This data collection examines victim assistance programs
that are operated by law enforcement agencies, prosecutor's offices,
and independent assistance agencies. Victim assistance programs came
into being when it was discovered that, in addition to the physical,
emotional, and financial impact of a crime, victims often experience a
"second victimization" because of insensitive treatment by the
criminal justice system. Specifically, this study sought to answer the
following questions: (1) What are the current staffing levels of
victim assistance programs? (2) What types of victims come to the
attention of the programs? (3) What types of services are provided to
victims? and (4) What are the operational and training needs of victim
assistance programs? The survey was sent to 519 police departments,
sheriff departments, and prosecutor's offices identified as having
victim assistance programs. Also, 172 independent full-service
agencies that were believed to provide referral or direct services to
victims (not just advocacy) were also sent surveys. Variables on
staffing levels include the number of full-time, part-time, and
volunteer personnel, and the education and years of experience of paid
staff. Victim information includes the number of victims served for
various types of crime, and the percent of victims served identified
by race/ethnicity and by age characteristics (under 16 years old,
17-64 years old, and over 65 years old). Variables about services
include percent estimates on the number of victims receiving various
types of assistance, such as information on their rights, information
on criminal justice processes, "next-day" crisis counseling,
short-term supportive counseling, or transportation. Other data
gathered include the number of victims for which the agency arranged
emergency loans, accompanied to line-ups, police or prosecutor
interviews, or court, assisted in applying for state victim
compensation, prepared victim impact statements, notified of court
dates or parole hearings, or made referrals to social service agencies
or mental health agencies. Information is also presented on training
provided to criminal justice, medical, mental health, or other victim
assistance agency personnel, and whether the agency conducted
community or public school education programs. Agencies ranked their
need for more timely victim notification of various criminal justice
events, improvement or implementation of various forms of victim and
public protection, and improvement of victim participation in various
stages of the criminal justice process. Agencies also provided
information on training objectives for their agency, number of hours
of mandatory pre-service and in-service training, types of information
provided during the training of their staff, sources for their
training, and the priority of additional types of training for their
staff. Agency variables include type of agency, year started, and
budget information.