime victims. FIELD-INITIATED IDEAS FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS & OUTREACH The most creative, innovative public education and community outreach ideas implemented during past NCVRWs are included in the field-initiated ideas for community outreach and education. VALOR carefully reviews all ideas submitted with Resource Guide evaluation forms and contacts individual states to determine exemplary activities sponsored by state and local victim service providers. SAMPLE PLANNING COMMITTEE LETTER The strength of victims' rights and services is largely dependent on a community's ability to form a strong coalition to promote positive action for victims of crime. Therefore, the establishment of a NCVRW Planning Committee will enhance all public education and community outreach efforts to promote 1996 NCVRW. Utilizing the enclosed sample NCVRW letterhead and sample planning committee letter, victim service providers can invite allied professionals to attend a planning session. These include, but are not limited to: * All crime victim service providers. * Crime victims. * Criminal justice and corrections officials. * News media. * School officials. * Mental health officials. * Health officials. * Social service professionals. * Adult and child protective services. * Clergy members. * Higher education (faculty and student associations). * Civic leaders. * Local dignitaries. * Elected officials. The sample planning committee letter explains the purpose of NCVRW, invites organizations and individuals to join in an NCVRW coalition, and includes information to be completed regarding the time, date and location of the first planning meeting. SAMPLE PROCLAMATION Each year, hundreds of state and local officials and agencies issue official proclamations or resolutions that officially proclaim the week of April 21 to 27 to be "(state/local) Crime Victims' Rights Week." The sample proclamation can be offered to such officials and entities as a foundation upon which to draft an official proclamation that is specific to each jurisdiction's needs. Data from the statistical overviews included in the Guide can be useful for refining the sample proclamation. Victim advocates should request multiple copies of any proclamations that are issued that can be framed for the offices of the many organizations that co-sponsor 1996 NCVRW activities. SAMPLE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS One of the best way to promote victims' rights and services is through the broadcasting of public service announcements (PSAs). The six sample PSAs can be utilized for either radio or television stations. Each PSA should be personalized to include contact information for local victim services, along with any relevant data that accurately reflect crime and victimization in the area in which the PSAs are broadcast. Victim advocates should contact local radio and television stations at least six weeks prior to NCVRW, and ask to speak to the public service director. S/he can provide guidelines about whether the station accepts PSAs and the format that is preferable. While some stations simply accept PSA scripts that are read by on-air "personalities," others ask that the scripts be read by a representative from the organization that submits them. Be sure to understand and follow any guidelines that radio and television stations provide! SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE Once victim service providers have completed their plans to commemorate NCVRW, it is helpful to send a general press release to local print and broadcast media that highlights key activities they will sponsor. The sample press release, which includes a national perspective and a quotation from the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime, can be easily personalized to state and local jurisdictions. The sample NCVRW letterhead included in the camera-ready artwork of the Resource Guide can be utilized for the press release. Usually, local libraries have a reference book that lists print and broadcast media nationwide that can help create a current media mailing list. SAMPLE OPINION/EDITORIAL COLUMN The opinion/editorial page(s) are the most frequently read section of newspapers. The sample opinion/editorial column should be personalized and expanded to reflect information pertinent to the community in which it will be published (such as current crime statistics, personal victims' vignettes, information about local victim services, etc.). The column can also be submitted to local radio and/or television stations as an actuality, which is a 60 second statement of opinion that is usually read on air by the author. Victim service providers should consider submitting the opinion/editorial column or radio/television actuality from a local NCVRW Planning Committee or coalition. Remember to use the sample NCVRW letterhead for printing the opinion/editorial column or broadcast actuality! SAMPLE SPEECH Victim service providers should start early to schedule speaking engagements during 1996 NCVRW. Potential audiences include: civic organizations; allied professional groups; schools, colleges and universities (both classes, general assemblies, and student/faculty organizations); criminal justice and victims' rights conferences; and churches. The sample speech reflects the 1996 NCVRW theme and offers a broad national perspective about the current status of victims' rights and services. It should be personalized to reflect local issues and concerns, as well as to publicize the valuable victims' rights and services available in the community in which the speech is delivered. SAMPLE SERMON Support from the religious community for NCVRW, as well as for victims' rights and needs, can greatly enhance public outreach efforts. Many ministers and rabbis, when requested, are willing to incorporate messages relevant to victims' rights and services in their sermons to commemorate NCVRW. Victim service providers should contact religious leaders at least six weeks prior to NCVRW to determine if they are willing to address crime victims' rights and needs in their sermons on Sunday, April 21. Any clergy members or rabbis who are willing to do so should be provided with the sample sermon, which was written by Reverend David Delaplane, the Director of The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services, who has provided a sample sermon for NCVRW Resource Guides since 1990. NOTABLE QUOTABLES This Resource Guide contains a variety of quotations that address the NCVRW theme and other salient issues relevant to victims' rights and victim justice. The notable quotables can be utilized in speeches, brochures, and all public outreach publications and activities sponsored during NCVRW and throughout the year. OVC RESOURCE CENTER AND OTHER INFORMATION SERVICES Victim service providers have the opportunity to receive valuable information about victims' rights and services, criminal justice, crime prevention and other important issues on an ongoing basis from the OVC Resource Center and NCJRS, in both paper and electronic formats. Specific details about how to access information are included in this section, including a sampling of crime victim-related Internet sites. An NCJRS, registration form also accompanies this NCVRW Resource Guide. Advocates can build an impressive library with the most current research and literature available relevant to crime and victimization by completing the NCJRS registration form and indicating specific areas of interest and information needs. RESOURCES ON CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION FROM NCJRS The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) within the U.S. Department of Justice publishes myriad documents that contain information about research, evaluation, training and technical assistance relevant to crime victims and criminal justice. Information including the titles, year of publication, and order numbers for 45 excellent documents available free from NCJRS are included in the Resource Guide. Instructions for ordering these publications by contacting the NCJRS toll-free 800 number are also included. RESOURCE GUIDE EVALUATION The feedback that VALOR receives from organizations that utilize the Resource Guide is essential to improving and expanding future NCVRW Resource Guides. When completing this brief form, victim service providers should specify which resources in the Guide are most helpful and least helpful. In addition, respondents are encouraged to attach any documentation of activities and special events they sponsor during 1996 NCVRW. The most creative ideas will be included in the Field-initiated Ideas for Public Awareness and Outreach section in the 1997 Resource Guide! HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS The incredible accomplishments, struggles and victories of America's victims' rights movement are incorporated into this impressive document, which was contributed to the Resource Guide by the National Victim Center. The landmark achievements of the past 23 years are highlighted in Crime Victims' Rights in America: An Historical Overview, which can be reproduced as a document on its own, or incorporated into speeches, brochures and other public outreach activities sponsored during NCVRW and throughout the year. There is a space on the final page for organizations to add personal contact information. STATISTICAL OVERVIEWS One of the most popular components of the Resource Guide is the collection of statistical overviews that address the full spectrum of crime and victimization. The 13 one-page statistical overviews -- which include a space to personalize with the sponsoring organization's contact information -- can be utilized as a "stand alone" document (which can be easily replicated and/or faxed) or incorporated into any public education or community awareness publications. Efforts have been made to incorporate the most current and accurate data which address crime and victimization in the United States today. SAMPLE CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION A certificate of appreciation is included in this year's Resource Guide, honoring victim service providers for their contributions to victims. The certificate can be reproduced on attractive card stock, with the recipient's name written in calligraphy. Spaces for the date of the award and the signature of the Director of the organization giving the award are provided. You may also wish to modify the certificate to honor volunteers who assist crime victims and advocates, tying the event into National Volunteer Recognition Month which is commemorated in April each year. 1996 NCVRW RESOURCE GUIDE COMPUTER DISK ORDER FORM The major components of the 1996 NCVRW Resource Guide -- with the exception of the camera-ready artwork -- are available on WordPerfect 6.1 computer disk. By ordering the disk, victim advocates can save considerable time and human resources by having complete documents, ready to personalize, easily accessible. Information about ordering the computer disk is included on the order form. REPRODUCIBLE BROCHURES AND ART Two brochures contributed to the Resource Guide by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) address domestic violence and street safety. Both are printed in English and Spanish. The brochures can be easily replicated and personalized with local organizations' contact information, and offer valuable information about both crime awareness and victim assistance. Also, a poster design that proved very popular last year, In America, Victims' Rights Start Here, has been re-designed to depict the 1996 NCVRW theme and dates. CAMERA-READY ARTWORK Perhaps the most replicated component of the NCVRW Resource Guide is the camera-ready artwork. Much of the artwork resulted from a national poster contest sponsored by VALOR and OVC at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., with artwork submitted by students. The possibilities for utilizing the artwork during NCVRW and throughout the year are simply endless. Various pieces can be utilized as "stand alone" documents or incorporated into publications such as brochures, annual reports, and fact sheets. They can also be copied onto overhead transparencies for use in training programs. The 1996 Resource Guide camera-ready artwork reflects the theme of NCVRW, along with other salient issues relevant to crime and victimization. When appropriate, the artwork can be personalized with local victim service providers' contact information. Local printers may be willing to donate printing services and/or paper, or provide these services at a reduced cost. The five categories of artwork include: 1. A variety of posters addressing the NCVRW theme, family violence, child abuse, drunk driving, and crime prevention is included in the Resource Guide. Posters can be enlarged and/or reduced for use in newsletters, brochures, and even as billboards. Victim service providers should insert their organization's contact information prior to replicating the poster artwork. 2. The artwork for buttons can be printed in one or two colors to add dimension to the message. 3. The bookmarks should be printed on two sides: One includes the poster artwork message, with the other side containing the list of 17 national toll-free information and referral numbers for victim assistance and criminal justice. The bookmarks print best on paper that is at least 80 pound stock. 4. The list of national toll-free information and referral telephone numbers can be reprinted as a "stand alone" document or incorporated into other victim service organizations' publications. This list can also be utilized for training and technical assistance, especially for criminal justice and allied professionals who are always seeking good referral programs for the victims with whom they have contact. 5. The is the first year that the NCVRW Resource Guide has included sample letterhead and logos. The purpose of this component is to encourage coalitions and/or NCVRW planning committees to show a united effort under one banner: 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Victim service providers may wish to type the list of NCVRW Planning Committee members in 8 point type on the left side of the letterhead prior to reproducing it. Logos can be used on brochures, programs, invitations, centerpieces, etc. Also, color can be easily incorporated to add more depth to the designs. RESOURCE GUIDE CO-SPONSORS American Correctional Association Victims Committee 700 East Franklin, Center Building, 4th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: 804-371-0692 Fax: 804-371-0773 Contact: Fred L. Finkbeiner, Chairman, ACA Victims Committee The American Correctional Association (ACA) is a national organization for professionals in the field of corrections. The membership includes institutional corrections, both civilian and military; jails; probation and parole; volunteer organizations; and victim advocates. In addition to the administrative staff of the ACA and the various elected executive officers, there are a number of standing committees, one being the Victims Committee. The Victims Committee is made up of 21 members from across the country, who have been or are actively involved in victims' issues. The primary areas of attention for the Victims Committee are: to recommend national research, training and technical assistance projects for ACA to pursue relating to victims; to continue to develop ACA's policies on victims of juvenile crime; to educate ACA members on the elements of restorative justice; and to develop and propose methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness of victim services programs in corrections. American Probation and Parole Association c/o The Council of State Governments P.O. Box 11910 Lexington, KY 40578-1910 Phone: 606-244-8215 Fax: 606-244-8001 Contact: Tracy Godwin, Victim Services Specialist The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) is an international association composed of individuals from the United States and Canada actively involved in community-based corrections, in both the adult and juvenile sectors. APPA produces a variety of research documents and serves as a clearinghouse of information on topics of interest to community corrections professionals. In addition, APPA conducts training workshops, symposiums and training institutes to educate the community corrections field about pertinent issues, including the importance of incorporating victim services within probation and parole. Association of Paroling Authorities International P.O. Box 211 California, MO 65018 Phone: 314-796-2113 Fax: 314-796-2114 Contact: Gail Hughes The Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI) is a professional organization for paroling authorities and individuals with responsibilities in the field of parole. APAI's membership is drawn from Federal, state and provincial governments. APAI serves to advance the profession of parole decision-making and release practices and to foster the understanding, continuity, development and integrity of this criminal justice discipline. The Association provides a forum for exchanging useful information on significant developments and trends in the field of parole through its periodic newsletter and its regional and annual conferences. California State University-Fresno, Victim Services Institute 2225 East San Ramon Avenue Fresno, California 93740-0104 Phone: 209-278-4223 Fax: 209-278-7265 E-mail: harveywallace@csufresno.edu Contact: Harvey Wallace, Director, Justice Center and Victim Services Institute In 1995, California State University-Fresno (CSUF) became the first University in the nation to develop and conduct a program of study in victim services. Today CSUF offers an undergraduate degree in victimology and a victimology concentration in the criminology masters degree program, and serves as the academic coordinator for the Office for Victims of Crime National Victim Assistance Academy. The Victim Services Institute at CSUF has been in existence for seven years, and offers a concentrated program of study conducted over a four week period each summer. The primary goal of the 12-unit (180 hour) program is to provide the knowledge, foundation and skills needed for work with crime victims. The Summer Institute is open to both CSU students and professionals from the field. Center for the Study of Crime Victims' Rights, Remedies, and Resources University of New Haven West Haven, CT 06516 Phone: 203-932-7041 Fax: 203-931-6030 Contact: Mario Thomas Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D., Director The Center for the Study of Crime Victims' Rights, Remedies, and Resources was established to contribute to improving the treatment of victims of crime in the criminal and civil justice systems, and to expand our knowledge about crime victims' needs and how best to meet them. The various projects currently offered by the Center, and those in development, include: (1) academic courses and professional training in victimology; (2) field research studies and independent program evaluation services; (3) technical assistance, strategic planning and management consultation for victim services programs; (4) conferences, symposia and publications in the victim's field, (5) inter-university and other scholarly programs related to crime victim research, legal rights and supportive services; and (6) legislative and public policy analysis and advocacy. The Center is housed in the School of Public Safety and Professional Studies of the University of New Haven. Childhelp, Tyler Village Foundation The Village of Childhelp East 120 North Lee Highway Falls Church, VA 22046 Contact: Iris Beekurth Phone: 703-241-9100 Fax: 703-241-9105 Childhelp USA/IOF Foresters National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD Contact: David Kurtz Phone: 213-465-4016 Fax: 213-465-3933 Childhelp USA operates the National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD) providing 24-hour professional crisis counseling and referral services in all 50 states. Childhelp also provides counseling for adult and teen survivors of abuse at its Los Angeles Center, residential treatment for abused children at its Villages in California and Virginia, abuse investigation services at its Children's Advocacy Centers in Tennessee and New York, and abuse prevention programs at the Falls Church, Virginia office. Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. P.O. Box 3199 Camdenton, MO 65020 Phone: 314-346-4911 Fax: 314-346-1414 Contact: Suzanne F. Sawyer, Executive Director Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS) provides assistance, guidance, understanding, compassion, empathy, and hope for the future through peer-support to survivors of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Furthermore, COPS educates law enforcement agencies on survivor issues and raises public awareness of the need to assist and support the law enforcement profession and its survivors. Family Violence Prevention Fund 383 Rhode Island, Suite 304 San Francisco, CA 94103-5133 Phone: 415-252-8900 Fax: 415-252-8991 Contact: Lisa James The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FUND) is a national, nonprofit organization that focuses on domestic violence education, prevention, and public policy reform. The overriding mission of the FUND is to stem the epidemic of domestic violence in our homes. Throughout its history, the FUND has developed pioneering prevention strategies in the justice, public education, and public health fields. The FUND's publications and model programs have been distributed to every state and several foreign countries. The FUND's "There's No Excuse for Domestic Violence" campaign is the first national public education effort on this subject. Mothers Against Drunk Driving 511 E. John Carpenter Frwy., Suite 700 Irving, TX 75062-8187 Phone: 214-744-MADD Fax: 214-869-2206/2207 Contact: Janice Harris Lord, National Director, Victim Programs Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was established in 1980, primarily by two mothers, one whose daughter was killed and another whose daughter became the country's youngest paraplegic as a result of drunk driving. Both crashes were caused by multiple offenders. MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving and support victims of this violent crime. MADD has more than 500 active state organizations, chapters, and community action teams throughout the nation. All chapters have at least one trained victim advocate who offers one-on-one support, literature, and court accompaniment. Many chapters also offer Victim Impact Panels, a healing experience for victims, and victim support groups. National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards P.O. Box 16003 Alexandria, VA 22302 Phone/Fax: 703-370-2996 Contact: Dan Eddy, Executive Director Founded in 1977, the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards promotes a nationwide network for the exchange of information and ideas among state and local victim compensation agencies. With compensation programs now operating in every state in the country, plus Washington D.C., Guam and the Virgin Islands, the Association's goal is to advance better methods for serving crime victims through sound administrative practices, focusing on fiscal stability, efficient and expeditious processing and decision making, and effective outreach, communication and advocacy. The Association, through its annual and regional conferences, its Crime Victim Compensation Quarterly, its special reports, updates and surveys, and its information resource and referral capabilities, provides support for its members and fosters an interchange of experience and expertise. The Association maintains an executive office in Washington, D.C., from which it strives to represent the interests of its members. National Center on Elder Abuse 810 First Street, NE, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20002-4267 Phone: 202-682-0100 Fax: 202-289-6555 Contact: Toshio Tatara, (Ph.D.), Center Director The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), established in September, 1993, is operated by a consortium of four organizations: The American Public Welfare Association (APWA), the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASUA), the University of Delaware College of Human Resources, and the National Committee for Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA). The Center manages a Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly (CANE), the nation's only automated, elder abuse literature search and retrieval system; publishes the quarterly newsletter NCEA EXCHANGE; compiles and disseminates "best practice" information; trains professionals and concerned citizens on elder abuse; distributes technical assistance memoranda on issues of importance to adult protective services (APS) and aging agencies; collects elder abuse statistics; performs research studies using data collected from agencies; analyzes state laws addressing elder abuse; provides agencies with assistance in improving their elder abuse information systems; and responds to inquiries about elder abuse from the public. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 550 Arlington, VA 22201-3052 Phone: 800-THE-LOST/800-843-5678 Fax: 703-235-4067 Contact: Margie Kazdin The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) serves as a national clearinghouse and resource center on issues relating to child victimization, specifically the abduction and sexual exploitation of American youth. Opened in June, 1984, the National Center works in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the U.S. Department of Justice in an effort to reduce crimes against children and better address the needs of victim families and the professionals serving them. The National Center operates a 24-hour, toll-free hotline for parents to call to report a missing child; the public to relay information which could lead to a child's recovery; or for citizens to request free information on child protection. Since the National Center's establishment, the hotline has received approximately 900,000 calls, and over 11 million publications have been distributed. In addition to networking with other nonprofit organizations, NCMEC staff works closely with law enforcement, child protective services, victim advocacy organizations, medical professionals, legislators, attorneys and judges in an effort to begin to close the gap in services for parents and siblings of missing and exploited children. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence P.O. Box 34103 Washington, D.C. 20043-4103 Phone: 202-638-6388 Fax: 202-628-4899 P.O. Box 18749 Denver, CO 80218-0749 Phone: 303-839-1852 Fax: 303-831-9825 The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is the only national organization representing the over 2,000 grassroots programs and shelters serving battered women and their children of all backgrounds in rural and urban areas throughout the United States. NCADV opposes the use of violence as a means of control over others, and supports equality in relationships and strategies for helping women assume power over their own lives. Formed in 1978, NCADV is a private non-profit organization. National Coalition Against Sexual Assault 912 North Second Street Harrisburg, PA 17102-3119 Phone: 717-232-7460 Fax: 717-232-6771 Contact: Beverly Harris-Elliott The National Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) is a membership organization committed to the prevention of sexual violence through intervention, education, advocacy and public policy. NCASA promotes and advocates a national course of action based on the sexual assault victim/survivor's perspective within a feminist framework. NCASA works toward the empowerment of all victims/survivors: children and adults, women and men. Major NCASA initiatives include hosting an annual National Conference and Women of Color Institute as well as producing resources for National Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center Medical University of South Carolina 171 Ashley Avenue Charleston, SC 29425-0742 Phone: 803-792-2945 Fax: 803-792-3388 Homepage: http://www.musc.edu/cvc/ Contact: Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Professor and Director The National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) is a division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston. Since 1974 the faculty and staff of the NCVC have been devoted to achieving a better understanding of the impact of criminal victimization and trauma on adults, children and their families. The many activities and contributions of the NCVC faculty to the crime victim and child abuse fields have been recognized nationally and internationally. Program activities focus in four major areas: scientific research, professional education, clinical services, and public policy consultation. National District Attorneys Association 99 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 510 Alexandria, VA 22314-1588 Phone: 703-549-9222 Fax: 703-836-3195 Contact: Dr. J. Panogopoulos, Deputy Director The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) is the largest and premier professional association of prosecuting attorneys in the United States. In carrying out its mission -- "To be the voice of America's prosecutors and to support the efforts to protect the safety of the people" -- NDAA provides professional guidance and support to its members, serves as a resource and education center, follows public policy issues involving criminal justice and law enforcement and produces a number of publications, including The Prosecutor, a bi-monthly magazine, and the National Prosecution Standards. National Organization for Victim Assistance 1757 Park Road, NW Washington, DC 20010 Phone: 202-232-6682 Fax: 202-462-2255 Contact: Marlene A. Young, Ph.D., J.D., Executive Director Founded in 1975, the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) is the oldest of the many broad-based victim rights groups now found worldwide. A nonprofit, membership organization, NOVA is guided by four purposes: to be of service to its members; to be an advocate for victim rights and services in Federal, state, and local legislatures and executive agencies; to be a training and educational resource to victim assistance and allied professionals (including police, prosecutors, clergy members, and health and mental health professionals); and to be of direct service to victims who call the NOVA offices or who have suffered in a large-scale disaster to which a NOVA "Crisis Response Team" (composed of trained volunteers) has been invited to help in the emotional recovery. NOVA publishes a Newsletter and holds two annual events: the National Forum on Victims' Rights held during NCVRW in Washington, DC, and the North American Victim Assistance Conference held in August. National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse 2204 Whitesburg Drive, Suite 200 Huntsville, Alabama 35801 Phone: 205-534-6868 Fax: 205-534-6883 The National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse provides technical support to all professionals who work with sexually abused children and their families. The Center's services benefit social workers, law enforcement investigators, medical personnel, therapists, researchers, administrators, prosecutors, teachers, judges, volunteers and others. Services include information, referrals, technical assistance and training. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence 6400 Flank Drive, Suite 1300 Harrisburg, PA 17112-2778 Phone: 800-537-2238 Fax: 717-545-9456 Contact: Nita Carter The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRC) provides comprehensive information, resources, policy development and technical assistance designed to enhance community response to and prevention of domestic violence. The NRC works closely with three Special Issue Resource Centers to coordinate information and resource development and technical assistance. The NRC and the following Special Issue Resource Centers work together as the Domestic Violence Resource Network: * Battered Women's Justice Project 800-903-0111 Minneapolis, MN - Provides training, technical assistance and other resources addressing criminal and civil justice system responses to domestic violence and issues related to battered women's self-defense. * Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence 800-313-1310 San Francisco, CA - Provides specialized information packets designed to strengthen the health care system's response to domestic violence, as well as technical assistance and library services to support health care-based domestic violence training and program development. * Resource Center on Child Protection and Custody 800-527-3223 Reno, NV - Provides resource materials, consultation, technical assistance and legal research related to child protection and custody in the context of domestic violence. National Victim Center 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-276-2880 Fax: 703-276-2889 Contact: David Beatty 555 Madison Avenue, Suite 2001 New York, NY 10022 Phone: 212-753-6880 Contact: Rachel Shearer The National Victim Center is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1985 in honor of Sunny von Bulow. The Center is dedicated to reducing the consequences of crime on victims and society by promoting victims' rights and victim assistance, and enhancing the dignity and value of human life by eliminating America's acceptance of violence. The many programs of the National Victim Center include: training and technical assistance to strengthen the abilities of victim advocates and criminal justice officials to assist and support crime victims; a legislative database containing over 27,000 statutes relevant to violence, victimization and criminal justice issues which support the public policy program efforts to establish, expand and protect victims' rights through legislation and policy development; a library with the nation's most comprehensive collection addressing crime and victimization issues; Infolink (1-800-FYI-CALL), a comprehensive source of crime victimization information and referrals to local victim assistance programs; and the Carrington Victims' Litigation Project offering a centralized source of civil cases brought by victims of crime, as well as attorney referrals operating in this field. Neighbors Who Care P.O. Box 16079 Washington, D.C. 20041 Phone: 703-904-7311 Fax: 703-478-0452 Contact: Lisa Barnes Neighbors Who Care (NWC) mobilizes and equips local churches to provide practical assistance to victims of crime. Through the efforts of trained volunteers, NWC provides crime victims with prompt assistance that includes property repair, supportive listening, emergency food and clothing, transportation, and relocation assistance. In addition to meeting practical needs, volunteers are also trained to provide emotional and spiritual support. Parents of Murdered Children, Inc. 100 East Eighth Street, Suite B-41 Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513-721-5683 Fax: 513-345-4489 Contact: Nancy Ruhe-Munch, Executive Director The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, Inc., is the only national self-help group dedicated solely to providing support and education for the families and friends of those who have died by homicide. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the organization has Chapters and Contact Persons across the United States. National Headquarters of POMC also coordinates many special programs and services to assist survivors of murder victims, including the Parole Block Program, a petition system to help prevent the early parole or release of convicted murderers; Murder is Not Entertainment (MINE), an awareness campaign designed to decrease the acceptance of "murdertainment" in today's society; Second Opinion Services (S.O.S.), which provides second opinions/assistance for unsolved or complicated cases, by members of POMC's S.O.S Board which is comprised of medical, law enforcement and investigative experts; and the Murder Wall...Honoring Their Memories, a traveling tribute to the memory of all murdered loved ones. The growing Wall carries the names of homicide victims on engraved, solid walnut plaques as a vivid reminder of the need to stop the violence. Police Executive Research Forum 1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 930 Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone: 202-466-7820 Fax: 202-466-7826 Contact: Mr. Cliff Karchmer 11815 East 28th Street Tulsa, OK 74129 Phone: 918-627-5700 Contact: Drew Diamond The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is a national membership and research organization of progressive police executives from the largest city, county and state law enforcement agencies. PERF is dedicated to improving policing and advancing professionalism through research and involvement in public policy debate. PERF's primary sources of operating revenues are government grants and contracts and partnerships with private foundations and other organizations. PERF was founded to improve the delivery of police services and crime control nationwide; encourage debate of police and criminal justice issues within the law enforcement community; implement and promote the use of law enforcement research; and provide national leadership, technical assistance and vital management services to police agencies. PERF has performed a number of studies and designed training materials on a variety of victims' issues, including the instructor's discussion guide for the OVC video, In Crime's Wake. The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services P.O. Box 6736 Denver, CO 80206-0736 Phone: 303-333-8810 Fax: 303-333-8805 Contact: Rev. David W. Delaplane, Executive Director The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services is a non-profit educational organization established in 1984 to educate the religious community -- all faiths -- in violence prevention and survivor assistance. This organization provides training for clergy and religious leaders on crime victim assistance, and for victim service providers on methods of involving the religious community. Their training manual, Victims: A Manual for Clergy and Congregations, is available at a reasonable cost upon request. VALOR, Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc. P.O. Box 862 McLean, VA 22101-0862 Phone/Fax: 703-538-6898 Contact: Jane Nady Burnley, Ph.D., Executive Director VALOR is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the rights of crime victims in the civil and criminal justice systems. Founded in 1981 by the late Frank Carrington, Esq., considered by many to be the "father of the crime victims' rights movement in America," VALOR is committed to carrying on Mr. Carrington's pioneering work on behalf of crime victims. VALOR's recent projects include administering the National Victim Assistance Academy, restitution reform, juvenile justice policy reform and production of the 1995 and 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide. With support from private and corporate foundations, individual contributions, and government grants, VALOR accomplishes its mission by: promoting public education and awareness about the rights and needs of crime victims; advancing victims' rights through public policy efforts on the Federal, state, and local levels; supporting criminal and civil justice reforms that hold offenders accountable to both crime victims and the community; enhancing the ability of crime victims to recover their losses and damages through restitution and civil litigation; and improving and expanding services for victims to assist in their emotional, financial, and physical recovery. FIELD-INITIATED IDEAS FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS AND OUTREACH Each year during National Crime Victims' Rights Week, victim assistance programs across the country organize memorial and commemorative events to expand public awareness of victims rights and services and to remember crime victims. This year's Resource Guide features a number of field-initiated activities, including highlights of NCVRW events across one state and an overview of how a victim services program utilized the 1995 Guide's artwork and ideas. We want to thank the many individuals that contributed creative and unique ideas contained in this section and hope that it assists you in planning and coordinating your NCVRW events! To receive sponsorships and to seek donations for your National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) activities, the following local business and civic organizations tie directly to this year's theme, "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns." * Greeting Card and Calendar Stores * Grocers * Coffee shops * Morning radio/television shows * Local nurseries * Plant and garden stores * Florists and flower shops COMMEMORATING CRIME VICTIMS NCVRW Events Across the State of Colorado Numerous events were held throughout the state of Colorado during 1995 NCVRW. The following overview highlights some of the unique ceremonies and activities that were held throughout the week. A salute to the creativity and commitment that went into these events, and, in addition, the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA) for providing this information. REMEMBRANCE TREE: The Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance developed a unique memorial for victims through the creation of a Remembrance Tree. The purpose of the tree was to "visually symbolize the victims who have touched the hearts of family, friends and professionals in the field." To create the tree, COVA mailed blank paper leaves to its members across the state. Over 1,120 of the brightly colored leaves were returned to COVA, with the names of victims printed on each one. The leaves were attached to a tree in Denver's Botanic Gardens, where COVA held a statewide NCVRW event that included a reading of the Governor's Proclamation, speeches and recognition awards. In addition, The Medicine Warriors -- a youth group representing several Indian nations whose members must remain in school, free of substance abuse and cannot be associated with gangs -- performed traditional Native American drumming, songs, dance and storytelling. The event generated wide media coverage and the Remembrance Tree provided a very visible and touching reminder of victims of crime. PROCLAMATION FROM A TRIBAL COUNCIL: The Southern Ute Victim Service Program in Ignacio, Colorado, in its first year of existence, was able to encourage the Tribal Council to proclaim NCVRW as Southern Ute Indian Tribe Crime Victims' Rights Week. This was an important milestone for the program because, in addition to the formal proclamation, the Tribal Council pledged to devote resources to helping crime victims throughout the year. TRAVELING ARTWORK DISPLAY: The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Team in Ft. Collins, Colorado utilized artwork created by victim survivors to create a "traveling artwork display" for NCVRW. The display was featured at a University, local malls, and at the County Courthouse during the week. In addition, they held a flag raising ceremony that launched a "Victim Justice" logo flag and a media campaign that resulted in advocates appearing on local television news, radio talk shows, and a Sunday feature in the local newspaper. ART AND POETRY SHOW: A "Survivors of Violence Art and Poetry Show" was organized by Survivors of Violence in Boulder, Colorado and was held at local art gallery during the last two weeks of April. The event included a formal opening, a poetry reading and art sales throughout the show. To help fund the event, Survivors of Violence enlisted the support of two local pizza parlors, which donated a percentage of their profits through the sale of special Pizza Pals that the organization helped market. COURAGE WALK: Victim Outreach Information helped raise funds to serve victims of crime in three communities (Edgewater, Golden and Wheat Ridge) through its "2nd Annual Courage Walk." Participants were asked to donate $10.00 for the registration fee or to raise $10.00 in pledges. To encourage school organizations to participate, schools were allowed to keep one half of the pledges they raised, donating the other half to Victim Outreach Information. BURRITOS ON THE BOULEVARD: Victim assistance agencies in Fremont County held a fundraiser during NCVRW entitled "Burritos on the Boulevard," where tickets were sold for $3.50, and all in attendance received theme-related seed packets. ROSE BUSHES -- DONATION AND PLANTING: A NCVRW celebration was held outside the Children's Advocacy Center in Colorado Springs, jointly sponsored by several criminal justice and victim services agencies. Local agencies donated rose bushes for planting at the Children's Advocacy Center, and extra rose bushes were planted at the Safehouse. REMEMBERING VICTIMS WITH A SONG: In previous years, a special "Remembrance Park" was created next to the Arapahoe County Justice Center to serve as a memorial to crime victims. During NCVRW, the District Attorney and law enforcement members of Victims Are A Priority, held a ceremony and reception for the dedication of a special song for the park. For additional information, please contact: Nancy Lewis, Executive Director Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance 789 Sherman Street, Suite 505 Denver, Colorado 80203 (303) 861-1160 UTILIZING THE RESOURCE GUIDE'S MATERIALS An Overview of 1995 NCVRW Activities in Arkadelphia, Arkansas With a total budget of two-hundred and fifty dollars, the Arkadelphia, Arkansas Victim Assistance Program organized and conducted a surprising number of activities and events during last year's NCVRW. Their experience is highlighted below to help illustrate how you can utilize the many ideas, materials, and camera-ready artwork in this Resource Guide for your NCVRW activities! Throughout NCVRW, the Arkadelphia Victim Assistance Program: * Distributed over 1200 brochures made from the camera-ready artwork in the Resource Guide to students K-6 in the Arkadelphia school system. The brochures were copied onto construction paper -- bright orange, purple and blue -- so that the parents would be sure and notice them among their child's regular school work. This year's Guide provides reproducible brochures -- both in English and in Spanish courtesy of the National Crime Prevention Council. * Enlisted the help of an off-duty police officer and a school board member to teach self-defense classes and to distribute crime prevention brochures to junior high and high school students. Certain classes were targeted in an attempt to reach as many female students as possible. Several teachers attended, and the athletic coaches brought their students to the classes. * Utilized the camera-ready artwork included the Resource Guide to create "seed packets" through copying the graphic design depicting the week's theme onto construction paper and gluing craft sticks on the back. These were distributed to local florists and gardening centers and placed in arrangements prepared during the week. In addition, they created a wreath for their office using the seed packets. This idea can be replicated in 1996 through reproducing the camera-ready NCVRW logo included in this Guide. It can be used for table top arrangements, wreaths, invitations --- and whatever else your imagination can create! * Created buttons for NCVRW by enlisting the volunteer help of an educational cooperative. The Victim Assistance program replicated the camera-ready button artwork on multi-colored construction paper and the educational cooperative made 100 buttons. * Reproduced the Resource Guide's camera-ready bookmarks and distributed them to the county and school libraries to be given out during the Week. * Based on ideas provided in the Resource Guide's sample press release, they typed up their own version of the press release and faxed it to all local papers and they "got ink on all of them." In addition, the local women's shelter sponsored a Chamber of Commerce coffee and held a tree planting ceremony. As the major event for NCVRW, the Arkadelphia Victim Assistance Program created a Memorial Display, described in a personal letter below. A VICTIM ADVOCATE'S VOICE: ORGANIZING A MEMORIAL DISPLAY Organizing NCVRW activities places additional burdens on victim service providers who are often struggling to keep up with the demands of their work. Realizing this, we have reproduced a letter from Becky Ursery, the Victim Caseworker in the Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Office of the Prosecutor. Her letter not only illustrates the detailed planning and coordination that can go into the creation and development of NCVRW events, but eloquently describes the personal rewards of going the extra mile during NCVRW! I decided early on to focus NCVRW this year on homicide and its continuing effect on the survivors as well as the general public. After much thought and prayer I decided to put up a memorial display at the county courthouse. My goal was to show homicide victims from birth to just before their death. I sent volunteers to the courthouse to dig through old criminal files and came up with the names of all homicide victims in our county since 1980. Next came the difficult task of locating the families of the victims and letting them know what we were wanting to do. A local bail bondsmen was a real fountain of information -- he remembered almost every case and gave me names of families from Clark County who had suffered through a homicide in a different county. We didn't exclude anyone. Next, we worked out an arrangement with the local printer to use his color copier (for free) so that we could copy photographs and return them to their owners. We then sent out around thirty packets of information and included cardboard mailers (that I had gotten free at a Boy Scout Expo the month before while doing dental impressions for a local scout troop) to return photographs and memorabilia. We promised to return the photographs in the mail the same day that we received them and were able to do this in all but one situation -- the copier was getting its 50,000 mile tune-up. I was thrilled when we started getting packages in the mail almost immediately! People were dropping things off at my office and I was getting to meet lots of homicide survivors from the years prior to our setting up our program. I was able to refer several families to Parents of Murdered Children and one to MADD. I was sad, but at the same time it was wonderful. We (myself and volunteers) would take the color copies of photographs, trim them, and then mount them on construction paper. The small "framed" prints were then mounted as a collage on poster board along with the victim's name, date of birth and date of death. The local office supply store was so helpful once they understood what we were doing and did everything they could to help us. We bought forty feet of black butcher paper and I explained to the manager of the office supply store that I was going to need to cut it in half once I got it and all of the problems that would entail. I ordered the paper over the phone and when it was delivered it was already cut in half! We then called upon the Sheriff's Office and Police Department for "Police Line-Do Not Cross" tape and glued that down the middle of the black paper. The Friday before Victims' Rights Week we went to the courthouse, set up a video camera and started putting up "the Wall." First, we put the black paper with the bright yellow tape all down on wall in the courthouse, from one end to the other. Then, we started putting up the photographs of the homicide victims. We could hardly get the display up on the wall because of the number of people stopping to look and ask questions. We had made small posters with the name and date of death on them for anyone who had not sent in photographs. Before we had finished putting up the display, I had commitment from another family to bring in photographs on Monday of their loved one to go up on "the Wall." On Tuesday, a local merchant whose daughter had been killed by a drunk driver showed up at my office with photographs and poem about his daughter and tearfully asked if she could be included. She was on the display before the courthouse closed that day. It was a moving experience for everyone involved. A friend of one of the families called me later in the week and thanked me for what we had done. I didn't know the person that called but they told me that the family that I had contacted had never gotten over their daughter's death. She was killed in the early '80's and the caller said that now the family had started healing. It had taken my letter and their participation to get them to finally come to terms with what had happened. What really surprised me about the entire experience was how hard it was on me. I knew these homicide victims, but, it never dawned on me that I knew them from their crime scene photographs only. To pull a photograph of one victim out of an envelope and see her as a three-year old with a silly wig on her head reduced me to tears. That's when I knew that the memorial display was worth every bit of hard work, sweat and all of the tears that went into it. Well, we got the wall up and people started coming. We got press in all of the local newspapers and more people came. We contacted the schools and students started coming. It was amazing, people who usually only came to the courthouse to pay their taxes were taking their lunch hours to come and see our display. The group of retired men who meet for coffee twice a week made a special trip to see the display. It was amazing! People would stop me on the street and in the grocery store to tell me what an impact the display had on them. And the greatest part of it all -- I've started receiving requests from families to have their loved ones photographs on the wall Next Year! The media center at the local University (Henderson State University) agreed to help make a video of the display as it was being created and of people looking at the display after it was put up. The video will be put to music, copied and sent to the families who trusted the organizers with their most precious memories. For additional information, please contact: Becky Ursery, Victim Caseworker Office of the Prosecutor, Clark County 201 North 10th Street Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923 (501) 246-9868 WISCONSIN CRIME VICTIMS' COUNCIL Ceremony at the Rotunda of the State Capital An annual Victims' Rights Week Observance is sponsored by the Wisconsin Crime Victims' Council in Madison, Wisconsin. The Council was created by statute in 1982 to serve as an advisory board to the Attorney General and as an advocacy body for victims of crime in Wisconsin. In 1994, the Council held a ceremony in the Rotunda of the State Capitol to remember survivors of homicide victims. Following remarks by the State Attorney General, the Chairperson of the Crime Victims' Council, a survivor of homicide, and other victim advocates, a specially made wood-carved map of the state was presented. The map was large enough to display flowers from victim survivors representing each of the counties in the state. During the ceremony, four representatives of survivors read statistics about homicides in the state, and audience members participated by stepping forward and speaking about a person they knew who had been a victim of a homicide. As they spoke, each was given a carnation to place on the map of Wisconsin in memory of the deceased. The ceremony concluded with songs by a fifth and sixth grade choir from a local elementary school. In addition to the ceremony, victim resources were displayed in the Capitol Rotunda throughout NCVRW. Survivors of Incest were recognized through the display of two banners that were created from quilt pieces made by incest survivors as part of the Banner Project. In recognition of violence against children, a quilt made by the Women's Horizons of Kenosha, created from quilt pieces made by children who have lived in a violent environment was also displayed. In addition, the display included information from Parents of Murdered Children, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Wisconsin Committee on the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Attorney General's Crime Prevention Resource Center. For additional information, please contact: Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services P.O. Box 7951 Madison, Wisconsin 53707 HOMICIDE VIGIL AT A NATIONAL PARK IN PENNSYLVANIA For the past four years, the Crime Victims' Center of Chester County and the Victim Services Center of Montgomery County, have jointly sponsored a Homicide Vigil at Valley Forge National Park in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Park Service provides space each year for the Vigil, either outside or in a chapel on the Park's grounds. The vigil is a unique partnership between criminal justice agencies, victim services programs and the U.S. Park Service. Each year at least ten local and state police agencies participate, with contributions ranging from submitting names of victims from cases they have worked on, to providing honor guards for the ceremony, to staging a helicopter fly-over tribute to crime victims during the ceremony. The vigil also serves as a tribute to police officers killed in the line of duty. Speakers include a survivor and a police officer from each county, and other criminal justice officials. Tributes are given to homicide victims, including: the reading of victims' names, the burning of candles, and a display of photographs. The Valley Forge Chapel Boy's Choir provides a musical tribute. To generate public awareness of the vigil, the two victim services programs issue press releases to all local media, and the coverage of the vigil is always extensive. Attendance at the vigil is increasing each year, with over 125 individuals participating in 1995. For additional information, please contact: Peggy Gusz, Executive Director Crime Victims' Center of Chester County 236 West Market Street West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382 (610) 692-7420 A COMMUNITY AWARENESS FORUM ON VIOLENCE A Collaboration Between the Health and Justice Communities To raise community awareness on the impact of violence, The Victim-Witness Assistance Program in the Savannah, Georgia District Attorney's Office, sponsored a community awareness Forum on Violence at a local auditorium during National Crime Victims' Rights Week. The featured speaker was a local emergency room physician that specializes in treating trauma patients. The speaker provided his unique perspective on the range of traumatic injuries seen in the emergency room and the type of violence occurring in the community. The forum served to highlight the medical community's concern about violence, and focused attention on the need for collaborative efforts to reduce violence between the health and justice communities. The Victim-Witness Assistance Program worked with local television outlets to develop public service announcements for broadcast in order to generate community-wide attendance. Over 100 individuals attended the Forum. In addition, the program invited all the criminal justice agencies and crime prevention and victim assistance programs in the county to participate in a resource fair. Tables were set up in the lobby of the auditorium, providing a multitude of free information. For additional information, please contact: Helen Smith, Director, Victim-Witness Assistance Program Office of District Attorney Spencer Lawton, Jr. P.O. Box 2309 Savannah, Georgia 31412 (912) 652-7329 FUNDRAISING FOR YOUR PROGRAM Hold a NCVRW Barbecue A unique fundraising event has been held to raise money for emergency crime victim assistance by the Sheriff of Chesapeake, Virginia for the past fifteen years. The event each year is held in a farmer's cornfield. In its first year, the barbecue attracted 800 supporters. During the following years, the Sheriff effectively marketed the concept to the business and civic community and today this barbecue is now the largest charitable event of its kind in the county. In 1995, the barbecue attendance exceeded 5,000 individuals and featured over 45 vendors that provided the food, beverages and entertainment. The admission fee is $20.00, and all tickets are sold in advance, ensuring a successful event. The barbecue has matured into what is called the "The Great American Food Fest." Originally, the proceeds from the event provided emergency assistance up to $200.00 to eligible crime victims over the age of 60 and was entitled the Elderly Victims Assistance Program Barbecue. Because of the success of the event, the barbecue's proceeds now help fund crime victim assistance for indigent victims. What started as an idea, grew into a major fundraising event, according to the program's organizers. To replicate this concept, the organizers offer three major elements for success: first, the idea must have a unique and strong beginning -- A New Day Dawns; second, the top administrator must be willing, initially, to become personally involved and to sell the idea; and finally, there must be staff dedicated to making the idea work. The Chesapeake Sheriff's Office is fortunate to have all three components. For additional information, please contact: Joyce Walsh, Office of the Sheriff c/o Sheriff John Newhart's Great American Food Fest P.O. Box 15125 Chesapeake, Virginia 23328 (804) 547-6159 FOR "WORKING TOGETHER TO STOP THE VIOLENCE" Things You and Your Neighbors Can do The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) has developed an outstanding public awareness package to help celebrate Crime Prevention Month, held each October. We are pleased that NCPC, once again, offers reproducible brochures for this Resource Guide. Most importantly, the selected brochures are presented this year in both English and Spanish. Translation of the brochures was made possible through the National Crime Prevention Council's cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. You are encouraged to reproduce NCPC's materials for your public awareness activities, as long as they are not distributed for profit or in a way that suggests commercial endorsements. The following brochures are provided in the 1996 Resource Guide: * The Hidden Crime: Domestic Violence (El Crimen Oculto: La violencia domestica) * Street Sense Is Common Sense (Ser Sensato En La Calle Es Tener Sentido Comun) To receive the 1996 Crime Prevention Month Resource Kit free of charge, contact NCPC and ask to be added to their mailing list. There is a charge for obtaining the crime prevention brochures in Spanish. For additional information, please contact: National Crime Prevention Council 1700 K Street, NW, Second Floor Washington, D.C. 20006-3817 (202) 466-NCPC NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK THEME COLOR This year's colors for National Crime Victims Rights Week are Orange and Yellow!! Orange -- to symbolize the color of a sunrising -- and yellow, the sun shining on a new day dawning. As part of the tradition of NCVRW, we call on advocates and supporters to use the colors of 1996 NCVRW as you reproduce posters, brochures, buttons and NCVRW materials! In addition, many advocacy groups have called on individuals to wear ribbons as a reminder of their cause: * Red ribbons for HIV/AIDS awareness * Pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness * Yellow ribbons to remember hostages and Americans fighting wars abroad * Red ribbons on cards (MADD's campaign to stop drunk and drugged driving) Symbolize 1996 with the colors of a sunrise for Victim Justice: Orange and Yellow Ribbons Rising!! MORE IDEAS USING THE RESOURCE GUIDE MATERIALS * Reproduce camera-ready bookmarks. Last year a large, national retail store created hundreds of the NCVRW bookmarks for a victim assistance program in Indiana. The local program simply offered to credit the store's name, in conjunction with the name of the local victim assistance program, in the "provided as a public service" attribution on the bookmark. * Distribute brochures and posters (see reproducible material and camera-ready artwork) at civic meetings, professional associations and school assemblies. * Make sure that all hospital emergency rooms offer information about domestic violence (see the reproducible brochures in English and Spanish.) * Coordinate your activities with local libraries and bookstores to create special "Book-of-the-Month" reading sections on crime victims' issues -- pay special attention to the children's sections of libraries. Offer coloring contests for children at local libraries. * Organize poster art contests for elementary, middle, and/or high school students and use the artwork for your NCVRW events. Don't forget to offer prizes -- such as recognition and certificates during your NCVRW events! * To memorialize homicide victims, fly flags at half-mast at all city/county buildings during NCVRW. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (800-827-1000) will provide a flag, free-of-charge, to families of deceased veterans who were honorably discharged and served during a war period. Please Note: requests must be made within three years of the veteran's death. TRIED AND TRUE ACTIVITIES FOR NCVRW * One of the most significant "tried and true" NCVRW activities involves planting -- creating living memorials that enhance the community. Communities all across America have sponsored tree-planting ceremonies, and dedicated and entire garden areas in a community park to crime victims. Team up with local nurseries and florists to sponsor these special events as early morning ceremonies in conjunction with this year's theme. * Organize a march as a tribute to victims of crime. A long-standing tradition in St. Louis (Missouri) and East St. Louis (Illinois) is a march across the river that separates the two cities and states. Marchers from each state begin on their side of the bridge early in the morning, and meet in the middle for a ceremony to honor victims of crime. * Sponsor open houses throughout the week at local victim assistance programs. This is an excellent time to honor your program's volunteers, as NCVRW is also "National Volunteer Recognition Week." * Ask local civic organizations to select a room at your agency or shelter and renovate it. Battered women shelters in Wyoming have received tremendous support from different community-based organizations or businesses to help renovate their shelters. For example, a civic group can "adopt" a bedroom at the local shelter, and take on responsibility for painting and providing furniture and decorations to renovate the room for the women and children. * Conduct a candlelight vigil at the courthouse, city hall, Capitol steps, local schools, churches or other facilities. * Ask local churches and the town hall to ring their bells simultaneously at noon on Monday, April 24 to commemorate NCVRW and to honor victims of crime. * Ask a local printer to reproduce copies of the 1996 NCVRW theme bookmarks with victim service toll-free numbers on the reverse side (included in this Resource Guide). Provide the bookmarks to local libraries and bookstores, and ask them to provide them to patrons and customers free-of-charge at the checkout counters. * Place information about your program, along with the national toll-free information telephone numbers (included in this Resource Guide) in hospital emergency rooms, doctors' offices, and mental health centers. * Ask local grocers to imprint grocery bags with NCVRW camera-ready logo artwork. SAMPLE PLANNING COMMITTEE LETTER (Date) Name/Title Agency or Organization Street Address or P.O. Box City/State/Zip Code Dear : You may be aware that April 21 to 27, 1996 has been declared National Crime Victims' Rights Week. During this special commemoration, we will once again have the opportunity in (community or state) to celebrate our accomplishments that benefit crime victims, promote victims' rights and services, and generate greatly needed community support for our activities. We have received the official 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide from the Office for Victims of Crime within the U.S. Department of Justice. The official theme presented in the Resource Guide is "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns." The Guide contains many resources -- including posters, buttons, media materials, and suggested public awareness activities -- that can help us plan our community outreach efforts. I would like to invite you to join (community's) 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Planning Committee. Our first meeting is scheduled for (day), (date), at (time) at (location). At this time, we hope to complete preliminary plans for community outreach and public education activities during this week, and assign responsibilities for specific tasks to Planning Committee members. We all look forward to making 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week the best commemoration ever, and are confident that with your support and involvement, our efforts will be successful. If you have any questions or need further information about 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week or the (community) Planning Committee, please contact me at (area code) telephone number. We look forward to working with you on this important activity. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Name Title NOTE: Use the sample NCVRW letterhead included in the camera-ready artwork section of the Resource Guide. SAMPLE PROCLAMATION Whereas, the foundation of justice for all upon which our nation was built includes justice for victims of crime; and Whereas, there are almost 44 million people in America who are touched by crime each year, with over ten million falling prey to violence; and Whereas, crime victims in the United States have many psychological, financial and physical needs that merit our nation's attention and concern; and Whereas, the accomplishments of victims' rights advocates in America are numerous, including over 27,000 laws protecting victims' rights at the Federal and state levels, and over 8,000 agencies and organizations that provide support and services to victims of crime, including (#) in (city/county/state); and Whereas, a new day is dawning for victim justice in the United States, a day that begins with the sunrise of fair treatment, continues with participation and involvement in the justice process, and ends with a sunset of dignity and respect; and Whereas, April 21 to 27, 1996 has been declared "National Crime Victims' Rights Week" in America; and Whereas, crime victims' rights, needs and concerns deserve the attention and support of the citizens of (community/state); Therefore, be it Resolved, that (individual or entity) proclaims the week of April 21 to 27, 1996 to be (city/county/state) Crime Victims' Rights Week; and be it further Resolved, that the (city/county/state) of (name of city/county/state) commits our individual and collective resources to helping victims of crime and supporting victim service programs not only during this special week, but throughout the year; and be it further Resolved, that a suitably prepared copy of this proclamation be presented to (your organization). SAMPLE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS :30 seconds: Nobody expects to be a victim of crime. Nobody can prepare for the shock and devastation that follow a criminal act. Yet last year in America, almost 44 million people living in our nation were touched by crime, with 11 million victimized by violence. It's important that everyone in our community be aware of the many rights and services available to help people who have been victimized. We hope you never need to utilize victims' services in (city/county/state). But if you know someone who has been victimized, or if you ever need our assistance, we're here to help. April 21 to 27 is National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a time to commemorate the tremendous strides made in our nation by crime victims and their supporters. You can help us observe this special week by volunteering to help victims; by referring victims you know for service and assistance; and by being a source of personal support for victims of crime. Get involved! Call (area code/telephone number) for more information. :30 seconds: Did you know that only one-third of all crimes committed in the U.S. are reported to police? This means that for 65 percent of crimes, there is no possibility that criminals will be apprehended, will be arrested, and will be held accountable for their actions! Even worse, it means that most crime victims will never receive the assistance they so desperately need. Reporting crime helps to ensure that victims receive important information about their rights and the services available to them. This is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. For information about victims' rights and services here in (city/county/state), please call (area code/telephone number). :15 seconds: As each new day dawns, over (*victims) will be (* type of crime) in America. And as each new day dawns, the need for crime victims' rights and services becomes stronger than ever. It's National Crime Victims' Rights Week. If you or someone you know is a victim of crime, remember that victims have rights here in (state). For information about victims' rights and victim services, please call (area code/telephone number). * 64 people will be murdered in America (FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1995). * 1871 women will be raped in America ("Rape in America: A Report to the Nation", 1992). * 1696 people will be robbed in America (FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1995). * 3068 people will be victims of aggravated assault in America (FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1995). * At least 5,479 women will be victims of domestic violence in America. (American Medical Assn.). * 33,150 people will be victims of property crime in America. (FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1995). :15 seconds: The American dream must begin with the American family. But each year in America, more than two million cases of child abuse and neglect are reported. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and April 21 to 27 is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. It's time to stop the cycle of violence. Call (city/state number) for information about how you can help prevent child abuse and neglect. :10 seconds: Our community cares about our neighbors who are victims of crime. This is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Call (area code/telephone) to volunteer for victims, or for information about victims' rights and services and how you can get involved. :10 seconds: Our community cares about making our homes, our schools, and our neighborhoods safe. This is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. You can help make our community safe, and help your friends and neighbors who have been touched by crime. Please call (area code/telephone number) for information about crime prevention and victim assistance. SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: Contact: (Name) (Date) (Area Code/Telephone) "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns in (City/County/State)" (City/State) --- The 15th annual commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week will be observed nationwide and in (community) from April 21 to 27, 1996. During this special week, victim advocates, criminal justice and allied professionals, and crime victims will join together to educate citizens of (community) about victims' rights and services, crime prevention, and related activities that make our community a better place to live. The theme for this special observance, "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns," describes the positive outlook held by victims' rights advocates in America. Today, there are over 27,000 Federal and state laws that protect crime victims' rights. Every state -- including (your state) -- has a victim compensation program to ease the financial burden imposed by crime in our nation. Perhaps most important, there are over 8,000 victim service organizations -- including (#) in (community or county) -- that help victims by providing greatly needed support and services. According to Aileen Adams, Director of the Office for Victims of Crime within the U.S. Department of Justice, the concept of "criminal justice" is incomplete unless "victim justice" is part of the equation. "For the 44 million people in America who are touched by crime each year, justice is a priority: justice for the criminal, for the victim, and for the community-at-large," Adams noted. "While our accomplishments over the past 30 years are exemplary, we must continue our efforts to aid victims in their time of need, and to help all members of communities across America understand the importance of supporting victims' rights and services." Here in (community or county), a variety of activities is planned for observation of 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, including: (cite planned activities here). "It is important for all citizens of (community or county) to join us in celebrating the dawn of a new day for victims' rights and services," (spokesperson) said. "While victim justice is our ultimate goal, we cannot begin to dream of reaching it without the support of all those who believe in public safety and the fair treatment of crime victims." Anyone interested in participating in or volunteering for any of (community's) 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week activities is encouraged to call (agency) at (area code/telephone number). END Type your press release double-spaced. If your press release exceeds one page, type -- more-- in the bottom right corner, and paper clip (not staple) the second page to the first page. Add the title and date of the press release, plus "page two," in the upper left corner of the second page. SAMPLE OPINION/EDITORIAL COLUMN "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns" By (name of author) (Title/Agency or Organization) The basic premise upon which the foundation of America was established is "liberty and justice for all" citizens of our great nation. When just one individual is denied justice, we all feel the sting. And when justice is handed down to just one individual, we can feel relieved that guilty criminals are held accountable for their actions, and that our communities are much safer as a result. Yet today in America, there is a growing population of individuals who believe that "justice for all" must mean justice for victims of crime, and comprehensive, meaningful victims' rights and services. Today, during 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the rallying cry for victim justice will be heard louder than ever -- in communities large and small, rural and urban, from individuals young and old, representing all races and religions, because criminal justice in America can never, ever be complete without justice for victims of crime. Consider for a moment the important rights of persons accused of crime in our nation. Our Constitution guarantees them the right to be informed of their rights, the right to counsel, the right to face their accusers, and the right to a jury by their peers, among other significant protections. Yet the Constitution is noticeably silent when it comes to the rights of victims, who often endure great indignities and suffering as a result of criminal acts committed against them. Victim justice: What do these two words mean in America in 1996? They mean, first and foremost, that victims of crime only want to be treated as well as alleged and convicted offenders. They mean that victims should be treated with dignity, compassion and respect, not only by our justice system, but by all individuals with whom they have contact in the aftermath of a crime. Victim justice means that victims are no longer treated simply as evidence in criminal and civil proceedings, but as active participants with considerable stake in the outcomes. They are informed of their case proceedings. They are not only allowed, but encouraged to participate in all stages of the criminal justice process. And their voices are heard, so the system and our society can begin to truly comprehend the devastating effects that crime wreaks on law-abiding members of our community. The accomplishments of our nation's victims' rights movement are truly impressive. In the past three decades, over 27,000 laws have been passed at the Federal and state levels to protect and enforce crime victims' rights. Twenty states have passed constitutional amendments guaranteeing victims the right to participate in the criminal justice process. Every day in the U.S., 8,000 victim service organizations provide information, support, assistance and referrals to victims of crime and their loved ones -- individuals traumatized by child abuse and neglect, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence, hate violence, elder abuse and neglect, drunk driving, and homicide. Here in (your community or state), (describe two or three of your most significant accomplishments). Do victims in (your state or community) truly receive justice? Not always. But a new day is dawning for victims of crime....a day that begins with the sunrise of fair treatment, continues with meaningful participation and involvement in the justice process, and ends with a sunset of dignity, compassion and respect. It is a day that results from over 43 million persons in America being victimized by crime each year, individuals who want involvement and information. It is a day when public safety and victim justice become a reality in our homes, our neighborhoods and our communities. And it is a day in which we will all take tremendous pride that victims of crime are no longer blamed for the heinous crimes that are committed against them. * A day when violent rapes are no longer considered merely "sexual acts"..... * When domestic violence is no longer seen as "just a family matter"..... * When drunk driving crashes that kill and maim thousands of Americans each year are no longer called "accidents"..... * When all individuals in America are willing to support the rights of survivors of homicide victims who are mourning their devastating loss. It is a day when VICTIM JUSTICE is no longer a dream, but a precious reality for the millions of people in America who are touched by crime each year. (Provide a two-sentence description of the author or NCVRW coalition here). NOTE: This opinion/editorial column can also be utilized as an actuality for radio or television. Most stations require that radio/T.V. actualities -- read by the author -- be limited to 60 seconds. Please edit as needed to deliver a comprehensive message that is personalized to your community. SAMPLE SPEECH "Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth..." Arthur Schopenhauer This year marks the fifteenth year that, as a nation, we will commemorate Crime Victims' Rights Week in April. When we consider the progress made since crime victims were honored in a White House ceremony for the first time in 1981, it is clear that the crime victims' rights movement has had a profound impact on our entire nation. Of course, no movement for social change starts with a Rose Garden ceremony. Change in our criminal justice system has been decades in coming. Since the earliest beginnings of the movement for crime victims' rights more than thirty years ago, thousands of laws have been passed, thousands of crime victim programs have become established, and thousands of individuals have joined the ranks as advocates and given so much of themselves to assist victims. Sadly, the strength of the crime victims' movement has been born out of the shear numbers of people who have suffered the trauma of crime, and the second injury and indignity at the hands of our criminal justice system. As we look back on the history of the crime victims' rights field, we remember the way it was in America for crime victims. The last three decades have not been a journey without pain. But looking back is useful -- it helps to remember where we have been, so that we can keep our focus on the horizon ahead. When we reminisce, most people enjoy reveling in "the good old days." We look back on our lives, and it's easy to smile at fond memories of everyday occurrences that brought joy to us and to our loved ones, at extraordinary events that shaped who we are today, at landmark events that have long ago turned into anniversaries that are celebrated and cherished. Yet for so many victims of crime, the "old days" are anything but good. Because to be a victim of crime, traditionally in America, was to be no more than a piece of evidence. To be a victim of crime meant you were blamed for the terrible tragedy that was committed against you, and you were given no opportunity to voice your feelings and concerns. * If you were an alleged offender, you were -- and are-- guaranteed the right to be informed of your rights, which include due process, a trial by a jury of your peers, the right to counsel, and the right to confront your accusers. If you were a victim of crime, you were more often than not told "you have no rights" because the crime was committed against the state, not an innocent resident of that state. * If alleged and convicted offenders were not kept apprised of key activities involving their case, it was (and is) immediate ground for appeals. However, in the past, when victims were not informed about the status of their case, grounds for redress were nonexistent. * Victims were excluded from courtrooms, forced to wait in crowded hallways while "justice" was handed down in their cases. * They were left to wonder when their recovered property would be returned, only to discover that the answer was "maybe never." * While convicted offenders were allowed to parade their mothers and fathers and Boy Scout leaders and grade school teachers before the judge to tell why he or she should not receive a stiff sentence, victims could only remain silent and watch. * Think for a moment how many victims were thrilled when they heard the two words "life sentence," only to discover that "life" meant no more than the first parole hearing a few years in the future. * And far too often, the only notification victims received about their offender's release from incarceration back into the community was when s/he ran into him down at the local mall. That was then, and this is now..... The historical concerns about criminal justice in America are slowly but surely being replaced by equal concern for victim justice. With 44 million individuals in the United States victimized by crime each year, victims are rapidly becoming a majority. And that a vocal majority we are! We are proud to stand up and say that today, there are over 27,000 statutes that protect and restore victims' rights in our nation. We are proud that in 1996, 20 states have constitutional amendments that grant victims the rights to participate in the criminal justice system. We are proud that the stigma of criminal victimization is slowly being replaced by an understanding that any of us, at any time, in any place, can fall prey to violence without it being our fault. The accomplishments of our nation's victims' rights movement are simply astounding. Victim justice: What do these two words mean in America in 1996? They mean, first and foremost, that victims of crime only want to be treated as well as alleged and convicted offenders. They mean that victims should be treated with dignity, compassion and respect, not only by our justice system, but by all individuals with whom they have contact in the aftermath of a crime. Victim justice means that victims are no longer treated simply as evidence in criminal and civil proceedings, but as active participants with considerable stake in the outcomes. They are informed of their case proceedings. They are not only allowed, but encouraged to participate in all stages of the criminal justice process. And their voices are heard, so the system and our society can begin to truly comprehend the devastating effects that crime wreaks on law-abiding members of our community. Ladies and gentlemen, a new day is dawning for victims' rights and services in America....a day that begins with the sunrise of fair treatment, continues with meaningful participation and involvement in the justice process, and ends with a sunset of dignity, compassion and respect. It is a day that results from the grim fact that countless Americans are victimized by crime each year, Americans who want involvement and information. It is a day when public safety and victim justice become a reality, in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our communities. And it is a day in which we will all take tremendous pride that victims of crime are no longer blamed for the heinous crimes that are committed against them. It is a day when VICTIM JUSTICE is no longer a dream, but is a precious reality for the millions of people in America who are touched by crime each year. SAMPLE SERMON "VICTIM JUSTICE: A NEW DAY DAWNS" A sermon by Rev. David W. Delaplane Executive Director, The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services For more years than any of us would like to acknowledge, the plight of the victim of crime has not been unlike that of the Psalmist who cried, "I rise before the dawning of the morning and cry for help. My eyes are awake through the night watches." (Psalm 119:147-148) We only have to pause and reflect to begin to understand the pain of the mother whose child has been molested, or the anxiety of the child herself as she hears those fateful footsteps of dad or the live-in boyfriend coming up the steps to perpetrate yet another confusing, painful and criminal act. We do not have to go to great efforts, but only take a moment to reflect upon the trauma of the rape victim who has been irreparably violated in the most intimate way, or of the battered woman who lives in terror of the next unwarranted and fearfully anticipated "incident." The Psalmist's "night watches" referred to the three posting of the guards through the night in cities of Biblical time. When one is awake "through the night watches," he or she has not slept all night. How many such sleepless nights has the survivor spent because of a loved one having been ripped away by the cruel brutality of homicide, whether by direct assault or through the senselessness of a drunk driver? And even in daytime, the night continues, as some insensitive officials ignore, some sensation seeking media exploit, and defense attorneys put the victim, instead of the perpetrator, on trial. It probably does not surprise us to learn that these injustices were as real in Biblical times as today. The great Hebrew prophet, Isaiah, spoke into this darkness, complaining against those who "acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right." (Isaiah 5:23) And again he cried, "No one enters suit justly, and no one goes to law honestly....The way of peace they know not, and there is no justice in their paths...Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us. We look for light, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom." (Isaiah 59:4,8,9) But, as it has often been said, "It is always darkest before dawn." St. Peter wrote that the prophetic word is "a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns, and the morning star arises in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19) There is a phrase in a well known country gospel song that says, "Every time I look into the Book, I want to tremble." And it is true, we can never take an honest look into the "Good Book" without finding something that should be taken very seriously. "Justice" and the "Dawn of a New Day," both strongly emphasized in the Bible, certainly apply to this year's theme for National Crime Victims' Rights Week, "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns." Before the late 1970s, there seemed to be but small flickers of light seeking to penetrate the darkness of the unjust experiences of crime victims in America. Yet they seemed to be very few, and very dim. However, when any injustice reaches an intolerable level, a groundswell towards remediation begins to rise. So it was that the unjust treatment of our colonies by England reached the intolerable level that led to the American Revolution. This incipient groundswell for crime victim justice of the late seventies, led to the formation in 1982 of "The President's Task Force on Victims of Crime," the first effort strong enough to at least send a beam of penetrating light into the crime victims' dark night. This initial torch, and the subsequent Victims of Crime Act, ignited many flames destined to create the first real light, enabling the crime victim to take the first illuminated steps along the path of justice. The brightest of those flames were the establishment of victim and witness assistance programs in the offices of our prosecuting attorneys and law enforcement agencies; the beginning of compensation to crime victims for injuries sustained; the many direct services to crime victims provided by caring organizations; and the passage of victims' rights legislation both Federally and in many states. And now victim justice is being seen, not just as the latest passing fad, or a blip on the screen of American jurisprudence. All of the prophetic lights before the dawn are flaming into the sunrise of a new day, a day not only of "criminal justice" in America, which has been around for a long time, but also a day of "victim justice." When the well-worn term "criminal justice" is replaced by "victim/criminal justice," we will know that the new day has dawned. It is coming. In the words of the well known hymn, "Morning Light is Breaking in the Eastern Sky." As the dawn approaches, and that new day begins, all who have been holders of that flame in the darkness, of the lamp in the night of crime victim injustice, are encouraged to not let it go down. Rather, let us maintain our hard earned victories. Let us respond to the admonition of the Apostle Paul, "Do not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9) NOTE: All scripture references are from the Revised Standard Version. NOTABLE QUOTABLES You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. Indira Gandhi We acquire the strength we have overcome. Emerson If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. Emily Dickinson What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other? George Eliot The things that haven't been done before Are the tasks worthwhile today; Are you one of the flock that follows, or Are you one that shall lead the way? Edgar Guest When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. Franklin D. Roosevelt It is much easier to tell a person what to do with his problem than to stand with him in his pain. David Augusburger Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Martin Luther King, Jr. We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. Martin Luther King, Jr., based on Amos 5:24 Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other. Mother Teresa Real leaders are ordinary people with extra ordinary determination. Unknown Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens, can change the world. Indeed, its the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. Mother Teresa It is one thing to learn about the past; it is another to wallow in it. Kenneth Auchincloss The difference between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is a twist of the wrist. Laurence Leamer If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade. Tom Peters You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Harper Lee Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know it just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, teachers. Richard Bach Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. Henry Ford Experience is not what happens to a person. It is what a person does with what happens to him. Aldous Huxley A diamond is a chunk of coal made good under pressure. Unknown Quotations Related to the 1996 Theme - "Victim Justice: A New Day Dawns" Struck me kind of funny, seems kind of funny, sir, to me.... That at the end of every hard earned day, people find a reason to believe. Bruce Springsteen Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth; every fresh morning a little youth; every going to rest and sleep a little death. Arthur Schopenhauer The day breaks not, it is my heart. John Dowland Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow To hear the lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull night, From his watch-tower in the skies, Till the dappled dawn doth rise. Milton The rose was awake all night for your sake, Knowing your promise to me; The lilies and roses were all awake, They sighed for the dawn and thee. Lord Tennyson ACCESSING INFORMATION: OVC RESOURCE CENTER AND OTHER SERVICES VICTIMS' RESOURCES IN THE INFORMATION AGE For victims and victim service providers, new information access begins with the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center (OVCRC) and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). As an NCJRS component, OVCRC (800-627-6872) specializes in delivering timely and relevant information to the victim-serving community. Today, victims and victim service providers can instantly access an enormous store of information specific to the entire range of their personal and professional concerns, including statistics; model programs and protocols; grant funding sources; and local, State, and national referrals to professional organizations in the victim-serving community. Perhaps most important, this information is available wherever and whenever it is needed -- in homes, shelters, and offices; in the middle of a trial or in the middle of the night. Since coming "online" in 1994, NCJRS and OVCRC have developed a variety of online services to benefit the victim assistance professional. Each service is listed below with a description and online address. Together with other electronic access features -- including telephone and online document ordering, and fax-on-demand -- NCJRS and OVCRC have truly made a "quantum leap" forward in fulfilling their mission of "bringing the right information to the right people...right now." ACCESSING NCJRS AND OVCRC ONLINE NCJRS INTERNET GOPHER SITE: Contains text of information from each Office of Justice Programs (OJP) agency, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and NCJRS component clearinghouses. Includes agency overviews, press releases, public announcements, conferences, previews of new products and publications, direct links to other criminal and juvenile justice resources on the Internet, and direct connections to the NCJRS Bulletin Board System and the Partnerships Against Violence NETwork (PAVNET). The gopher address is . NCJRS WORLD WIDE WEB HOMEPAGE: Provides a graphical interface (a connection that displays graphics or illustrations, as well as text) to NCJRS information, as well as links to other criminal justice resources from around the world. The NCJRS Web page provides information about NCJRS and OJP agencies; grant-funding opportunities; previews of selected new publications; key-word searching of NCJRS publications; the current NCJRS Catalog; a topical index; and direct connections to the NCJRS Gopher site and Bulletin Board System, as well as PAVNET. The address for the NCJRS Homepage is . NCJRS ANONYMOUS FTP: The NCJRS Anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site allows users to quickly access and download large, complex NCJRS publications and software, whether they are in ASCII text or a binary document. These documents may include annual OJP agency program plans, which contain grant funding information. The Anonymous FTP address is . JUSTICE INFORMATION (JUST INFO) ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER: This free, online newsletter is distributed to your Internet e-mail address on the 1st and 15th of each month. JUST INFO contains information concerning a wide variety of subjects, including news from all Office of Justice Programs (OJP) agencies and the Office of National Drug Control Policy; criminal justice in the news; news of international criminal justice; criminal justice resources on the Internet; Federal legislation updates; criminal justice funding and program information, and announcements about new NCJRS products and services. To subscribe, send an e-mail to . Further instructions will be automatically forwarded. E-MAIL: INFORMATION AND HELP: First time users can send an e-mail message to this address: . The user will automatically receive a reply outlining the services of NCJRS. User requiring technical assistance or having specific questions on criminal and juvenile justice topics can send an e-mail to . PARTNERSHIPS AGAINST VIOLENCE NETWORK (PAVNET): PAVNET Online is a searchable database containing information about hundreds of promising programs and resources, providing users with key contacts; program types; target populations; location; project startup date; evaluation information; annual budget; sources of funding, and program description. Users may either go directly to the site at or access it through the NCJRS Gopher site at (look under the menu selection "Other Criminal and Juvenile Justice Resources"). OTHER NCJRS ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES FAX-ON-DEMAND: NCJRS has established a "fax-on-demand" service which allows the user to obtain copies of selected NCJRS documents directly through their own fax machine, using a toll-free telephone number. To access the fax-on-demand menu, simply call 1-800-851-3420, and follow the prompts. CD-ROM: Users with CD-ROM capability can also obtain the NCJRS Document Data Base on CD-ROM. This disk features citations and abstracts of more than 130,000 criminal justice books, research reports, journal articles, government documents, program descriptions, program evaluations, and training manuals contained in the NCJRS Research and Information Center library collection. The disk also contains search software that supports retrieval using any combination of words to search individual fields or all fields globally. The disk can be searched using "free text" methods, or in combination with the National Criminal Justice Thesaurus. Details are available by calling NCJRS at (800) 851-3420. VICTIM-RELATED INTERNET SITES The following is a list of sites on the Internet containing information on selected crime victimization and criminal justice topics. The list is intended only to provide a sample of available resources, and does not constitute an endorsement of opinions or statements made therein. Be sure to check the Victims section of the NCJRS World Wide Web homepage for links to new and interesting sites online. General Information Resources Internet Resources for Crime Victims http://timon.sir.arizona.edu/govdocs/crmvctm/home.htm National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, MUSC http://www.musc.edu/cvc/ National Criminal Justice Reference Service http://www.ncjrs.org Office for Victims of Crime http://www.ncjrs.org/ovchome.htm United States Department of Justice http://justice2.usdoj.gov/ Child Abuse American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children http://child.cornell.edu/APSAC/apsac.home.html Child Abuse Prevention Network http://child.cornell.edu/ National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/ACFPrograms/NCCAN/ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children http://inept.scubed.com:8001/public_service/ncmec.html Crime Victims Fund Crime Victims Fund http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/10601.html Domestic and Family Violence American Bar Association Comm. on Domestic Violence http://www.abanet.org/textonly/domviol/home.html Domestic Abuse Page of the Nashville Police Department http://www.telalink.net/~police/abuse/index.html Family Violence Prevention Fund http://www.fvpf.org/fund/index.html Minnesota Higher Education Center Against Violence and Abuse http://www.umn.edu/mincava Safety Net http://www.cybergrrl.com/dv.html Driving Drunk MADD http://www.gran-net.com/madd/madd.htm Fraud National Fraud Information Center http://seamless.com/talf/ftc/natfraud.html Grant Funding Information Funding News gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7003/11/mny Grant Getters Guide to the Internet gopher://gopher.uidaho.edu/11s/e-pubs/grant Grants and Funding Information Page http://www.mssm.edu/library/grants/grants.html Grants and Funding Menu http://www.sils.umich.edu/~nesbeitt/nonprofits/fundingmenu.html Links to Grants and Funding Information http://cbawcb.unomaha.edu/dept/econ/funding.htm Sexual Abuse and Assault Sexual Assault Information Page http://www.cs.utk.edu/~bartley/saInfoPage.html Survivor Resources David Baldwin's Trauma Information Page http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~dvb/trauma.htm The Fly's Resource Page http://www.crl.com/www/users/Th/thefly/abuse.html Victim-offender Mediation Victim-Offender Mediation Association http://www.igc.org/voma/ RESOURCES ON CRIME & VICTIMIZATION AVAILABLE FREE FROM NCJRS Title: Criminal Victimization in the United States: 1973-92 Trends (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 147006 Title: Criminal Victimization 1993: NCVS Bulletin (BJS) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 151658 Title: Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims (BJS) Year: 1993 Order #: NCJ 144525 Title: The Costs of Crime to Victims (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 145865 Title: Crime Victimization in City, Suburban and Rural Areas (BJS) Year: 1992 Order #: NCJ 135943 Title: Crime and Neighborhoods (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 147005 Title: Violence and Theft in the Workplace (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 148199 Title: Elderly Crime Victims: Selected Findings (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 147186 Title: Murder in Families (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 143498 Title: Violence Between Intimates: Domestic Violence (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 149259 Title: Child Rape Victims, 1992 (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 147001 Title: The Criminal Justice and Community Response to Rape (NIJ) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 148064 Title: Family Violence: Interventions for the Justice System (BJA) Year: 1993 Order #: NCJ 144532 Title: The Cycle of Violence (NIJ) Year: 1992 Order #: Order #: NCJ 136607 Title: Understanding and Preventing Violence (NIJ) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 145645 Title: Violent Crime: Selected Findings (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 147486 Title: Project to Develop a Model Anti-stalking Code for States (NIJ) Year: 1993 Order #: NCJ 144477 Title: Civil Protection Orders: Legislation, Current Court Practice, & Enforcement (NIJ) Year: 1990 Order #: NCJ 123263 Title: Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey (BJS) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 154348 Title: Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties (BJS) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 153256 Title: Civil Legal Remedies for Crime Victims (OVC) Year: 1993 Order #: NCJ 146985 Title: Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Later Criminal Consequences (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 151525 Title: Victim Programs to Serve Native Americans (OVC) Year: 1992 Order #: NCJ 133963 Title: Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A Focus on Violence (OJJDP) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 153570 Title: Violent Families and Youth Violence (OJJDP) Year: 1994 Order #: FS 009421 Title: Hate Crime Fact Sheet (OJJDP) Year: 1995 Order #: FS 009529 Title: Young Black Male Victims (BJS) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 147004 Title: Breaking the Cycle: Predicting and Preventing Crime (NIJ) Year: 1994 Order #: NCJ 140541 Title: Guns Used in Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice (BJS) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 148201 Title: Drunk Driving: 1989 Survey of Inmates of Local Jails (BJS) Year: 1992 Order #: NCJ 134728 Title: Crime and the Nation's Households, 1992 (BJS) Year: 1993 Order #: NCJ 143288 Title: Drugs and Crime Facts, 1994 (BJS) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 154043 Title: Victims of Crime Act: Crime Victims Fund Fact Sheet (OVC) Year: 1995 Order #: FS 000082 Title: Victims of Crime Act: Victim Assistance Grant Program Fact Sheet (OVC) Year: 1995 Order #: FS 000081 Title: Victims of Crime Act: Victim Compensation Grant Program Fact Sheet (OVC) Year: 1995 Order #: FS 000080 Title: Victim & Witness Intimidation: New Developments & Emerging Responses (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 156555 Title: Threat Assessment: An Approach to Prevent Targeted Violence (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 155000 Title: Victimization of Persons By Fraud (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 153727 Title: President's Task Force on Victims of Crime: Final Report (OVC) Year: 1982 Order #: NCJ 087299 Title: VOCA: Helping Victims of Child Abuse (OJJDP) Year: 1995 Order #: FS 009526 Title: Prosecuting Child Physical Abuse Cases: A Case Study in San Diego (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 152978 Title: A Coordinated Approach to Reducing Family Violence: Conference Highlights (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: NCJ 155184 Title: Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases Title: 1995 Order #: NCJ 156842 Title: Victim Assistance Programs: Whom They Service and What They Offer (NIJ) Year: 1995 Order #: FS 00084 To order up to 5 reference documents free of charge from the U.S. Department of Justice, either call the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at (800) 851-3420, or write to: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS, User Services, Box 6000, Rockville, MD, 20849-6000. Orders of 6 or more documents will be assessed shipping and handling charges. To join the National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Clearinghouse, please use the NCJRS registration form accompanying the Resource Guide. RESOURCE GUIDE EVALUATION Please take a moment to let the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR) and Office for Victims of Crime know if the 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide was useful to you and your organization. Please assign each Resource Guide Component a numerical value according to how useful the component was to you. Also, let us know any ideas you have that could be utilized in the 1997 Resource Guide. RESOURCE GUIDE COMPONENT 3 - EXTREMELY HELPFUL 2 - SOMEWHAT HELPFUL 1 - NOT AT ALL HELPFUL _____Tips for Using the 1996 NCVRW Resource Guide _____Field-initiated Ideas for Public Awareness and Outreach _____Sample Planning Committee Letter _____Sample Proclamation _____Sample Public Service Announcements _____Sample Press Release _____Sample Opinion/Editorial Column _____Sample Speech _____Sample Sermon _____Notable Quotables _____Accessing Information: OVC Resource Center and Other Services _____Resources on Crime and Victimization from NCJRS _____Crime Victims' Rights in America: An Historical Overview _____Statistical Overviews _____Sample Certificate of Appreciation _____1996 NCVRW Resource Guide Computer Disk Order Form _____Reproducible Brochures and Art _____Posters _____Bookmarks _____Buttons _____Logos _____NCVRW Letterhead _____National Toll-free Information and Referral Telephone Numbers Please share your comments and ideas for improving or expanding the National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide and attach examples of your community's activities for 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Return this evaluation form to: Dr. Jane Nady Burnley, Executive Director VALOR P.O. Box 862 McLean, VA 22101-0862 FAX: 703-538-6898 Thank you for your assistance in evaluating the 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide! CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS IN AMERICA An Historical Overview * "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead 1972 The first three victim assistance programs are created: * Aid for Victims of Crime in St. Louis, Missouri; * Bay Area Women Against Rape in San Francisco, California; and * Rape Crisis Center in Washington, D.C. 1974 * The Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) funds the first victim/witness programs in the Brooklyn and Milwaukee District Attorneys' offices, plus seven others through a grant to the National District Attorneys Association, to create model programs of assistance for victims, encourage victim cooperation, and improve prosecution. * The first law enforcement-based victim assistance programs are established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Indianapolis, Indiana. * The U.S. Congress passes the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act which establishes the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN). The new Center creates an information clearinghouse, provides technical assistance and model programs. 1975 * The first Victims' Rights Week is organized by the Philadelphia District Attorney. * Citizen activists from across the country unite to expand victim services and increase recognition of victims' rights through the formation of the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA). 1976 * The National Organization for Women forms a task force to examine the problem of battering. It demands research into the problem, along with money for battered women's shelters. * Nebraska becomes the first state to abolish the marital rape exemption. * The first national conference on battered women is sponsored by the Milwaukee Task Force on Women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. * In Fresno County, California, Chief Probation Officer James Rowland creates the first victim impact statement to provide the judiciary with an objective inventory of victim injuries and losses prior to sentencing. * Women's Advocates in St. Paul, Minnesota starts the first hotline for battered women. Women's Advocates and Haven House in Pasadena, California establish the first shelters for battered women. 1977 * Oregon becomes the first state to enact mandatory arrest in domestic violence cases. 1978 * The National Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) is formed to combat sexual violence and promote services for rape victims. * The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is organized as a voice for the battered women's movement on a national level. NCADV initiates the introduction of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act in the U.S. Congress. * Parents of Murdered Children (POMC), a self-help support group, is founded in Cincinnati, Ohio. * Minnesota becomes the first state to allow probable cause (warrantless) arrest in cases of domestic assault, regardless of whether a protection order had been issued. 1979 * Frank G. Carrington, considered by many to be "the father of the victims' rights movement," founds the Crime Victims' Legal Advocacy Institute, Inc., to promote the rights of crime victims in the civil and criminal justice systems. The nonprofit organization was renamed VALOR, the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc., in 1981. * The Office on Domestic Violence is established in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but is later closed in 1981. * The U.S. Congress fails to enact the Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) and Federal funding for victims' programs is phased out. Many grassroots and system-based programs close. 1980 * Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is founded after the death of 13-year-old Cari Lightner, who was killed by a repeat offender drunk driver. The first two MADD chapters are created in Sacramento, California and Annapolis, Maryland. * The U.S.Congress passes the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980. * Wisconsin passes the first Crime Victims' Bill of Rights. The First National Day of Unity in October is established by NCADV to mourn battered women who have died, celebrate women who have survived the violence, and honor all who have worked to defeat domestic violence. This Day becomes Domestic Violence Awareness Week and, in 1987, expands to a month of awareness activities each October. * NCADV holds its first national conference in Washington, D.C., which gains Federal recognition of critical issues facing battered women, and sees the birth of several state coalitions. * The first Victim Impact Panel is sponsored by Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID) in Oswego County, New York. 1981 * Ronald Reagan becomes the first President to proclaim "Crime Victims' Rights Week" in April. * The disappearance and murder of missing child Adam Walsh prompts a national campaign to raise public awareness about child abduction and enact laws to better protect children. * The Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime recommends that a separate Task Force be created to consider victims' issues. 1982 * In a Rose Garden ceremony, President Reagan appoints the Task Force on Victims of Crime, which holds public hearings in six cities across the nation to create a greatly needed national focus on the needs of crime victims. The Task Force Final Report offers 68 recommendations that become the framework for the advancement of new programs and policies. Its final recommendation, to amend the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to guarantee that "...the victim, in every criminal prosecution, shall have the right to be present and to be heard at all critical stages of judicial proceedings...," becomes a vital source of new energy pushing toward the successful efforts to secure state constitutional amendments through the 1980s and beyond. * The Federal Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 brings "fair treatment standards" to victims and witnesses in the Federal criminal justice system. * California voters overwhelmingly pass Proposition 8, which guarantees restitution and other statutory reforms to crime victims. * The passage of the Missing Children's Act of 1982 helps parents guarantee that identifying information on their missing child is promptly entered into the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer system. * The first Victim Impact Panel sponsored by MADD, which educates drunk drivers about the devastating impact of their criminal acts, is organized in Rutland, Massachusetts. 1983 * The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is created by the U.S. Department of Justice within the Office of Justice Programs to implement recommendations from the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime. OVC establishes a national resource center, trains professionals, and develops model legislation to protect victims' rights. * The U.S. Attorney General establishes a Task Force on Family Violence, which holds six public hearings across the United States. * The U.S. Attorney General issues guidelines for Federal victim and witness assistance. * In April, President Reagan honors crime victims in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. * The First National Conference of the Judiciary on Victims of Crime is held at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. * President Reagan proclaims the first National Missing Children's Day in observance of the disappearance of missing child Etan Patz. * The International Association of Chiefs of Police Board of Governors adopts a Crime Victims' Bill of Rights and establishes a victims' rights committee to bring about renewed emphasis on the needs of crime victims by law enforcement officials nationwide. 1984 * The passage of the Victims Of Crime Act (VOCA) establishes the Crime Victims Fund, made up of Federal criminal fines, penalties and bond forfeitures, to support state victim compensation and local victim service programs. * President Reagan signs the Justice Assistance Act, which establishes a financial assistance program for state and local government and funds 200 new victim service programs. * The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 is enacted, providing strong incentives to states without "21" laws to raise the minimum age for drinking, saving thousands of young lives in years to come * The first of several international affiliates of MADD is chartered in Canada. * The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is created as the national resource for missing children. Passage of the Missing Children's Assistance Act provides a Congressional mandate for the Center. * The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services is founded to involve the religious community in violence prevention and victim assistance. * Crime Prevention Week in February is marked by a White House ceremony with McGruff. The Task Force on Family Violence presents its report to the U.S. Attorney General with recommendations for action, including: the criminal justice system's response to battered women; prevention and awareness; education and training; and data collection and reporting. * The U.S. Congress passes the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, which earmarks Federal funding for programs serving victims of domestic violence. * The ad-hoc committee on the constitutional amendment formalizes its plans to secure passage of amendments at the state level. * Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) is organized at the first police survivors' seminar held in Washington, D.C. by 110 relatives of officers killed in the line of duty. * The first National Symposium on Sexual Assault is co-sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. * A victim/witness notification system is established within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. * The Office for Victims of Crime hosts the first national symposium on child molestation. * Victim/witness Coordinator positions are established in the U.S. Attorneys' offices within the U.S. Department of Justice. * California State University, Fresno initiates the first Victim Services Certificate Program offered for academic credit by a university. * Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID) calls for a comprehensive Sane National Alcohol Policy (SNAP) to curb aggressive promotions aimed at youth. 1985 * The Federal Crime Victims Fund deposits total $68 million. * The National Victim Center is founded in honor of Sunny von Bulow to promote the rights and needs of crime victims, and to educate Americans about the devastating effect of crime on our society. * The United Nations General Assembly passes the International Declaration on the Rights of Victims of Crime and the Abuse of Power. * President Reagan announces a Child Safety Partnership with 26 members. Its mission is to enhance private sector efforts to promote child safety, to clarify information about child victimization, and to increase public awareness of child abuse. * The U.S. Surgeon General issues a report identifying domestic violence as a major public health problem. 1986 * The Office for Victims of Crime awards the first grants to support state victim compensation and assistance programs. * Over 100 constitutional amendment supporters meet in Washington, D.C. at a forum sponsored by NOVA to refine a national plan to secure state constitutional amendments for victims of crime. * Rhode Island passes a constitutional amendment granting victims the right to restitution, to submit victim impact statements, and to be treated with dignity and respect. * MADD's "Red Ribbon Campaign" enlists motorists to display a red ribbon on their automobiles, pledging to drive safe and sober during the holidays. This national public awareness effort has since become an annual campaign. 1987 * The Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network (VCAN) and Steering Committee is formed at a meeting hosted by the National Victim Center. * Security on Campus, Inc. (SOC) is established by Howard and Connie Clery, following the tragic robbery, rape and murder of their daughter Jeanne at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. SOC raises national awareness about the hidden epidemic of violence on our nation's campuses. * The American Correctional Association establishes a Task Force on Victims of Crime. * NCADV establishes the first national toll-free domestic violence hotline. * Victim advocates in Florida, frustrated by five years of inaction on a proposed constitutional amendment by their legislature, begin a petition drive. Thousands of citizens sign petitions supporting constitutional protection for victims' rights. The Florida legislature reconsiders, and the constitutional amendment appears on the 1988 ballot. 1988 * The National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse (NARCEA) is established in a cooperative agreement among the American Public Welfare Association, the National Association of State Units on Aging, and the University of Delaware. Renamed the National Center on Elder Abuse, it continues to provide information and statistics. * State v. Ciskie is the first case to allow the use of expert testimony to explain the behavior and mental state of an adult rape victim. The testimony is used to show why a victim of repeated physical and sexual assaults by her intimate partner would not immediately call the police or take action. The jury convicts the defendant on four counts of rape. * The Federal Drunk Driving Prevention Act is passed, and states raise the minimum drinking age to 21. * Vice President George Bush endorses victims' rights in a major policy speech about crime and victimization in Trenton, New Jersey. * Constitutional amendments are introduced in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, South Carolina and Washington. Florida's amendment is placed on the November ballot where it passes with 90% of the vote. Michigan's constitutional amendment passes with 80% of the vote. * The first "Indian Nations: Justice for Victims of Crime" conference is sponsored by the Office for Victims of Crime in Rapid City, South Dakota. * VOCA amendments legislatively establish the Office for Victims of Crime, elevate the position of Director by making Senate confirmation necessary for appointment, and induce state compensation programs to cover victims of homicide and drunk driving. 1989 * Crime victims and advocates in Arizona plan to launch an initiative/petition drive to secure a constitutional amendment. * The legislatures in Texas and Washington pass their respective constitutional amendments, which are both ratified by voters in November. 1990 * The Federal Crime Victims Fund deposits total over $146 million. * The U.S. Congress passes the Hate Crime Statistics Act requiring the U.S. Attorney General to collect data of incidence of certain crimes motivated by prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity. * The Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, requiring institutions of higher education to disclose murder, rape, robbery and other crimes on campus, is signed into law by President Bush. * The Child Protection Act of 1990, which features reforms to make the Federal criminal justice system less traumatic for child victims and witnesses, is passed by the U.S. Congress. * U.S. Congress passes legislation proposed by MADD to prevent drunk drivers and other offenders from filing bankruptcy to avoid paying criminal restitution or civil fines. * The Arizona petition drive to place the victims' rights constitutional amendment on the ballot succeeds, and it is ratified by voters. * The first National Incidence Study on Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children in America shows that over one million children fall victim to abduction annually. * The National Child Search Assistance Act requires law enforcement to enter reports of missing children and unidentified persons in the NCIC computer. 1991 * U.S. Representative Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) files the first Congressional Joint Resolution to place victims' rights in the U.S. Constitution. * The Violence Against Women Act of 1991 is considered by the U.S. Congress. * California State University, Fresno approves the first Bachelors Degree Program in Victimology in the nation. * The Campus Sexual Assault Victims Bill of Rights Act is introduced in the U.S. Congress. * The results of the first national public opinion poll to examine citizens' attitudes about violence and victimization, America Speaks Out, are released by the National Victim Center during National Crime Victims' Rights Week. * The Attorney General's Summit on Law Enforcement and Violent Crime focuses national attention on victims' rights in the criminal justice system. * The U.S. Attorney General issues new comprehensive guidelines that establish procedures for the Federal criminal justice system to respond to the needs of crime victims. The 1991 Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance implement new protections of the Crime Control Act of 1990, integrating the requirements of the Federal Crime Victims' Bill of Rights, the Victims of Child Abuse Act and the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982. * The first national conference that addresses crime victims' rights and needs in corrections is sponsored by the Office for Victims of Crime in California. * The first International Conference on Campus Sexual Assault is held in Orlando, Florida. * The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) establishes a Victim Issues Committee to examine victims' issues and concerns related to community corrections. * The International Parental Child Kidnapping Act makes the act of unlawfully removing a child outside the United States a Federal felony. * The Spiritual Dimension in Victim Services facilitates a conference of leaders of 13 religious denominations to plan ways in which these large religious bodies can increase awareness of crime victims' needs and provide appropriate services. * The New Jersey legislature passes a victims' rights constitutional amendment, which is ratified by voters in November. * Colorado legislators introduce a constitutional amendment on the first day of National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Fifteen days later, the bill is unanimously passed by both Houses to be placed on the ballot in 1992. * In an 8-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Simon & Schuster v. New York Crime Victims Board that New York's notoriety-for-profit statute was overbroad and, in the final analysis, unconstitutional. 1992 * Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, published during National Crime Victims' Rights Week by the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center and the National Victim Center, clarifies the scope and devastating effect of rape in this nation, including the fact that 683,000 women are raped annually in the United States. * The Association of Paroling Authorities, International establishes a Victim Issues Committee to examine victims' needs, rights and services in parole processes. * The U.S. Congress reauthorizes the Higher Education Bill which includes the Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights. * The Battered Women's Testimony Act, which urges states to accept expert testimony in criminal cases involving battered women, is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. * In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court -- in R.A.V. vs.City of St. Paul -- struck down a local hate crimes ordinance in Minnesota. * Five states -- Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri and New Mexico -- ratify constitutional amendments for victims' rights. * Twenty-eight states pass anti-stalking legislation. * Massachusetts passes a landmark bill creating a statewide computerized domestic violence registry and requires judges to check the registry when handling such cases. 1993 * Wisconsin ratifies its constitutional amendment for victims' rights, bringing the total number of states with these amendments to 14. * Congress passes the "Brady Bill" requiring a waiting period for the purchase of handguns. * Congress passes the Child Sexual Abuse Registry Act establishing a national repository for information on child sex offenders. * Twenty-two states pass stalking statutes, bringing the total number of states with stalking laws to 50, plus the District of Columbia. 1994 * The American Correctional Association Victims Committee publishes the landmark Report and Recommendations on Victims of Juvenile Crime, which offers guidelines for improving victims' rights and services when the offender is a juvenile. * Six additional states pass constitutional amendments for victims' rights - the largest number ever in a single year - bringing the total number of states with amendments to 20. States with new amendments include: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Ohio, and Utah. * Congress passes the most comprehensive package of Federal victims' rights legislation as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. The Act includes: * Violence Against Women Act, which authorizes more than $1 billion in funding for programs to combat violence against women. * Enhanced VOCA funding provisions. * Establishment of a National Child Sex Offender Registry. * Enhanced sentences for drunk drivers with child passengers. 1995 * The Federal Crime Victims Fund deposits total $233,907,256. * The Crime Victims' Rights Act of 1995 is introduced in the U.S. Congress. * Legislatures in three states -- Indiana, Nebraska, and North Carolina -- pass constitutional amendments which will be placed on the ballot in 1996. * The National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network proposes the first draft of language for a Federal constitutional amendment for victims' rights. * The U.S. Department of Justice convenes a national conference to encourage implementation of the Violence Against Women Act. _____________________________________________ Acknowledgements Compiled by the National Victim Center with the support and assistance of: * The U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime; * VALOR; and * The many national, state and local victim service providers who offered documentation of their key victims' rights landmark activities. Presented as a Public Service By: CHILD ABUSE AND VICTIMIZATION In 1994, an estimated 1,271 children died as a result of abuse or neglect. (Wiese, David and Deborah Daro, 1995, "Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1994 Annual Fifty State Survey," National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, Chicago, IL) Approximately 3,140,000 cases of child maltreatment were reported to child protective services in 1994. Of these cases, 45 percent involved neglect; 26 percent involved physical abuse; 11 percent involved sexual abuse, three percent involved emotional maltreatment, and 15 percent involved "other". Each state averaged a 4.5 percent increase over 1993 figures. (Ibid.) Twelve percent of adult Americans report that they were physically abused during their childhood, which includes 13 percent of males and 10 percent of females. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1994, page 239, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Homicide is one of the five leading causes of child mortality in the United States. (Goetting, A., 1990, "Child Victims of Homicide: A Portrait of Their Killers and the Circumstances of Their Deaths, pp. 287-296, Violence and Victims) The rates of assault, rape and robbery against those age 12 to 19 are two to three times higher than for the adult population as a whole. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1991, "National Crime Victimization Survey," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) From the National Crime Victimization Survey, it can be estimated that approximately 523,000 12-to-19-year-olds sustained physical injury due to an assault in 1990, and approximately 132,900 received hospital care as a result of any kind of violent crime (Ibid.) More than six out of ten rape victims were sexually assaulted prior to adulthood; 32.3 percent were raped between the ages of 11 and 17, with 29.3 percent raped when they were less than 11 years old. (Kilpatrick, Dr. Dean, Christine Edmunds and Anne Seymour. 1992. "Rape in America: A Report to the Nation." National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center and National Victim Center, Charleston, SC) In a survey of 2,000 children aged 10 to 16, three times as many respondents were concerned about the likelihood of being beaten up by peers as were concerned about being sexually abused. (Finkelhor, David and Jennifer Dzuiba-Leatherman, "Victimization Prevention Programs: A National Survey of Children's Exposure and Reactions," Child Abuse and Neglect, as reported in American Psychologist Victimization of Children," March 1994) Half of the women who reported they had been raped during 1992 were juveniles under 18 years old, and 16 percent were younger than 12, according to a U.S. Department of Justice study of 11 states and Washington, D.C. (Langan, Ph.D., Patrick and Caroline Wolf Harlow, Ph.D., 1994, "Child Rape Victims, 1992," p.1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Most child victims under 12 (94 percent), as reported by imprisoned rapists, were family members (70 percent) or an acquaintance or friend (24 percent); only six percent were strangers. For child rape victims ages 12 to 17, 36 percent were family members of the rapist, 45 percent were an acquaintance or friend, and 19 percent were strangers (Ibid., p.2) Presented as a Public Service by COST OF CRIME Crime victims in 1992 lost $17.6 billion in direct costs, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These costs included losses from property theft or damage, cash losses, medical expenses, and amount of pay lost because of injury or activities related to the crime. (Klaus, Patsy A., 1994, "The Costs of Crime to Victims," page 1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Economic loss of some kind occurred in 71 percent of all personal crimes. For crimes of violence, economic loss occurred in 23 percent of victimizations. Household crimes of burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft involved economic loss in 91 percent of all victimizations. (Ibid., page 1) Among crimes that involved loss, about 12 percent of personal crimes and 24 percent of household crimes involved economic losses of $500 or more. (Ibid., page 1) Lost property was not recovered in 89 percent of personal crimes and 85 percent of household crimes in 1992. (Ibid., page 1) For crimes of violence involving injuries in which medical expenses were known, 65 percent involved costs of $250 or more. (Ibid., page 2) Property valued at $15.6 billion was stolen in connection with all Crime Index offenses in 1994. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1995, "Crime in the United States, 1994," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) The average dollar loss per reported arson in 1994 was $9,761. (Ibid.) In 1994, the value of property stolen during burglaries was estimated at $3.6 billion. (Ibid.) The value of property stolen in connection with property crimes was estimated at $15.1 billion for 1994, or $1,248 per offense reported. (Ibid.) Monetary loss attributed to property stolen in connection with robbery offenses was estimated at $496 million. Bank robberies resulted in the highest average losses, $3,551 per offense; convenience store robberies the lowest, $387. (Ibid.) The estimated monetary loss due to motor vehicle thefts was nearly $7.6 billion, for an average of $4,940 per vehicle. (Ibid.) Crime victimizations occurring in the workplace cost about half a million employees 1,751,100 days of work each year, an average of 3.5 days per crime. This missed work resulted in over $55 million in lost wages annually, not including days covered by sick and annual leave. (Ronet Bachman, Ph.D., 1994, "Violence and Theft in the Workplace," page 1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Alcohol-related crashes cost society $44 billion per year, yet this conservative estimate does not include pain, suffering and lost quality of life. These indirect costs raise the alcohol-related crash figure to a staggering $134 billion in 1993. (Miller, Ted. R. and Lawrence J. Blincoe, 1994, "Incidence and Cost of Alcohol-involved Crashes," pp. 583-591, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 26, Number 5) Presented as a Public Service by CRIME AND EDUCATION On a daily basis, 100,000 students carry guns to school, 160,000 miss classes due to fear of physical harm, and 40 are injured or killed by firearms. (National Education Association, 1993, "School Violence," Washington, D.C.) One-fourth of all suspensions from school nationally were for violent incidents committed by elementary school students. (Harvard School of Public Health, Louis Harris Poll as cited in "Education Week," August 4, 1993; and Centers for Disease Control, "The Battle Over Gun Control," as cited in "Black Enterprise Magazine," 1993.) Sixty-three percent of incidents involving guns on school property involved high school students; 12 percent involved elementary students; and one percent involved preschoolers. (Ibid.) Seventy-eight percent of school board district respondents to a national survey reported that they had experienced student assaults on students, and 61 reported weapons in school. Sixty percent of responding urban districts reported student assaults on teachers, with 58 percent of urban districts reporting some type of gang violence in their schools over the past year. (National School Boards Association, 1993, "Violence in the Schools: How America's School Boards are Safeguarding Our Children," page 2, Alexandria, VA) Thirty-five percent of school board districts believe student violence has "increased significantly" in the last five years; 47 percent believe student violence has "increased somewhat" in the last five years, with 12 percent reporting "no change." (Ibid, page 3) The majority of public school teachers feel "very safe" (77 percent) when they are in or around school, while only 50 percent of students feel "very safe." Forty percent of students feel only "somewhat safe." (Letiman, Robert and Katherine Binns, 1993, "The America Teacher 1993: Violence in America's Public Schools," page 3, Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY) Nearly one-fourth (23 percent) of America's public school students say they have been the victim of an act of violence in or around school. More than one-tenth of America's public school teachers say they have been victims of acts of violence that occurred in or around school, with 95 percent of these incidents involving students. (Ibid., page 7) Thirteen percent of teens age 13 to 17 report having friends who were sexually fondled against their will at school. (Gallup, George H., March 1994, "Violence and Teens in the Home and in the Schools in the 1990s," page 4, The George H. Gallup International Institute, Princeton, NJ) School crime as reported by America's youth (age 13 to 17) include: Seven percent reported that they had been physically assaulted; 15 percent had money stolen at school; 14 percent had their property vandalized at school; and 24 percent lived in a state of fear at school, worrying about their physical safety. In addition, 30 percent said there was " a very big problem" with classroom disturbances, with 23 percent saying fighting at school is "a very big problem." (Ibid., page 7) The number of crimes reported on 796 college campuses in 1993 in compliance with Federal law is as follows: 15 murders; 430 forcible sexual offenses; 83 non-forcible sexual offenses; 367 rapes; 1,340 robberies; 3,103 aggravated assaults; 20,123 burglaries; and 7,032 motor vehicle thefts. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 3, 1995) Presented as a Public Service by CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION There was one violent crime every 16 seconds in 1993. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1994, "Crime in the United States, 1993," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) There were an estimated 43,547,400 criminal victimizations in the United States in 1993, including 10, 848,090 crimes of violence, and 32,182,320 property crimes. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995, "Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, page 230, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Slightly over one-third (35.1 percent) of all crimes were reported to police in 1993, with 41.6 percent of crimes of violence reported to police. (Ibid., page 245) In 1993, a weapon was used in 27.3 percent of crimes of violence in the United States. (Ibid., page 236) During 1994, law enforcement agencies made an estimated 14.6 million arrests for all criminal infractions other than traffic violations. The arrest rate was 5,715 arrests per 100,000 population in the United States. Of all persons arrested in 1994, 45 percent were under the age of 25; 80 percent were male; and 67 percent were white. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1995, "Crime in the United States, 1994," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) From 1993 to 1994, violent crimes collectively decreased by three percent. The 1994 total was, however, two percent higher than the 1990 figure and 40 percent above the 1985 level. (Ibid.) From 1973 to 1991, 36.6 million people were injured as a result of violent crime. Annually, about two million people are injured as a result of violent crime. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1993, "Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims," page 15, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Of victims of crime who are injured, 51 percent required some type of medical treatment; 19 percent received treatment at a hospital emergency room or were treated at a hospital and released that day, and four percent required hospitalization for at least one night. (Ibid., page 15) One-third of violent crimes (32 percent) involve a weapon, including 92 percent of aggravated assaults, 55 percent of robberies, and 20 percent of rapes. (Ibid., page 29) Victims take some type of measure to protect themselves in nearly 71 percent of all violent victimizations; 82 percent of rapes; 58 percent of robberies; and 73 percent of assaults. (Ibid., page 30) More than 5.1 million Americans -- or almost 2.7 percent of the adult population -- were under some form of correctional supervision in 1994. Almost three-quarters of these men and women were being supervised in the community on probation or parole. The others were confined in jail or prison. (Gilliard, Darrell and Allen Beck, 1995, "The Nation's Correctional Population Tops Five Million," Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) At the end of June 1995, there were 1,104,074 men and women incarcerated in the nation's prisons. (Gilliard, Darrell and Allen Beck, 1995, "Prisoners at Midyear, 1995," Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Presented as a Public Service by DOMESTIC VIOLENCE It is estimated that every 15 seconds a woman is battered. (Derived from Strauss, M.R. Gelles and S.K. Steinmetz, 1980, "Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family," Garden City, NY: Anchor Press) Twenty-two to 35 percent of women who visit emergency departments in the United States are there for symptoms related to on-going abuse. (Randall, T., 1992, "Domestic Violence Intervention Calls for More than Treating Injuries," Journal of the American Medical Association 264[8]: p. 939) Every year, domestic violence results in almost 100,000 days of hospitalizations, almost 30,000 emergency department visits, and almost 40,000 visits to a physician. (American Medical Association, 1991, "Five Issues in American Health," Chicago, IL). In a prospective study of 691 White, Hispanic, and African-American pregnant women sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control, one in six reported physical abuse during their present pregnancy. One in four reported physical abuse in the last calendar year. (McFarlane, Judith, et. al., 1991, "Assessing for Abuse During Pregnancy: Severity and Frequency of Injuries and Associated Entry in to Prenatal Care," Journal of the American Medical Association 267[23]: pp. 3176-3178.) In the United States, nine out of ten women murdered are killed by men, half at the hands of a male partner. ("Crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Reports 1986," 1987, Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation) In 1991, 28 percent of all female murder victims were slain by their husbands or partners. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1993, "Crime in the United States, 1991," Washington, D.C.) Being abused or neglected as a child increases the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53 percent, as an adult by 38 percent, and for violent crime by 38 percent. (Widom, C.S., 1992, "The Cycle of Violence," National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Women are more likely to be victims of homicide when they are estranged from their husbands than when they live with their husbands. The risk of homicide is higher in the first two months after separation. (Wilson, M.., and Daly, M., 1993, Violence and Victims, "Spousal Homicide Risk and Estrangement," 8:3-16) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average prison sentence for men who killed their wives was 17.5 years; the average sentence for women convicted of killing their husbands was 6.2 years. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 1994, "Violence Between Intimates", USDOJ, Washington, D.C.) Results from The National Women's Study indicate that 3.7 percent of women who have ever been married have suffered an aggravated assault at the hands of a husband or ex-husband. These results mean that over 3.5 million American women are survivors of wife battering. (Kilpatrick, D., e.t al., 1992, "The National Women's Study," National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Charleston, SC) Thirty-four percent of Americans say they have witnessed an incident of domestic violence, compared with only 19 percent who report witnessing a robbery or mugging. (Family Violence Prevention Fund and EDK Associates, 1993, "National Survey on Domestic Violence," San Francisco, CA) Presented as a Public Service by DRUNK DRIVING During the period from 1982 through 1994, approximately 283,000 persons lost their lives in alcohol-related traffic crashes. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1995, Fatal Accident Reporting System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.) In 1994, an estimated 16,589 persons died in alcohol-related traffic crashes -- an average of one every 32 minutes. These deaths constituted 40.8 percent of the 40,676 total traffic fatalities. (Ibid.) About 297,000 persons suffered injuries in crashes where police reported alcohol was present -- an average of one person injured approximately every two minutes. (Ibid.) The 16,589 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 1994 represent a 30 percent reduction from the 23,758 alcohol-related fatalities reported in 1984. (Ibid.) Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death for every age from six through 28. Almost half of these crashes are alcohol-related. (Ibid.) About two in every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. (Ibid.) Alcohol-related crashes cost society $44 billion per year, yet this conservative estimate does not include pain, suffering and lost quality of life. These indirect costs raise the alcohol-related crash figure to a staggering $134 billion in 1993. (Miller, Ted. R. and Lawrence J. Blincoe, 1994, "Incidence and Cost of Alcohol-involved Crashes," pp. 583-591, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 26, Number 5.) It is estimated that 2.2 million drunk driving crashes each year victimize 1.3 million innocent victims who are injured or have their vehicles damaged. (Ibid.) In 1990, one in 100 drivers had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or greater. About 21 billion miles were driven by drunk drivers. (Ibid.) More than 80 percent of impaired drivers admitted to hospital emergency departments were not held responsible for their crime, according to a recent study. While a high rate of impairment existed in seriously injured motorists (45 percent) in a metropolitan region, the majority were not charged by the police. (Orsay, Elizabeth M. MD, et al, 1994, "The Impaired Driver: Hospital and Police Detection of Alcohol and Other Drugs of Abuse in Motor Vehicle Crashes," printed in Annals of Emergency Medicine.) More than half of the persons jailed for driving under the influence (DUI) in 1989 had previous DUI convictions. About one in six persons jailed for DUI served at least three prior sentences in jail for drunk driving. (Cohen, Robyn L., 1992, "Special Report: Drunk Driving," Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Youths arrests (for under age 18) increased significantly from 1984 to 1993 for drunkenness (42.9 percent), driving under the influence (50.2 percent), and drug abuse (27.8 percent). (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1994, "Crime in the United States - 1993," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Presented as a Public Service by ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT The following statistics are derived from the findings of a national study of domestic elder abuse reports conducted by the National Center on Elder Abuse in 1994. Data on elder abuse reports were collected from state adult protective service and state units on aging across the nation for the years of 1993 and 1994. It is important to note that some experts estimate the only one out of 14 domestic elder abuse incidents (excluding the incidents of self neglect) comes to the attention of authorities. In 1986, there were about 117,000 reports of domestic elder abuse in the nation. This figure rose to 241,000 reports in 1994, representing an increase of 106 percent. It is estimated that approximately 818,000 elders became victims of various types of elder abuse in 1994. This figure, however, excludes self-neglecting elders. If self-neglecting elders are added, the total number of elder abuse victims would be 1.84 million individuals in the same year. In most states, certain types of professionals are designated as "mandatory reporters of elder abuse" and are required by law to report suspected cases of elder maltreatment. In 1994, 21.6 percent of all domestic elder abuse reports came from physicians and other health care professionals, while another 9.4 percent came from service providers, and family members and relatives of victims reported 14.9 percent of the reported cases of domestic elder abuse. The majority of domestic elder abuse reports are substantiated after investigations. For example, 54.9 percent of reports were substantiated in 1994. Additionally, 54.9 percent of the substantiated reports were self-neglect cases. Neglect is the most common form of elder maltreatment in domestic settings. Of the substantiated reports of elder abuse for which perpetrators were identified in 1994, 58.5 percent involved neglect. Physical abuse accounted for 15.7 percent in the same year, while financial/material exploitation was 12.3 percent of the substantiated reports. In 1994, 65.4 percent of the victims of domestic elder abuse was white, 21.4 percent were black, and Hispanic elders accounted for 9.6 percent of the domestic elder abuse victims. Adult children are the most frequent abusers of the elderly in domestic settings. It was found that 35 percent of the substantiated elder abuse cases in 1994 involved adult children as abusers. "Other relatives" ranked as the second most frequent abusers (13.6 percent) and spouses with 13.4 percent. In 1994, the majority of abusers were female (52.4 percent) and slightly more than three-fifths of victims were females (62.1 percent). Similarly, about three-fifths of self-neglecting elders were also females (62.4 percent). The median age of elder abuse victims was 76.4 years, according to 1994 data that excluded self-neglecting elders. NCEA is operated by a consortium of the American Public Welfare Association (APWA), the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASUA), the University of Delaware, and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA), with funding assistance from the Administration on Aging (AoA). Presented as a Public Service by HATE AND BIAS CRIMES The following statistics are derived from "Hate Crime - 1994" contained in the Uniform Crime Reports published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation within the U.S. Department of Justice in 1995. Preliminary figures show 5,852 hate crime incidents were reported to the FBI during 1994, including incidents reported by more than 7,200 law enforcement agencies in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Sixty percent of the incidents were motivated by racial bias; 18 percent by religious bias; 12 percent by sexual-orientation bias; and 11 percent by ethnicity/national origin bias. The 5,852 incidents involved, 7,144 separate offenses, 7,187 victims, and 6,189 offenders. Crimes against persons accounted for 72 percent of hate crime offenses reported. Intimidation was the single most frequently reported hate crime, accounting for 39 percent of the total. Damage/destruction/ vandalism of property constituted 24 percent; simple assault; 18 percent; and aggravated assault, 14 percent. Thirteen persons were murdered in hate-motivated incidents in 1994. Individuals comprised 84 percent of all reported bias crimes in 1994, with businesses, religious organizations, and varied other targets comprising the remaining 16 percent. Among the 6,189 known offenders reported to be associated with hate crime incidents, 57 percent were white, and 30 percent were black. The remaining offenders were of other or multi-racial groups. Presented as a Public Service by HOMICIDE The murder count for 1994 totaled 23,305, the lowest rate since 1989. The murder rate in the United States was nine per 100,000 inhabitants. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1995, "Crime in the United States, 1994," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Based on supplemental data received, 79 percent of murder victims in 1994 were males, and 88 percent were persons 18 years of age or older. By race, 51 percent were black, and 47 percent were white. (Ibid.) Data based on a total of 25,052 murder offenders showed 91 percent of the assailants were males, and 84 percent were 18 years of age or older. Fifty-six percent of the offenders were black, and 42 percent were white. (Ibid.) Forty-seven percent of murder victims were related to (12 percent) or acquainted with (35 percent) their assailants. Among all female murder victims in 1994, 28 percent were slain by husbands or boyfriends. (Ibid.) By circumstances, 28 percent of murders in 1994 resulted from arguments, and 18 percent from felonious activities such as robbery, arson, etc. (Ibid.) Firearms were the weapons used in approximately seven out of every ten murders reported in 1994. (Ibid.) Of the 23,271 homicides in which circumstances were known in 1993, 5.5 percent were narcotics-related. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1994, "Uniform Crime Reporting Program," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) A 1987 study found that an estimated 6.7 million adult Americans had lost an immediate family member, other relative or close friend to criminal homicide. Of this number, 2.8 million had lost an immediate family member to homicide. (Amick-McMullen, A. Kilpatrick, D.G. & Resnick, H.S., 1991, "Homicide as a Risk Factor for PTSD Among Surviving Family Members," Behavioral Modification 15(4), 545-559.) A survey of murder cases disposed in 1988 in the courts of large urban counties indicated that 16 percent of murder victims were members of the defendant's family. (Dawson John M. And Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D., 1994, "Murder in Families," U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, D.C.) Among murder victims, 6.5 percent were killed by their spouses, and 3.5 percent by their parents, 1.9 percent by their own children, 1.5 percent by their siblings, and 2.6 percent by some other family member. (Ibid.) One-third of family murders involved a female as a killer. In sibling murders, females were 15 percent of killers, and in murders of parents, 18 percent. But in spouse murders, women represented 41 percent of killers. In murders of their offspring, women accounted for 55 percent of killers. (Ibid.) Forty-five percent of family murder victims were female, compared to 18 percent of non-family murder victims. (Ibid.) In murders of persons under age 12, the victims' parents accounted for 57 percent of the murderers. (Ibid.) Presented as a Public Service by JUVENILE CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION The following statistics are derived from "Juvenile Offender and Victims: A Focus on Violence," May 1995, by Howard N. Snyder and Melissa Sickmund, National Center for Juvenile Justice, Pittsburgh, PA and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Washington, D.C. Between 1988 and 1992, juvenile arrests for violent crime increased nearly 50 percent. (Page iv) In 1991, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) found that victims age 12 and older reported that the offender was a juvenile (under age 18) in approximately 28 percent of personal crimes (i.e. rape, personal robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and theft from a person). (Page 1) In 1991, juveniles were responsible for 19 percent of all violent crimes (i.e., rape, personal robbery, and aggravated and simple assault). (Page 1) Persons most likely to be victimized by juveniles were individuals between ages 12 and 19 (NOTE: Crimes against children below age 12 are not a part of NCVS). The offender was a juvenile in nearly half of these violent crimes. (Page 1) Law enforcement agencies made nearly 2.3 million arrests of persons under age 18 in 1992. (Page 2) In 1992, juveniles accounted for 13 percent of all violent crimes reported to law enforcement agencies and 18 percent of all violent crime arrests. Based on 1992 clearance data, juveniles were responsible for: 9 percent of murders; 12 percent of aggravated assaults; 14 percent of forcible rapes; 16 percent of robberies; 20 percent of burglaries; 23 percent of larceny-thefts; 24 percent of motor vehicle thefts; and 42 percent of arsons. (Page 3) The years between 1988 and 1991 saw a 38 percent increase in the rate of juvenile arrests for violent crimes. (Page 6) The number of violent juvenile crime arrests is projected to increase 22 percent between 1992 and 2010. If current trends continue, by the years 2010 the number of juvenile arrests for murder is expected to increase 145 percent over the 1992 level; for forcible rape, 66 percent; and for robbery, 58 percent. (Page 7) Between 1987 and 1991, the risk that a person between the ages of 12 and 17 would become a victim of a nonfatal violent crime increased 17 percent. (Page 17) Black juveniles are four times more likely than white juveniles to be homicide victims...Young black males have the highest homicide victimization rate of any race/sex group. The rate for black males was twice that of black females, five times that of white males, and eight times that of white females. (Page 19) When juveniles commit homicide, most of their victims are friends or acquaintances (53 percent). Thirty-two percent of juvenile murder victims are strangers, and 15 percent are family members. (Page 24) Presented as a Public Service by RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT Women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults (for 1992 and 1993), with friends or acquaintances committing over half of these crimes, and strangers responsible for about one in five rapes and sexual assaults. (Ronet Bachman, Ph.D. and Linda E. Saltzman, Ph.D., 1995, "Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey," National Crime Victimization Survey, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Women were about six times more likely than men to experience violence committed by an intimate. (Ibid.) The average sentence for criminals convicted of rape in the United States (and released in 1992) is 117 months. The average time served is 65 months, which equates to 56 percent of the actual sentence served. For crimes of sexual assault, the average sentence is 72 months, and the average time served is 35 months, equating to 49 percent of time served. (Greenfeld, Lawrence A., 1995, "Prison Sentences and Time Served for Violence," page 1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) As of the end of 1994, 40 states provide for the registration of sex offenders. Most states impose the registration requirement on an offender at the time he or she is released on parole or probation, and the requirement usually continues for the duration of the parole or probation period, or for an average of 10 years. (National Victim Center, 1995, "Community Notification of the Release of Sex Offenders," page 1, Arlington, VA) Every single minute in America, there are 1.3 forcible rapes of adult women; 78 women are forcibly raped each hour. Every day in America, 1,871 women are forcibly raped, equating to 56,916 forcible rapes every month. Every year in our country, 683,000 American women are forcible raped. (Kilpatrick, D., C. Edmunds, A. Seymour, April 1992, "Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, " from "The National Women's Study" sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Victim Center and National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, Washdington, D.C.) Thirteen percent of adult American women (or at least 12.1 million) have been victims of at least one forcible rape in their lifetime. (Ibid.) More than six out of ten of all rape cases (61 percent) occurred before victims reached the age of eighteen. (Ibid.) Only 16 percent of rapes are ever reported to police. Most cases were reported within 24 hours after the rape. However, a substantial minority (25 percent) was reported more than 24 hours after the rape. (Ibid.) Rape has a devastating impact on the mental health of victims, with nearly one-third of all rape victims (31 percent) developing Rape-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD) in their lifetimes. (Ibid.) Rape-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD) dramatically increases American women's risk for major alcohol and other drug abuse problems. Compared to women who have never been raped, rape victims with RR-PTSD were 13 times more likely to have two or more major alcohol problems (20.1 percent vs. 1.5 percent), and 26 times more likely to have two or more major drug abuse problems (7.8 percent vs. 0.3 percent). (Ibid.) Presented as a Public Service by SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME In 30 percent of violent crime victimizations in 1992, victims reported that they believed their assailants were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In half of violent crime victimizations, the victim did not know whether the offender was under the influence. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995, "Drugs and Crime Facts, 1994," page 4, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) In 1991, 49 percent of all state prison inmates reported that they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both at the time they committed the offense for which they were currently sentenced: 17 percent were under the influence of drugs only, and 14 percent were under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Half of the state prisoners said they had taken illegal drugs during the month before committing the crime. (Ibid., page 6). Nearly 40 percent of the youth incarcerated in long-term, state-operated facilities in 1987 said they were under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense. (Ibid., page 6) Almost 83 percent of youth in long-term, state operated juvenile facilities in 1987 reported use of an illegal drug in the past, and 63 percent had used an illegal drug on a regular basis. The most commonly mentioned drugs were marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines. (Ibid., page 7) Overall, ten percent of Federal prison inmates in 1991, 17 percent of state prison inmates in 1991, and 13 percent of convicted jail inmates in 1989 said they committed their offense to obtain money for drugs. (Ibid., page 8) The National Pretrial Reporting Program found that in 1992, of all released defendants rearrested for a drug offense, 59 percent were once again granted pretrial release. (Ibid., page 16) The number of suspects prosecuted for Federal drug offenses increased from 7,697 in 1981 to 25,663 in 1991. (Ibid., page 18) In 1993, the Drug Use Forecasting Report on Drug Use Among Juvenile Arrestees/Detainees found the percent positive for marijuana ranged from 14 to 51 percent, with a median value of 26 percent; in 1992, the range was from 5 to 38 percent with a median of 16.5 percent (an almost ten percent increase in the median). (National Institute of Justice, 1994, "1993 Annual Report on Juvenile Arrestees/Detainees: Drugs and Crime in America's Cities," page 3, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Ninety percent of 12th graders have friends who use alcohol; 63 percent know someone who has a drinking problem; and 26 percent have friends who use LSD, cocaine or heroin. (Luntz Research Companies, 1995, "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse," Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, New York, NY) Presented as a Public Service by WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND CRIME Each year, nearly one million individuals become victims of violent crime while working or on duty. These victimizations account for 15 percent of the over six-and-a-half million acts of violence experienced by Americans age 12 or older. (Ronet Bachman, Ph.D., July 1994, "Violence and Theft in the Workplace," page 1, National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.) Crime victimizations occurring in the workplace cost about half a million employees 1,751,100 days of work each year, an average of 3.5 days per crime. This missed work resulted in over $55 million in lost wages annually, not including days covered by sick and annual leave. (Ibid., page 1) Victims who were working were as likely to face armed offenders as those victimized while not working. Over 30 percent of victims who were working during a violent victimization faced armed offenders. Almost a third of these offenders had a handgun. (Ibid., page 1) Six out of ten incidents of workplace violence occurred in private companies. (Ibid., page 1). Homicide was the third leading cause of occupational death from 1980 to 1985, accounting for 13 percent of all workplace deaths. Homicide is the leading cause of death in the workplace for women. (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1992, "Homicide in U.S. Workplace," Morgantown. W V) According to a 1993 survey, more than two million Americans were victims of a physical attack at work during the past year. Another six million Americans workers were threatened, and 16 million were harassed. (Northwestern National Life Insurance Company, 1993, "Fear and Violence in the Workplace," page 4, Minneapolis, MN) Victims of violence or harassment experienced twice the rate of stress-related conditions, including depression, anger, insomnia, headaches and ulcers as non-victims (35 percent versus 18 percent); were 20 times more likely to say their productivity was reduced (21 percent versus one percent); and were ten times more likely to want to change jobs (39 percent versus four percent). (Ibid., page 6) Most attackers and harassers were people that victims dealt with on a daily basis. Customers, clients and patients accounted for the largest segment of attackers (44 percent). Co-workers and bosses accounted for 86 percent of all harassment at work, one-third of threats, and one-fourth of workplace attacks. (Ibid., page 10) The rate of workplace homicide has tripled in the last decade, and is now one of the fastest growing types of homicide in the United States. (S. Anthony Baron, Ph.D., 1993, Violence in the Workplace: A Prevention and Management Guide for Businesses, page 15, Pathfinder Publishing, Ventura, CA) Presented as a Public Service by 1996 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Award of Appreciation Presented to for Outstanding Service to Crime Victims Date Director 1996 NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK RESOURCE GUIDE Now Available on Computer Disk In order to augment your National Crime Victims' Rights Week planning activities at the state and local levels, VALOR and the Office for Victims of Crime is pleased to offer the written components of this Resource Guide on computer disk in WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows or ASCII/DOS format. Instead of re-typing the many resources included in the Guide, victim service providers can simply personalize the existing documents on disk, saving time and human resources. There is a fee of $15.00 ($17.00 if shipped outside the U.S.) to cover the cost of the computer disk, processing, shipping and handling. To request the 1996 National Crime Victimsþ Rights Week Resource Guide on computer disk, please complete the information below and send to: OVC Resource Center User Services Dept. F, P.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 Attn: 1996 NCVRW Computer Disk Name: ____________________________________________________ Agency/Organization: _________________________________________ Mailing Address: ___________________________________________ City: ___________________________ State: __________ Zip: ___________________________ Telephone: __________________________________ Fax: _________________________________________ To specify format & disk size, please check one box below: _____ WP 6.1 for Windows 3«" disk (1587534H) _____ ASCII/DOS 3«" disk (1587536H) _____ WP 6.1 for Windows 5¬" disk (1587535H) _____ ASCII/DOS 5¬" disk (1587537H) All payments must be in U.S. dollars and drawn on a U.S. bank. ______ Payment enclosed, payable to NCJRS ______ Deduct this item from my NCJRS Deposit Account Account No.:________________________________ _____ Charge my _____ Mastercard _____ VISA Account No.:________________________________ Exp. Date: ________________________________ Signature: ________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the availability of the Resource Guide on computer disk, please contact the OVC Resource Center at (800) 627-6872.