JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES TWO IMPORTANT ADVANCES TO FURTHER RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft, as part of the Initiative for Victims of Crime, has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and U.S. Attorneys Offices (USAOs) to implement procedures-including employee training-to ensure consistent use of the Victims Notification System (VNS), the Justice Department announced today. In addition, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) is forming a specialized team of victim-witness coordinators to meet the needs of U.S. Attorneys’ offices confronting extraordinary demands for victims’ services.

The VNS is a computer-based, automated system that enables federal law enforcement and corrections officers to notify victims about the investigation and prosecution of cases affecting them and about the incarceration of the defendant in each case. The VNS is the primary means for Justice Department components to maintain contact with crime victims. In operation since 2002, the VNS provides information to victims about the arrest of a suspect, the filing of charges, and the scheduling of court proceedings, sentencing, and parole hearings.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that the rights of victims are protected, including the right of crime victims to be informed of the developments in the investigation, prosecution, and incarceration of the offender who victimized them,” said Attorney General Ashcroft. “Too often, crime victims do not have enough information. By providing complete and timely notification of events, the Victims Notification System helps crime victims to be involved in their cases and contribute to the Department's pursuit of justice.”

In addition to the VNS order issued by the Attorney General, the Justice Department is also advancing the rights of crime victims through EOUSA’s Victim-Witness Program Specialist Project. The project will select five current victim-witness coordinators for specialized training in various victim-intensive fields, including terrorism, human trafficking, child abuse and exploitation, and financial fraud.

Each of the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices currently has at least one victim-witness coordinator to assist the office’s prosecutors in consulting with crime victims and to ensure that victims receive the services and information to which they are entitled by law or Department policy. The five specialists-who will serve two-year appointments-will spend half of their time providing services to victims in their home districts and the remainder of the time responding to critical needs in other districts, training victim-witness coordinators and other Departmental personnel, and contributing to the development and refinement of victim-assistance programs within the Department.

More information about the Attorney General’s Initiative for Victims of Crime can be found at www.usdoj.gov <http://www.usdoj.gov>.

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