Victim Services in Rural Areas
Law enforcement officers often are the first professionals to approach victims after a crime
and may be the only contact these individuals have with the criminal justice system. Increasingly,
urban officers are learning to work more effectively with victims, and their departments
are establishing victim assistance components. Many rural law enforcement agencies, however,
face challenges in making these changes.
The new online guide “Victim Services in Rural Law Enforcement” by the Office for Victims
of Crime (OVC), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice explores creative and
economical ways for rural law enforcement agencies to meet the needs of victims at the crime
scene and during follow-up contact. Based on the experiences of 17 sites that received OVC
funding to establish or enhance victim assistance efforts in their law enforcement agencies, the
publication reviews the grant project, highlights site activities, identifies core elements and challenges of rural law enforcement-based victim service programs, and offers a blueprint for rural
law enforcement agencies interested in initiating their own victim service efforts. The guide
(NCJ 226275) can be accessed via the National Criminal Justice Reference Services’ website,
http://www.ncjrs.gov.
Juvenile Justice Report
The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) Annual Report 2008
addresses significant issues facing the nation’s juvenile justice system. It is a report card on the
efforts and compliance by the United States and its territories in response to the requirements
of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 2008. This annual report to
the President and Congress focuses on the need to reauthorize the JJDP Act of 2008 and presents
19 recommendations to the President and Congress on major issues facing this country’s juvenile
justice system. These recommendations fall into the five broad areas of deinstitutionalization
of status offenders; jail removal and sight and sound separation; disproportionate minority
contact; effective assistance of counsel; and mental health, substance abuse, and the juvenile
justice system.
Within this publication, the FACJJ also presents a report on national compliance with the
four core protections of the JJDP Act of 2008, which include deinstitutionalizing status offenders
and nonoffenders; separating adult and juvenile offenders in secure institutions; eliminating
the practice of detaining or confining juveniles in adult jails and lockups; and addressing the
disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice
system. To view the entire report (NCJ 223723), access the National Criminal Justice Reference
Service’ website, http://www.ncjrs.gov.
September 2009 | FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
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