National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

USPA NEWS - Since 1981, the federal government has recognized National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW). NCVRW is a time for the FBI and our partners to reaffirm our commitment to serving victims of crime. This year NCVRW is observed April 24-30. The 2022 NCVRW theme is Rights, access, equity, for all victims.

The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD) informs, supports, and assists victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience. There are 94 full-time VSD staff at headquarters, who manage the day-to-day operational aspects of the Victim Assistance Program across the FBI’s 56 field offices and international offices. Across the field, there are 172 victim specialists and 21 child/adolescent forensic interviewers, all providing assistance across numerous case types, including violent crimes against children, Indian Country, human trafficking, bank robberies, identity theft, and so on. Even when perpetrators of crimes are brought to justice, the cases do not end. Our victim specialists work to provide each individual with various emotional support, services, and resources to assist during and after their cases.

Not only do our victim specialists assist with day-to-day cases, but there’s a multi-disciplinary team called the Victim Services Response Team, consisting of agents, analysts, and victim specialists that provide operational support in crisis and mass casualty events and play key role in supporting victim/family crisis assistance for state and local agencies following active shooter and other crisis incidents.

The Las Vegas Field Office has two victim specialists within our state, one in both southern and northern Nevada. For more information about the FBI victim specialist program, visit https://www.fbi.gov/resources/victim-services. For more information on how victim specialists played a specialized role in the Route 91 Harvest mass shooting in 2017, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/victim-services-response-team-040819.

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Wendy writes for the United States Press Agency and is a former columnist with the Fulton County Expositor, Wauseon, Ohio.

Source: FBI Las Vegas field office press release