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Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Ashcroft Thank you, Deborah [Daniels], for that introduction. Thank you, [U.S. Attorney] Roscoe [Howard] for your remarks. Thank you, Congressman [Steve] Chabot for being here. Ladies and gentlemen, friends and families: thank you for bringing the light of your presence to this important event. As attorney general, few events carry more solemn meaning than the National Observance and Candlelight Ceremony for Victims of Crime. The first priority of government is to protect the lives and liberties of the people. When criminals violate the law and prey on the lives of others, we turn to our government to right these wrongs. We turn to our government for justice. This ceremony symbolizes our belief that in this nation every life is precious. It reaffirms for us all that the cause of justice is built on the values and vision of a people dedicated to treasuring the potential and rights of every life. And this ceremony reminds us that, in a nation founded on such values, the cause of justice depends on the people. Many of you have traveled many thousands of miles to be here. You have chosen to make a stand. You have refused to forget. You have vowed to sacrifice so that others might live in safety and security. You have made the cause of justice your own, and I thank you for coming. For decades, the victims of crime suffered in silence. Three decades ago, a wave of lawless and predatory behavior crashed upon the homes and the lives of families all across America. Professors tried to explain crime away. Academics counted numbers and viewed violence as an acceptable outlet for pet social theories. But thanks to the pioneering work of victims' groups beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, the public began to realize that we cannot build a compassionate society if good people remain silent. We cannot claim to be a self-governing people, while dismissing violence and murder as irresistible and inevitable social forces. Your sacrifice, even in the grip of heart-wrenching pain, has transformed our nation for the better. Your commitment has put the plight of victims at the center of our public debate. You have challenged the notion that to be safe and secure, citizens must abandon their homes and move to another neighborhood. For more than three years, this Department and this Administration have put the needs of the victim first and foremost. We do this two ways: First, we are tough on crime, prosecuting criminals to the fullest extent of the law in order to prevent crime. Second, when crimes are committed, we try to show every victim compassion and concern. We have targeted crime with tough tactics and proven legal tools. We have focused on prosecuting and punishing every lawbreaker to prevent a culture of crime from developing. For three years, we have resolved to communicate to the lawless and predatory that we will hunt them down and we will lock them up. Our tactics work. Criminal victimization is at its lowest level in 30 years. The rate of violent and property crime is almost half that of 1973, the year of the first national victimization survey. But statistics, however positive, cannot capture the pain, the suffering, or the tears that flow from a single rape, a single mugging, or an individual murder. Your presence here-your support and your work together-communicates better than any statistic the pain and suffering that Americans are spared when the law is enforced and criminals are behind bars. At the United States Department of Justice, our tireless efforts in the fight against crime do not begin or end with the perpetrator and predator. In this free nation, our fight against crime must begin with the needs of the victim placed first-the need for compassion, for protection, and for justice. As the President wrote in his proclamation this week, "We must ensure that when crimes do occur, we always protect the rights of victims." That is why the United States Department of Justice has worked so hard to build programs and legislative proposals that keep victims informed, protected, and their rights respected. For instance, 2003 marked the first full year of operation of the Victim Notification System. This fully automated computer system helps to ensure that victims of federal crimes receive information on the progress of the prosecution of offenders. This year, for the first time ever, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has created a victim-witness program, which includes the hiring of a victim-witness coordinator for every FBI office. That means more than 110 FBI victim-witness coordinators will join forces with the victim-witness coordinators already working in each of our nation's 94 U.S. Attorney offices. Two thousand four (2004) also marks the 20th anniversary of the Crime Victims Fund. When fines are levied on certain federal criminal offenders, those fines are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund. This money is ultimately disbursed to domestic violence shelters, support groups for families of homicide victims, rape crisis centers, and thousands of other local victim assistance programs across the country. As a result, communities in every state across the land have a place to which victims can turn for help. The Crime Victims Fund can also help pay out-of-pocket expenses incurred by victims. When a victim of domestic violence needs medical attention, there are funds to assist. When a victim of assault suffers injuries that keep him from working, he need not suffer anxiety over lost wages. When parents lose a child to murder, they do not have to bear the cost of the child's burial. Thanks to aggressive recovery efforts by the U.S. Attorneys, the Department will award approximately $542 million this year alone from the pockets of offenders. We have come a long way. But as we celebrate the 20 years since the passage of the Victims of Crime Act, we must admit we have a long way yet to go. This is why we support the Victims' Rights Amendment. Thanks to the Office for Victims of Crime and thanks to your work, the voice of victims is heard every day justice is sought in the courts. Thanks to our "Hope Grants," the Justice Department continues to support groups and community organizations dedicated to the individual needs of crime victims. Tomorrow, I have the privilege to recognize 13 winners of the National Crime Victims' awards. We are grateful to them for their innovative programs and community service to victims. But to all of you here today, I thank you for this important reminder, in this place and in this city, that every life is precious and deserves the protection of law and the full and faithful attention of justice. There is no way to replace a life lost. There is no way to restore completely the peace and serenity of a life marred by rape or robbery, mugging or murder. But we will not fail to do something, merely because we cannot do everything. In America, it is the privilege and duty of the free to take action to build a better nation. You remind us today that survivors need not remain victims; that pain and loss can motivate efforts for healing; that one person's injustice can help forge a future of justice for all. Thank you. ### |
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