Protecting Victims’ Rights

The venomous justice system is de sign-language(a) to prevent criminal offense from occurring, as easilyspring up as administering justice by and by a hatred is committed. One fundamental aspect of this side of the truth is to en certainly that dupes of law-breaking are well protected and receive fair treatment by means ofout the act. That is why presidency and topical anaesthetic agencies are wantd to examine victims honests, from making sure that the incriminate stays away to notification for every crucial date concerning the offense.And no single segment of offensive activity victims receives as much trade protection as female victims of inner crimes. More than any other group of crime victims, female victims of sexual assault, harassment, and other sexual crimes are the main centralise of many a(prenominal) local, state, and national law enforcement measures to ensure the protection of victims crime. As the federal official level of the justice system offers a vast amount of culture regarding the protection of victims veraciouss, it serves as the perfect starting point to understanding victims rights.The to the highest degree comprehensive bill that covering victims rights is 18 United States Code, Section 3771, which complicates cardinal measures designed to protect victims rights. One point of the promissory note of Victims Rights is that the victim has the right to be reasonably protected from the accused (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This includes every measure that local and government governing can take to sword sure the accused does not dumbfound any further hardship or threaten the victim in any way.Another important part of the victims bill of rights is making sure that victims are subject to state their outcome in copious, and have the right to be reasonably perceive at any public operation in the district d completelyy involving exculpate, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceed (Unit ed States House of Representatives, 2006). Making sure that victims utilize their right to be heard begins initi wholey with the law enforcement agent taking their statement.The purpose of the victim bear uponion statement is to give the victim of the crime the chance to express, in writing, the impact of the crime, including all economic losses, physical or psychological injuries, and significant changes to the victims quality of life (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2000). Whatever the victim tells the law enforcement agents close to the impact of the crime on his or her life helps determine the types of economic aid that a victim may need.For sexual assault victims this aspect of the process is very important, as the crime is often committed with few or no other witnesses. Victims of sexual assault illustrate many of the reasons that victims require such strong protection of their rights. Because of the violent nature of flub and sexual assault, victims are often traumatized far more(prenominal) than than other crime victims. Victims of sexual assault and ravishment are often left frightened and s low-spirited or unable to pursue the necessary course of justice against their perpetrators.This vexation might encourage them to withhold information that may as well be embarrassing or painful to bring up, leading to the perpetrator getting away with the crime. As serious crimes, the charges that result from sexual assault and transgress are significant and can result in severe penalties for the perpetrator, including retentive prison sentences. However, despite the seriousness of sexual crimes, most victims fail to written report them to authorities for a variety of reasons, including the fear that their rights may not be fully protected.The fact that many of these victims do not report the crime leads to the criminals not being convicted. As for all sexual crimes against females, rape remain the least reported of them all, which also includes having the least routine of indictments and least number of convictions of all violent crimes in America the segment of the population that experiences the highest amounts of rape and lowest amounts of insurance coverage them is among college students, where the reporting rate is around 5%. (Fisher, et. al, 2000).This low instance of reporting of sexual assault and rape illustrates an important inadequacy in the criminal justice systems ability to dispose female sexual crime victims of their rights. Many of the reasons that females cite for not reporting the crimes inflicted against them include fear of blame from society, desire to quickly move on with their lives, their desire to avoid a long investigation and subsequent trial, and at long last out of concerns for their privacy. It is the job of police, the district attorneys office, and federal branches to wreak sure that none of these reasons prevent a victim from reporting a crime.Because of this there are many programs designed to provide crime victims with close information astir(predicate) the criminal justice system and the many rights that victims possess. At the federal level, the Department of Justice offers many programs and initiatives to ensure that victims are make fully aware of their rights. The office staff of Justice Programs has an mapping for Victims of Crime that failings throughout the year on programs designed to assist victims of crime through grants. The amount of help that the Office for Victims of Crime gives to victims is considerable.In Fiscal form 2007, Office of Victims of Crime distri provideded more than $370 million to the states through Victims of Crime Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30, 2004 and contains four major sections related to crime victims and the criminal justice process, which include protecting crime victims rights, eliminating the substantial backlog of desoxyribonucleic acid samples collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders, and improving and expanding the DNA testing capacity of federal, state, and local crime laboratories (U. S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime OVC, 2008).The Office for Victims of Crime has also given care grants and more than $165 million to the states through Victims of Crime Act compensation grants, with both(prenominal) the victim assistance grants and the victim compensation awards funded by the Crime Victims Fund, which is culled from fines, penalties, and alliance forfeitures collected from convicted federal criminals (OVC, 2008). Other compensation measures taken on behalf of victims include providing reimbursement to crime victims for crime-related expenses such as medical examination costs, mental health counseling, funeral and sepulchre costs, and lost wages or loss of support. hile state victim assistance programs fund local victim assistance services such as crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, and criminal justic e system advocacy (OVC, 2008). And, while the Office for Victims of Crime provides monetary compensation to many victims, it also heads up some(prenominal) programs designed to create a stronger conglomeration of criminal justice departments to ensure the protection and assistance of crime victims.The Office trains criminal justice professionals intimately the needs and rights of victims of crime and provides them with the latest in ideas and practices in victim protection through such networks as the Offices Help mass meeting Lessons and Practices in Victim Services message board, and finally the Office sponsors the bailiwick Victim Assistance Academy, an annual training conference for those who assist victims and survivors of crime (OVC, 2008).While there remain many programs set up by the Department of Justice to ensure victims rights, most of the inspiration for the programs continues to come from the elementary tenets of the Victims report of Rights. Another important asp ect of the Victims Bill of Rights is that the victim is make aware of everything that occurs in the slip as it progresses.This also means that the victim has the right to any and all information concerning the case of the prosecution. According to the U. S. polity victims have The right to reasonable, accurate, and well timed(p) notice of any public court exercise, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused (United States House of Representatives, 2006).This means that victims should not be made to wait for the latest information that arises in the case, including any revelations about the accused or any changes in his or her status. Providing accurate and timely information to victims about their rights is one of the main ways of protecting their rights, and the nationwide Automated Victim Information and Notification transcription has been established to make sure that they receive information pertaining to their case as soon as it becomes available.Began with funding by the Office for Victims of Crime, the Victim Information and Notification System is a com determineer-automated system that notifies crime victims of key events in their cases, including an offenders release before trial or from prison as of folk 2007, VNS was serving more than 1,300,000 crime victims nationwide with information on federal criminal justice cases provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States postal Inspection Service, the United States Attorneys Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (OVC, 2008).By keeping crime victims informed of the status of their case and of the perpetrator, criminal justice professionals are able to provide victims with a piece of mind that allows them to retain a colouration of a normal life after crime. The Victims Bill of Rights continue with The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding the reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case (2006).By giving the victim the right to access the court information, as well as hear the case made against the accused in detail, the federal and local governments are ensuring that victims have significant influence on the outcome of the case. They are able to revise and mistakes made in the case of the prosecution, and they are also able to participate as much as possible in the transactions. Not only does this help the victim put some of the trauma from the crime behind him or her, but it also significantly affects the ability of the Government to prosecute the accused.Additional rights ensured by the Victims Bill of Rights are loyal to the basic ideals of the American Bill of Rights and deal primarily with the right to a speedy trial. According to the bill, victims have The ri ght to full and timely restitution as provided in law the right to minutes free from unreasonable delay (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This not only ensures that the law will pursue the case against the accused to prevent further crime, but it also reinforces the role of the law as efficient protector.Also, by ensuring that the proceedings move in a timely manner, the victim is not infallible to endure a long and painful process. These measures go along well with the final right guaranteed by the victims bill of rights, and that is the right to be tempered with fairness and with respect for dignity and privacy (2006). In the end, this is most important of all the rights, and perhaps a culmination as well, as all of the rights assured victims are to treat them with the utmost respect, fairness, and dignity.The duty of the U. S. Attorneys Office and the Department of Justice is to ensure victims of crime that their rights will be protected, and their results have be en mixed at best. While there remain many important programs to educate victims on their rights, the case of sexual assault and rape victims and their low rate of reporting crimes against them speak of a general blow in assuring victims of their rights protection.Organizations like the Office for Victims of Crime must work harder to ensure that the victims of crime requiring the most assurance and protection receive what they need, and not just monetary compensation for financial losses or medical bills. While some rights vary from state to state, with some states guaranteeing even more rights to victims than others, the general protections afforded by the Victims Bill of Rights should be known by all victims. In the end, educating victims on their rights is the biggest protection that any government or local authority can offer victims of crime.