55
VICTIM/WITNESS ASSISTANCE
The principal justification for the standards in this chapter is that they are integral to sound law enforcement. For example, compliance with these standards can enhance an agency’s ability to make quality arrests including those that survive to plea or trial. Research findings over time and across jurisdictions consistently indicate that a major cause of case attrition after arrest but before plea or trial is witness related problems. Similarly, research suggests that the probability of conviction increases markedly as the number of cooperative witnesses increases. If victims and other witnesses (see glossary for definitions) are subjected to what they consider poor treatment, they can be expected to offer something less than wholehearted cooperation with law enforcement agencies, which can have a devastating effect on investigations and subsequent prosecutions, if any.
Writing for a National Sheriffs’ Association publication, the chair of the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, former Assistant Attorney General Lois H. Herrington made the following point: "In a free society, we are absolutely dependent upon the aid of these victims to hold the criminal accountable. In return the victim deserves support and fair treatment. As often the first to arrive on the scene of the crime, the (officer) is the initial source of protection for the victim. The manner in which (the officer) treats a victim at the time of the crime and afterwards affects not only (the victim’s) immediate and long-term ability to cope with the crime, it can determine his (or her) willingness to assist in prosecution."
In its own best interests, law enforcement has a role to play in victim/witness assistance, a role that no other component of the criminal justice system can effectively duplicate e.g., victim/witness assistance activities of prosecutors’ offices usually affect only witnesses of cases that have been accepted for prosecution.
The analysis described in standard 55.1.2 is designed to identify appropriate victim/witness services that the agency can provide without duplicating services offered elsewhere in the community, whether by another government agency or by a private-sector organization. Standard 55.1.3 depends in large part, on the results of the analysis noted in standard 55.1.2. Standards in section 55.2 address primarily victim/witness services offered prior to preliminary investigation, during preliminary and follow-up investigations, and following arrest of the suspect.
State-level agencies and those with similar jurisdictional or mission characteristics must comply with victim/witness assistance standards that are in accord with their respective missions. Such agencies are not required to perform activities that would interfere with local victim/witness assistance efforts but may assist local departments as deemed appropriate. State-level and similar agencies may wish to consult with Commission staff about the applicability of these standards to their operations.
The standards in this chapter are designed to ensure that victims and other witnesses receive professional handling consistent with their important investigative and prosecutory role.
More importantly, agencies must make every reasonable effort to assure that the personal rights and safety of the victim or witness are protected by its actions. Agency members should be particularly sensitive to the special needs of the victims and families of crimes such as domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and abuse of the elderly because of their effect on the delicate structure of the family unit and the community in general.
55.1 Administration
55.1.1 A written directive summarizes the rights of victims and witnesses.
Commentary: State victim bill-of-rights legislation or similar statutes may serve as a written directive if distributed to all employees.
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55.1.2 The agency completes an analysis of victim/witness assistance needs and available services within the agency’s service area at least every three years or has access to a current analysis.
Commentary: What are the needs of victims and other witnesses? How are those needs being met by other government agencies and by community organizations? What needs remain unfulfilled? Of those, which ones are appropriate for the agency to meet? Those are the major questions raised by the standard. Answers to those questions should ultimately result in a list of victim/witness services that the agency can provide without duplicating the efforts of other victim/witness services in the jurisdiction. At a minimum, such services would include only those that first responders can provide effectively, those that the agency is in a unique position to provide between first response and the time when (and if) the case is accepted for prosecution. Surveys by small agencies may be little more than the application of conventional wisdom inasmuch as those agencies are usually in close touch with residents of their jurisdictions.
To the extent that another organization’s survey of victim/witness needs conforms to this standard, the agency may adopt that survey in whole or in part-as its own. The analysis includes the following elements:
- the extent and major types of victimization within the agency’s service area;
- an inventory of information and service needs of victims/witnesses in general (including homicide or suicide survivors) and special victims, such as those victimized by domestic violence, abuse and neglect (especially children and the elderly), sexual crimes, and drunken drivers;
- victim assistance and related community services available within the service area;
- identification of unfulfilled needs; and
- identification of needs that are appropriate for the agency to meet.
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55.1.3 The agency develops policies and procedures that achieve at least the following:
a. govern the implementation and delivery of victim/witness assistance services by agency personnel;
b. ensure the confidentiality of victims/witnesses and their role in case development to the extent consistent with applicable law;
c. govern agency efforts to inform the public and media about the agency’s victim/witness assistance services; and
d. govern the relationship between the agency and victim/witness efforts of other agencies and organizations.
Commentary: The nature of the policies and procedures depend to a large extent, on the analysis, if conducted, described in standard 55.1.2. Notwithstanding, the agency should develop policy and procedures.
The purpose for relationships with outside sources of victim/witness assistance is at least twofold: to ensure that agency referrals of victims/witnesses to outside sources are based on accurate and up-to-date knowledge of the services offered by those sources; and to maintain an ongoing channel of communication by which to offer and receive suggestions about how agency and outside sources can more effectively work together in order to better serve the victim/witness. This relationship may be initiated by letter, phone call, or in person.
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55.2 Operations
55.2.1 A written directive defines at least the following level of victim/witness assistance information provided by the agency between victimization and preliminary investigation either directly or on a cooperative basis with other area agencies:
a. information, including the agency’s emergency response phone number, that is available 24 hours a day from a single point of contact regarding victim/witness assistance supplied by the agency directly; and
b. referral information that is available 24 hours daily from a single point of contact regarding services offered in the agency’s jurisdiction by other organizations (governmental or private sector) for victims/witnesses in need of medical attention, counseling, and emergency financial assistance.
Commentary: Situations to which this standard applies include those instances when neither a patrol officer nor an investigator can be assigned to the case in a timely manner, thereby creating a significant delay between victimization and initial contact with the victim/witness by officers conducting the preliminary investigation.
The "single point of contact" could be a phone number connecting the caller to a recording or to a specific position (such as dispatcher—see 81.2.7) staffed 24 hours a day. A single point of contact could provide the information noted in bullet (a) and a second single point of contact supply the information described in bullet (b), or a single point of contact could provide both bullet (a) and bullet (b) information.
Regarding state law enforcement and certain other agencies, multiple points of contact may be required because of the decentralized nature of those agencies and the large geographical areas involved. Victim/witness assistance information may be supplied in cooperation with other agencies, such as by a multiagency dispatch center.
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55.2.2 The agency provides appropriate assistance to victims/witnesses who have been threatened or who, in the judgment of the agency, express specific, credible reasons for fearing intimidation or further victimization.
Commentary: What constitutes "appropriate assistance" is a judgment call by the agency. This is determined by the nature of the case and by the resources available to the agency and if possible, is commensurate with the danger faced by the victim/witness. "Appropriate assistance" may range from placing a victim in protective custody, such as might be offered by the agency itself or the appropriate prosecutor’s office, to offering a frightened witness words of encouragement.
When physical protection is a consideration, the agency is not obligated by this standard to provide it when the victim/witness is not physically present within the agency’s jurisdiction. If the agency becomes aware of danger to a victim/witness, the agency should promptly attempt to contact and alert the victim/witness; when the victim/witness is in another jurisdiction, the agency should also contact the appropriate agency and inform it of the situation and request that reasonable precautions be taken.
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55.2.3 A written directive defines victim/witness assistance services to be rendered during the preliminary investigation, to include at a minimum:
a. giving information to the victim/witness about applicable services, e.g., counseling, medical attention, compensation programs or emergency financial assistance, and victim advocacy;
b. advising the victim/witness about what to do if the suspect or the suspect’s companions or family threatens or otherwise intimidates him or her;
c. informing victims/witnesses about the case number, if known by the agency, and subsequent steps in the processing of the case; and
d. providing a telephone number that the victim/witness may call to report additional information about the case or to receive information about the status of the case.
Commentary: Regarding "preliminary investigation", see 42.2.2. Much of the information for the victim/witness can be on a card that the patrol officer or investigator gives to the victim/witness. The "status of the case" means open, suspended, or closed (see 42.1.3).
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55.2.4 A written directive defines victim/witness assistance services to be provided during the follow-up investigation, if any, to include at a minimum:
a. recontacting the victim/witness periodically to determine whether needs are being met, if in the opinion of the agency, the impact of a crime on a victim/witness has been unusually severe and has triggered above-average need for victim/witness assistance;
b. explaining to victims/witnesses the procedures involved in the prosecution of their cases and their role in those procedures, if not an endangerment to the successful prosecution of the case;
c. scheduling line-ups, interviews, and other required appearances at the convenience of the victim/witness and, at the option of the agency, providing transportation, if feasible;
d. returning promptly victim/witness property taken as evidence (except for contraband, disputed property, and weapons used in the course of the crime), where permitted by law or rules of evidence if feasible; and
e. assigning a victim advocate, if available, to the victim/witness during follow-up investigation.
Commentary: Regarding "follow-up investigation", see 42.2.3. The significance of the "if" clauses is that the agency is expected to make a good-faith effort to provide the bulleted services. Deletion of the "if clauses" would make this standard unattainable for many agencies inasmuch as compliance depends on many factors that vary substantially from case to case and from agency to agency.
Regarding bullet (a), the agency should consider recontacting victims/witnesses within ten days of the follow-up investigation’s initiation. The explanation called for by bullet (b) may be printed on cards given to victims/witnesses and is intended to orient them and relieve their possible anxiety about their continued involvement in their cases. The feasibility of providing the assistance noted in bullet (c) may vary from case to case and should depend, in large part, on the physical, financial, and emotional state of the victim/witness as well as on resources available to the agency. Bullet (d) is related to standard 84.1.7 but seeks to encourage a quicker return of property than specified in standard 84.1.7.
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55.2.5 A written directive defines victim/witness assistance services to be rendered upon arrest and during post-arrest processing of the suspect.
Commentary: Among the services that agencies should consider providing is notification of the victim/witness of the arrest, the charges and the arrestee’s custody status and changes thereto. In many jurisdictions, such notification is frequently impossible because of the overwhelming volume of arrests. In some instances such notification may unavoidably, not be timely—such as when suspects are apprehended elsewhere and perhaps released on bond well before the agency in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred is even informed of the arrest.
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55.2.6 A written directive establishes procedures for notifying next-of-kin of deceased, seriously injured, or seriously ill persons.
Commentary: The procedures should ensure that notifications are carried out promptly and in a considerate manner. Whenever possible, assistance should be obtained from the clergy or a relative or close friend. Procedures should also address notification requests initiated by other agencies. The agency may cover notifications for accident and non-accident situations in the same directive.
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