Helping Those Who are Victims of Violent Crime
From The Governor’s Desk: A weekly column by Gov. Joe Manchin
I’m sure each of us knows someone who is the victim of a violent crime. Regardless of whether the crime is child abuse, sexual abuse, assault or elderly abuse, dealing with the aftermath of a crime is tough on families, friends and certainly the victims.
Thankfully, there are a number of programs across the state that provide direct services to victims of crimes. This week, I announced that the state Division of Criminal Justice Services is awarding more than $2.8 million in Victims of Crime Act Assistance (VOCA) grants to 63 public and private non-profit agencies that provide these services throughout West Virginia. The funds also assist victims as they move through the criminal justice system.
The VOCA program places special emphasis on victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault. The grants help to pay for a range of services including crisis intervention, counseling, guidance, legal advocacy, transportation to court or to shelters and referrals.
West Virginia requires every program receiving VOCA funds to include, as a principal mission or component of its program, services to at least one category of priority victims. The programs must be non-profit and provide services that directly benefit individual crime victims. They are encouraged to use volunteers and to promote coordinated efforts to aid crime victims and to help them seek victim compensation benefits.
VOCA funds are awarded from the U. S. Department of Justice. These funds are administered by the Division of Criminal Justice Services of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
Sadly, initial crime reports from the FBI this week showed that overall crime in the United States was up in 2006. The FBI’s June 4 report showed that U.S. violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery, and assault, increased by 1.3 percent in 2006. And, while West Virginia for more than a quarter century has been one of the safest states in the nation, as our population increases, the potential for violent crime is greater.
Our focus remains on crime prevention and resident safety; however, we are also committed to treating crime victims with respect, dignity and sensitivity. These VOCA awards will help to pay for these non-profit service agencies that help us to keep that commitment.
More information about crime victim services and a searchable database of providers in West Virginia is available at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime Web site at http://www.ovc.gov/help/welcome.html. A directory of crime victims’ services may be found at http://ovc.ncjrs.org/findvictimservices/.