Victims of Crime

In accordance with the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released this month a report on the violent victimization rates of persons with and without disabilities using 2008-2019 National Crime Victimization Survey data. In 2019, the rate of violent victimization to persons with disabilities was nearly four times the rate of persons without disabilities.

This month, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released a white paper that shares successful international interventions that have been initiated to foster desistance. Since the mid-1990s, there have been regularly sustained research efforts to expand global knowledge of why people stop offending, which have been instrumental for increased awareness of desistance causes. However, a critical gap remains of practical strategies for implementation in crime-prevention practices and sentencing procedures within the criminal justice system.

In August, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention conducted a literature review of national evidence-based research on restorative justice for juveniles. The framework has long been debated on its differences to more traditional interactions with justice-involved individuals. By uniting victims, justice-involved youths, community members, and other key stakeholders, restorative justice programs seek to help youths understand the implications of their actions and offer opportunities for community reconnection and harm reduction.

This year, AEquitas released a guide for preventing and responding to violent crime by enhancing prosecutors’ ability to build safer communities through increased collaboration with community leaders. As key members of the criminal justice system, prosecutors can play an important role in uniting community leaders to create and implement policies, practices, and initiatives for sustainability and the reduction of violence.

How can police rebuild trust with communities? How can police support models of criminal accountability that do not create more distrust, antagonism, and hostility? How can police meaningfully respond to public anger about use of force? Restorative justice is an approach to individual and community harm that focuses on meeting needs and rebuilding trust.Join us to learn from police leaders who are pioneering restorative approaches.

Learn more here. 

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has recently expanded its Firearms Technical Assistance Project (FTAP), which aims to help communities across the country reduce domestic violence homicides and injuries committed with firearms.

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support communities seeking to implement or expand community violence intervention efforts, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Education, and the White House Domestic Policy Council, has hosted a webinar series on Community Violence Intervention (CVI).

The webinar series and “Ask the Expert” sessions were developed under an Office on Violence Against Women grant focused on enhancing victim-centered approaches in community corrections. A victim/survivor-centered approach focuses on the concerns and needs of the victim/survivor to ensure the compassionate and sensitive delivery of services in a non-judgmental manner. These topics were selected based on findings of in-person and virtual listening sessions with professionals from around the country.

SAKI TTA will host a webinar titled, Advancing Justice: Interviewing and Presenting Testimony of Victims of Violent Crimes, on Wednesday, August 11th from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET. Doors will open at 1:55 PM ET. This webinar will be presented by Patricia D. Powers, Attorney Advisor with AEquitas, and Dr. Rebecca Campbell, Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University.