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VICTIM/WITNESS WORKSHOP
MARCH 8, 1983
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
PROCEEDINGS
HV 6250.3 .C2 V515 1983
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VICTIM/WITNESS WORKSHOP
MARCH 8, 1983 .
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
PROCEEDINGS
I.IL ARY MINIStRY OF 1:1E SOLICITOR
CFNERAL
'JUI.Lti 10 t9figl
B 13 LIO11-1ÈQUE MINIMÈRE DU SOLLICI(EUR GÉNÉRAL
Date & Time Item Speaker
-arch
9:00
9:15
2 1983
a•m.
10.15 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
Pon. 12:15
I-Iv G250 , 3
v51S /98.3
VICTIM/WITNESS WORKSHOP
NEEDS & SERVICES OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM/
Sponsored by Provincial Department of Justice
In Conjunction with the Solicitor General of Canada
AGENDA
9:30 a.m.
Registration
Official welcome by the New Brunswick Department of Justice
An overview of the Need for Victim and Witness Services: A National Perspective.
****COFFEE****
Introduction of services developed- -
across Canada
Victim/Witness Service Models:
1. Police Based
2. Prosecutor/Court Based
3. Private Sector
****LUNCH****
Gordon F. Gregory, Q.C. Deputy Minister, New Brunswick Department of Justice.
Dr. Gerry Leger, Chief Causes and Prevention Research Division Programs Branch Solicitor General of Canada
Paul Sonnichson,- National_ Program Co-ordinator - - Victims Consultation Center(Ottawa) Solicitor General of Canada
Sgt. Ed Payuk, Edmonton, Alberta Police Department
Carolina Gilberti, Analyst/ Statistician - Crininal Matters Department of Justice, Canada
Major Fred Mills, Salvation Army, Ottawa
****COFFEE****
Film & Discussion - "A View from the Shadows"
The New Brunswick Situation - Presentation of existing needs and services of Victims and Witnesses in New Brunswick
Summation of the Day
No Host Bar
Dan Stote, Regional Director, Consultation Center (Moncton) Solicitor General of Canada
Date & Time
1:45 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
3:15 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
Item
Group 1 - Police Based Issues Group 2 - Police Based Issues Group 3 - Prosecution-Court
Based Issues Group 4 - Private Sector Based
Issues Group 5 - Program Development
and Management Issues
Speaker
Sgt. Ed Payuk Paul Sonnichson
Carolina Gilberti
Major Fred Mills
Dr. Gerry Leger
Group Discussions on Victim/Witness Services Models
4:30 p.m.
March 3, 1983
8:30 a.m.
Fredericton Victim/Witness Needs Mike Hetherington Survey ,
Restigouche Family Crisis Staff Sergeant Roy Rushton Intervention R-C.M.P.
Campbellton City Detachment
Human Development Council - David Wright Saint John
Transition House in New Brunswick Shauna MacKenzie
Compensation for Victims of Crime Eugene Westhaver Act.
10:00 a.m.
10:15 a.m.
11:15 a.m.
12:00 noon
****COFFEE****
Group Discussions to identify needs and possible services which may be developed in various communities in the Province.
Summation of Work Groups
Bill Connor, Assistant Deputy Minister - Law Enforcement, New Brunswick Department of Justice.
Concluding Remarks
* * * * * * * * * *
I
1
SgMINAIRE SUR LES VICTIMES ET LES TEMOINS
BESOINS ET SERVICES: LE SYSTEME JUDICIAIRE
EN MATIbE CPIMINFTLE FACE. AUX VICTIMES ET AUX TEMOINS
Parrainé par le Ministère Provincial dela
Justice et le Solliciteur Général du Canada
ORDRE DU JOUR
Date & Heures
2 mars 1983
9 h a.m.
9 h 15 a.m.
Matière
Inscription
Cérémonie d'accueil par le ministére de la Justice du Nouveau-Brunswick
Personne
Gordon F. Gregory, Q.C. Sous-ministre, Ministére de la Justice du Nouveau-Brunswick
9 h 30 a:m. -Une perspective nationale: besoins des victimes et des témoins, services correspondants
10 h 15 a.m. ****PAUSE****
10 h.30 am. Introduction sur les services mis au point à. travers le Canada
Victimes et témoins: types de service
Apport
1. de la police
2. du procureur et des cours
3. du secteur privé
12 h 15 p.,. ****LUNCH****
Dr. Gerry Léger, Chef causes et prévention du crime Division de la recherche, Direction des programmes, Solliciteur général du Canada
Paul Sonnichson - Coordonnateur programme national d'aide, aux victimes, Centre de consultation (Ottawa) Solliciteur général du Canada
Sgt. Ed. Payuk, service de police d'Edmonton, Alberta
Carolina Gilberti, Analyste/ Statisticien, affaires pénales, ministère de la Justice, Canada
Major Fred Mills, Armée du Salut, Ottawa
Date & Heures Matière Personne
1 h 45 p.m.
3 h p.m.
3 h 15 p.m.
4 h p. m.
Discussion de groupe sur les types de service à offrir aux victimes et aux témoins
Groupe J. - apport de la police
Groupe 2 - apport de la police
Groupe 3 - apport du procureur et des cours
Groupe 4 - apport du secteur Major Fred Mills privé
Groupe 5 - apport du programme de mise Dr. Gerry Léger au point et de gestion
****PAUSE****
Film et discussion - "A View from the Shadows"
Dan Stote, consultant régional, Centre de Consultatica, (Moncton) Solliciteur du Canada
Sgt. Ed Payuk
Paul Sonnichson
Carolina Gilberti
Résumé des travaux
4 h 30 p.,. Bar payant
3 mars 1983
8 h 30 p.m. La situation au Nouveau-Brunswick: Exposé sur les besoins et les services existants, orienté vers les victimes et les témoins
Etude des besoins des victims et Mike Hetherington des témoins à Fredericton
Unité Intervention pour crise s . Staff. Sergeant Roy Rushton familiale de Restigouche
Human Developrent Council - Saint David Wright John
Shauna MacKenzie
Eugene Westhaver
Maison de refuge au Nouveau-Brunswick
Indemnisation des victimes d'actes criminels.
10 h a.m. ****PAUSE****
10 h 15 a.m. Discussions de groupes tendant à identifier les besoins de divers communautés locales de la province en vue d'envisager la possibilité d'y offrir des services correspondants.
11 h 15 a.m. Résumé des travaux de groupe
12 h Conclusion Bill Connor, sous-ministre adjoint - Application des lois, Ministére de la Justice Nouveau-Brunswick.
WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE
Zena Vigod
Brenda Thomas
Brian Mackin
Ron Rochon
Wayne Maxwell
Director of Research and Planning
Research and Planning Officer
Staff Training Officer - Corrections
Police Training Co-ordinator - Policing
Director of Community Corrections Services
I. NOTE: Presentations:
Please note that presentations by Shauna MacKenzie and Paul
Sonnichson were not available.
NAME ADDRESS ORGANIZATION
Police Department
Police Department
R.C.M.P.
Transition House
CSC Parole
Probation Services
Probation
John Howard Society
Human Development Council
Prosecutions
St. John Police
Saint John Police
Parole - Moncton
Dorchester Penitentiary
Police Department
Police Department
N.B.Highway Patrol
Transition House
Crown Prosecutors Office
Dieppe Police Department
Justice Department
Police Department
Police Department
Police Department '
Justice Department
Prosecutions
Crossroads
Justice Department
Corrections
Liaison
Moncton Police Force
Moncton Police Force
Dalhousie, N.B.
Ron Cronkite •
Larry Jalbert
H. G. Neilson
D. Larlee
R. Lawlor
J. R. Coughlan
Laurel Lewey
Willow Edwards
P. Flanagan
André Picard
Charles Breen
Donald Boyce
R. Blackier
H. Staubi
Norm Penny
Dan Newton
Len Poirier
Heather Murphy
G. L. Sleeth
Terry Rouse
Eugene Westhaver
Stan Smith
Arnold Landers
Conrad Duguay
Patricia Commung
John Evans
Ruth Beers
Bill McCarroll
Doug Pitts
Denise Cumnie
Elmer Allain
Robert Straight
Manual A. Drost
Blair Boucher
Fredericton
Ste. Basile
Fredericton
Fredericton
Saint John
Saint John
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton,N.B.
Saint John, N.B.
Edmundston, N.B.
Saint John, N. B.
Saint John, N.B.
Sackville, N.B.
Riverview, N.B.
St. Stephen, N.B.
Newcastle, N.B.
Fredericton,N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Moncton,N. B.
Dieppe, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
St. George
Grand Bay, N. B.
Shippegan, N. B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Moncton, N. B.
Saint John, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Ottawa
Moncton, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Dalhousie, N.B.
Bathurst, N. B.
Justice Policing Services)
Moncton Police Force
Centracare
Police Department
Dalhousie Police
Probations
Diversion Program
Shediac Police Department
Moncton Police Force
Dalhousie Police Department
B.N.P.P. Regional Police
Salvation Army
Transition House, F'ton
Dept. of Justice
Chief of Police
Cantracare
Centracare
Town Police
N.B.Highway Patrol
Salvation Army
Fredericton City Police
Dept. of Justice
City Police
Police Department
Hestia House
Hestia House
Dept. of Justice
Chatham Police Department
Blackville Police Dept.
Department of Justice
Moncton Police Force
Edmundston Police Dept.
• NAME ADDRESS ORGANIZATION
Roger J. Gamache
Bliss Noiles
Jean Guy Michaud
Greg Cohoon
Lawrence Burns
E. S. Matheson
Kevin Hickey
Ralph Gilk
Gerard Allard
Michael Hetherington
Henry Price
Jack Lawlor -
Gerald Hachey
Edward Huzulak
Frederick Mills
Linda Worden
Carolina Gilberti
John Clarke
Marie LaGassie
Lorene Johnson
Aubin Albert
Lew Dubois
Max Snow
Cecil Stairs
Grant Garneau
Lynus Buggle
Sgt. Ed Payuk
Wanda Williams
Donna Anderson
Gordon F. Gregory
John W. Foreen
Aubrey W. Dorcas
D. J. Johnson
G. L. Killam
Pat Pelletier
Bathurst, N.B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Grand Falls, N.B.
Moncton, N. B.
Newcastle, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Dalhousie, N. B.
Dalhousie, N. B.
Dalhousie, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Shedia, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Dalhousie, N. B.
Petit Rocher
Ottawa, Ontario
Long's Creek
Ottawa, Ontario-
Nackawic, N. B.
Saint John, N.B.
Saint John, N. B.
Caraquet, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton,N. B.
Bathurst, N.B.
Edmonton, Alberta
Saint John, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Chatham, N. B.
Blackville, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Edmundston, N. B.
ADDRESS ORGANIZATION
1
1
NAME
Roger Lavigne
Leo Charles Pelletier
H. D. Donahue
M. E. Thompson
Lillian Ulsh
Cy Doucette
Cy Oram
Capt. R. Janes
George Anderson
James
Hector S. LeBreton
Reg Murphy
Dan Stote
Roger Paris
D.F.W. Horne
Peter Dickens
Val Cormier
LouAnne White
Paul Sonnichson
Randy W. DiPaolo
Dan Allen
John Whyte
Colleen Hunt
Robert Haines
Rose Burke
Art Fox
Mike Honryak
Bette Giberson
Patricia A. LaJoie
Arthur Wilson
Tom Breen
Dr. Maurice Boulay
Jeanne Smith
Gerry Leger
Shediac, N. B.
Dalhousie, N. B.
Sackville, N. B.
Sackville, N.B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Rothesay, N. B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Saint John, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Tracadie, N. B.
Beresford, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Black's Harbour,NB
Hartland, N. B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton,N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Ottawa
St. Stephen, N.B.
Chatham, N. B.
Newcastle, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Saint John, N.B.
Fredericton, N.B.
Grand Falls, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Ottawa
Shediac Police Department
Dalhousie Police Department
City Police
R. C. M. Police
Municipal Police
Salvation Army
Centracare
Centracare
Police Department
B.N.P.P. Regional Police
Solicitor General
Police Department
Police Department
Sheriff's Department
Transition House
Hestia House
Solicitor General
Department of Justice
Town Police Department
Corrections
Fredericton Police
Corrections
Fredericton Police
N. B. Probations
Transition House
Translation Bureau
St. John Police Department
St. John Police Department
Mental Health
Human Development Council
NAME
Donna St. Onge
Jean Cormier
Cindy Kennah
Edward P. George
B. Richard Bell
David Hitchcock
Denys Noel
Chirs Morris
Louella Billings
Phyllis Melanson
Bill Connor
Gordon Snow
Bob Murray
Ian Culligan -
Wayne Maxwell
Bill Keyes
Bob Barnett
Julien Isabelle
Fred Ferguson
Dave Wright
Ruth Kavanaugh
Roy D. Rushton
Huguette Roy
ADDRESS
Monton, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Westfield, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Woodstock, N. B.
Grand Falls
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Moncton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Fredericton, N. B.
Petit Rocher, N.B.
Newcastle, N. B.
Saint John, N. B.
Oromocto, N. B.
Campbellton, N. B.
ORGANIZATION Probation Services
Probation Services
Crossroads
Grand Bay Police Department
N. B. Police Commission
N.B. Dept.of Attorney General
Justice
The Canadian Press
The Daily Gleaner
Crossroads for Women
Dept. of Justice
R.C.M.P.
Public Prosecutions
Corrections
Corrections
B.N.P.P. Police
Crown Prosecutors Office
Human Development Council
Transition House
R.C.M.P.
Radio Canada
I
DR. GERRY LEGER
AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEED FOR VICTIM AND WITNESS SERVICES:
A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
by
Gerry J. Leger, Ph.D.
Research Division
Solicitor General of Canada
Ottawa
Notes for a speech at the workshop on "Needs and Services of Victims and Witnesses in the Criminal Justice System", Fredericton, New Brunswick, March 2, 1983. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Solicitor General of Canada.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEED FOR VICTIM AND WITNESS SERVICES:
A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
As a person who grew up in New Brunswick and who went
to university at U.N.B. here in Fredericton, I would like to
say first of all how pleased I am to be here. Much of my
work during the past seven years with the federal Ministry
of the Solicitor General has been on victim assistance
services, and I'm very happy to see the growing interest
which is being shown to victims and witnesses in all parts
of Canada, but especially in my home province.
I have seen many le new victim and witness services
start up in different parts of Canada-- but I also have seen
a number of attempts fail. I believe that one of the main
reasons why some attempts fail is that the need for
particular victim or witness services is not always examined
closely enough before trying to create new programs. For
those of you who are working directly with victims and
witnesses, you already know that their needs are indeed very
real. I would like to stress, however, that the question of
what are the needs of victims and witnesses is not quite the
same as the question of what is the need for a particular
victim/witness assistance program. Knowing what are the
victims' or witnesses' needs that we are trying to meet is
clearly important, but it is only part of the answer. We
also have to consider what other objectives and benefits the
service can have.
1
2
For example, when examining ways in which the police
could better meet the needs of victims, it is important also
to consider how better treated victims may collaborate more
with police investigations, how it may improve police/
community relations, and how it may result in greater police
effectiveness. The consideration of greater use of restitu-
tion in sentencing not only may serve as a means of
providing compensation to victims, but also may be a more
cost-effective alternative to incarceration in certain
cases. Similarly, providing more information on court
services and better scheduling designed to reduce inconven-
ience experienced by witnesses also may result in more
collaborative witnesses, fewer court delays, and more
efficient court processes. These kinds of spin-off benefits
can increase the cost-effectiveness of victim and witness
services, and should be considered in view of the financial
constraints which criminal justice agencies and governments
face when considering new programs.
By considering both the benefits to victims and to the
criminal justice system, we may find that if we can't
justify a program by appealing only to the "heartstrings" by
referring to the needs of the victims and witnesses we are
trying to help, we may be able to justify it by appealing
also to the "purse strings" in the criminal justice system.
There are certain kinds of victim and witness assistance
programs that may be so cost-effective that the question is
,■•■■■ 3
not whether we can afford them--but rather whether we can
afford not to have them.
At least, that is what research on some of the American
victim/witness assistance programs have shown. For example,
the Victim Services Agency in New York City is a very
comprehensive program that helps victims and witnesses in
everything from crisis counselling to providing assistance
in court. It is also a very expensive program, but an
evaluation of it indicated that at least $3.18 was saved in
1978 for every $1.00 invested in the Agency. This included
millions of dollars in savings to the police department
because part of the program inCluded an on-call court
notification service to reduce the inconveniences of victim
witnesses, which also was used to reduce the time police
officers spent needlessly in court.
We unfortunately don't know at least yet whether these
kinds of cost-benefits would occur in Canada. It would
obviously depend on how effective a current witness manage-
ment system is, and this may vary from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction. My Ministry and the federal Department of
Justice are presently funding a number of research studies
to'document the effectiveness of some of the new victim and
witness assistance programs that have recently been
established across Canada. Most of these projects are still
in progress and it is too early to draw conclusions. My
- 4 -
point is that we should consider the question of the need
for victim/witness services on both humanitarian and
economic grounds. Meeting the needs of victims and
witnesses should be our primary goal, but we have to be
practical and realistic if we hope to succeed in improving
services.
It is not just a question of money, although I know
that funding can be a major barrier in trying to improve
victim and witness services. Considering the need for
victim and witness services also in terms of possible
spin-off benefits to the criminal justice system can force
us to re-examine how we deploy our existing resources. Who
is the client--the offender, or the victim? Has "justice"
been carried out because an offender has been arrested,
convicted, and sentenced if the needs of the victims and
witnesses have not been met? There has been a growing
recognition over the past five years or so that the victim
has indeed often been the "forgotten person" in the criminal
justice system, but it can still be very easy for criminal
justice officials to believe that meeting the needs of
victims should be the responsibility of social, welfare, or
mental health agencies. There is clearly a very important
role for these agencies and for private community groups,
and we have to be careful to avoid a duplication of
services. However, there are many things that can be done
by the criminal justice system to improve services to
5
victims and witnesses. Many of these things can be done
simply by adapting and "fine-tuning" current practices.
Given the current economic climate, it is clear that costly
new programs should only be created as a last resort.
Thinking of victim and witness services also in terms of
possible spin-off benefits does not mean that we are less
concerned about helping victims and witnesses--but it can
provide additional justification for changing current
practices.
In general terms, we can examine what kinds of services
are required in terms of those that can meet the direct
needs of victims and witnesses, and in terms of those that.
can reduce their indirect needs. The direct needs are those
that occur as a result of the crime itself, and can include
the need for prompt and sensitive medical attention;
financial assistance; emotional support and counselling; and
practical assistance on such matters as emergency transport-
ation and repair of property, providing immediate security
in the home or elsewhere, referral to appropriate community
agencies, and help in applying for insurance and compensa-
tion and in recovering or replacing stolen property,
personal identification and credit cards.
The indirect needs are those that victims and witnesses
can experience as a result of their involvement within the
criminal justice system. We know that many victims never
6
even report the crime to the police, but those that do often
can be frustrated and inconvenienced by the criminal
justice system response. They call the police for help, but
may find that the responding officer does not really seem
very concerned about their needs. This is not because the
officer does not care. Police officers see many victims
during the course of duty, and can appear insensitive to the
victim's needs because of the officer's emphasis on
obtaining evidence or a description of the offender. The
officer may have other pressing duties and may have little
time to deal with the personal trauma or practical needs of
the victims. We know that many victims also experience
difficulties in trying to obtain information on the status
of the case and on criminal justice procedures.
If the stolen property is recovered, the victim may not
be able to get it back for a long period of time if it needs
to be kept as evidence. If the offender is charged and the
case goes to court, the victim may be further inconvenienced
by not being provided with full information on his duties
and obligations, of his rights to restitution, and of court
procedures. He may have to make several appearances in
court and the scheduling will often be arranged with little
regard for the problems it may cause the victim and
witnesses. In some jurisdictions at least, last-minute
adjournments and witness screening can mean that the
witnesses appear in court needlessly. At court, witnesses
7
can be intimidated by having to wait in the same location as
the accused. Victims can be frustrated because the court
process seems to place its focus on the needs and rights of
the accused rather than the victim. If a fine is ordered,
it will go to the State rather than to the victim, and
restitution will often not be considered. The victims and
witnesses also will often not be informed of the disposition
of the case.
The need for services will of course differ depending
on the type of crime and the age and other characteristics
of the person victimized. Some groups such as sexual
assault victims, assaulted wives, and elderly victims have
special needs. Before considering some of the special
services that are needed by these victims and witnesses, I
would like to describe some of the services that should be
considered for all victms and witnesses in general.
There are two kinds of approaches that can be taken to
improve victim and witness services. We can try to create
separate victim/witness assistance programs with staff and
resources specifically assigned for this purpose, and/or we
can try to improve services by changing the practices and
procedures of our existing agencies.
Both approaches would seem to be needed. In terms of
special programs at the police level, we can consider
•••■ 8 ■■■
establishing special victim service units such as those that
have been created by the Edmonton and Calgary police depart-
ments. Both programs have full-time civilian staff working
under the direction of police officers assigned specifically
to these units. Both programs make use of a large number of
trained volunteers from the community and offer extensive
services to essentially all victims. The services provided
range from immediate crisis responses, to providing
assistance to victims in applying for restitution or for
criminal injuries compensation. Their goals are to try to
provide whatever assistance is needed by each victim.
Depending on the case, the services provided may
include crisis counselling and emotional support for victims
and their families; arranging for emergency property repair;
referrals to community agencies; providing information on
the status of the case and on criminal justice procedures;
assisting in prompt property return by arranging for photo-
graphs of the property to be used as evidence; help in
filing for insurance; providing crime prevention informa-
tion; and if necessary, providing assistance in making
funeral arrangements.
Separate victim assistance units also have been
established by a number of other police departments across
Canada, sometimes as part of crime prevention units or of
community services sections. Many of these programs are
9
closely linked to voluntary agencies such as the Salvation
Army or the John Howard Society. The services provided by
most of these programs also ususally include assistance to
victims during the court process for those cases wheré
offenders are charged.
Although the jprimary goal of these programs is to meet
the needs of victims and to minimize inconveniences
associated with their involvement in the criminal justice
process, these programs usually also are designed to produce
spin-off benefits to the criminal justice system itself.
The secondary objectives can include improving
police/community relations, increasing citizen involvement,
preventing further victimization, increasing public
awareness and use of community services, and increasing
willingness to report crime and co-operate with the_
investigation and prosecution process. The units also may
directly benefit other police officers, by saving officers'
time at the scene, by handling stressful duties such as
death notifications, and by forwarding information from
victims to investigators which may contribute to improving
clearance rates.
Rather than create separate victim assistance units
with separate staff and resources, it is also possible for
police departments to attempt to improve victim and witness
services as part of the normal operating procedures of the
- 10 -
entire department. One advantage can be cost, but another
is that the responsibility for helping victims and witnesses
can become part of the normal duties of all members of the
police department, rather than relying only on a few
specialists. This can avoid the danger of the rest of the
department thinking that it is not part of their duties.
The issues are somewhat similar to those in crime prevention
which either can be assigned to a special crime prevention
unit with a few officers, or can be made part of the
practices of all members. Reorienting an entire police
department from a law enforcement to a crime prevention
philosophy can require major changes in our fundamental
assumptions of policing and in standard operating
procedures. The same can occur with respect to making
victim and witness assistance part of the basic policies of
a police force.
An interesting example of this is the approach taken
recently by the Oxnard Police Department in California.
They started out with a special training program for their
police trainers, but I believe that all field officers have
by now been given intensive training designed essentially to
make officers respond not as traditional investigators, but
as emotional counsellors and victim and witness assistance
workers when responding to emotionally upset victims and
witnesses. The rationale for this certainly included their
concerns about providing more help to victims and
- • 1 -
witnesses. In addition, the Police Department had evidence
indicating that victims and witnesses in emotional crisis
states usually provide poor quality information to investi-
gators. The Police Department believes that there is a
paradox involved, whereby an officer can be a more effective
investigator by responding as a victim or witness assistance
worker rather than as a traditional investigating officer.
The training program consists of attempts to increase
the insight and sensitivity of officers to traumatized
individuals, and of special crisis intervention and stress
management techniques for helping victims and witnesses gain
control over their emotions. In addition to providing help,
the officers are obtaining better information during the
preliminary investigation, which is leading to more of the
offenders being apprehended and convicted.
The victims and witnesses are more satisfied, and so
are the police. Other possible benefits include victims and
witnesses who are more likely to report crimes, to become
actively involved in crime prevention, and who provide more
collaboration with the prosecution of cases. It is also
hoped that the officers themselves will benefit by being
able to use the crisis and stress management techniques to -
deal better with their own stress and crises that they may
experience both on the job and in their personal lives.
- 12 -
An important part of the training program is to
convince officers that it is not designed to make them
social workers, but that helping victims and witnesses
should be a legitimate and standard part of their daily jobs
which can make them better police officers. The officers
are not trained to provide long-term counselling, but to
make referrals to professionals in other agencies if follow-
up counselling is needed. Video tapes and a comprehensive
police trainer's manual have been prepared on this program
and I believe are available now from the National Institute
of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice.
I suspect that the increased public attention to
victims and witnesses in recent years probably has
influenced most Canadian police departments to take steps to
improve their services. Even without special victim assis-
tance programs, police officers have always provided a
variety of services to victims and witnesses. It is
important, however, that we try to improve these services
either by creating special victim service units, or by
making the need to help victims and witnesses a more
explicit aim of all members of police departments. The
police are the most important agency for helping victims
because they usually are the first and only criminal justice
agency contacted by the majority of victims. The question
of exactly how the police can improve victim and witness
services probably only can be answered at the local level
- 13 -
based on analyses of local needs and resources. However,
it is important also to consider the role of the prosecution
and courts.
Like the police, the other components of the criminal
justice system can provide services to assist victims and
witnesses through special programs, and/or as part of their
standard operating procedures. In comparison to special
police-based programs, it seems that relatively few distinct
victim/witness assistance programs have been implemented yet
by Crowh Attorneys and courts in Canada. One example is the
Victim/Witness Assistance Program in Winnipeg which was
created in 1981 in the Provincial Judges' Court Building.
This program involves full-time staff and volunteers who
work through an advisory board made up of representatives
from the police, Crown Attorney, the judiciary, probation,
and community agencies. A wide variety of services are
provided by the program, including an information brochure
which is sent out with subpoenas describing court
procedures, witness fees, restitution, and other available
services for victims and witnesses. I understand the
program also is developing special witness alert and court
cancellation procedures to avoid unnecessary witness
• appearances.
Another example of a special program is the central
witness management system that was established in Edmonton
- 14 -
in 1980 by the Alberta Attorney General's Department. The
Witness Central Unit co-ordiantes court scheduling and
procedures for notifying civilian and police witnesses,
provides a 24 hour telephone service for answering requests
for information, and makes special arrangements if necessary
for interpreters, and for emergency transportation and acco-
mmodation for witnesses. The Unit also sends out informa-
tion on court procedures, and at the end of a case, a thank
you letter to witnesses for their participation in court.
Rather than create a separate program, the Province of
British Columbia recently altered a number of procedures to
improve its witness management system governing all aspects
of processing a case from the laying of charges to case
disposition and follow-up. It involves the implementation
of standardized guidelines for police officers in laying
charges and reporting to Crown Attorneys; improvements in
witness notification and denotification procedures; witness
screening to eliminate unnecessary witnesses; centralizing
responsibilities for making witness travel and accommodation
arrangements; improved record keeping procedures; and
attempts to co-ordinate court scheduling with witnesses,
police, Crown, defence and judges.
The B.C. witness management system like the one in
Alberta was designed with two objectives in mind: to assist
witnesses, and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of the criminal justice system. The police and Crowns
- 15 -
should experience major savings in time spent processing
cases, court time should be better utilized, and the police,
for example, should be able to reduce overtime costs as a
result of the improved court scheduling procedures.
As I have previously noted, the determination of how to
improve victim and witness services can best be assessed at
the local level based on analyses of local needs and'
resources. This may be done through the creation of special
victim and witness assistance programs such as the ones I
discussed, and/or as part of a process of "fine-tuning"
existing procedures. Whatever approach is taken, I believe
that particular attention should be given to the following
possibilities:
To meet the immediate or crisis needs of victims,
special consideration should be given to:
- providing immediate emotional counselling and
support to victims and their families; this could be
provided by responding police officers, trained
volunteers, or other professionals available upon
police requests;
- providing practical assistance to victims on such
matters as replacing locks, emergency property
repair, transportation, and shelter;
I . - 16 -
- providing emergency financial aid; this could be
available from the police through special arrange-
ments with welfare services;
- special waiting rooms in hospitals for injured
victims and their families; specially trained
hospital staff should be available for providing
crisis counselling to the victims and their
families;
- having the police give victims and witnesses an
information card containing the case number, a list
of key services available in the community, and a
.special phone number in the police department
specifically for victims;
- when police arrest suspects at the scene of the
crime, they should avoid taking the name and address
of victims and witnesses in the presence of the
suspect;
- training programs for all field officers to
sensitize them of the needs of victims and -
witnesses, and to make the officers aware of
available community services.
- 17 -
To meet the longer-term needs of victims and witnesses,
special consideration should be given to
- developing police administrative procedures to
ensure that victims and witnesses are routinely kept
informed of the status of the case;
- special procedures such as the use of photographs to
enable recovered stolen property to be returned
promptly;
- assisting victims to prevent re-victimization;
- providing other information on such matters as
Criminal Injuries Compensation, and filing insurance
claims;
- providing information on legal options and on the
criminal justice system.
For those cases where a suspect is charged, special
consideration should be given to
- advising the victim and witnesses and ensure that
they are kept informed of the status of the
proceedings;
- 18 -
- providing information on subpoenas and on the rights
and obligations of a witness;
- asking the court to order restitution in more cases;
- improving court scheduling procedures, including the
use of an alert on-call system;
- screening unnecessary witnesses;
- providing information on court procedures and of
available facilities (e.g., child care);
- providing the court with a victim impact statement;
- special facilities in court buildings, including
separate waiting rooms, and ensuring that witnesses
are briefed, possibly by the use of a videotape;
- increasing witness fees;
- providing advice on civil law options;
- developing procedures to routinely inform victims
and witnesses of the outcome of the case.
- 19 -
Consideration also should be given to the special needs
of certain victims and witnesses such as the elderly,
children, the disabled, natives, immigrants, and victims of
sexual assault and family violence. For example, assaulted
wives need special financial assistance and shelters because
of their economic dependency on their assailants, and they
need special emotional and legal counselling and advice to
help them take the necessary steps to stop the violence.
Most importantly, they need protection from further
violence. To deal with these needs, the criminal justice
system should consider adopting charging and sentencing
policies which convey that wife assault is indeed a crime
and not simply a private family matter, and there is a need
to consider establishing treatment programs for the
assailants. Consideration should also be given to
establishing family crisis intervention programs such as the
one in Restigouche which is to be discussed tomorrow. There
also is a need for more stable funding arrangements to
support transition houses, and for public and professional
education programs.
Meeting the special needs of sexual assault victims
also requires that attention be given to the funding of
' sexual assault'centres, public and professional education
programs, emotional and legal counselling, and especially
sensitivity on the part of the criminal justice personnel.
- 20 -
Time unfortunately does not permit me to describe the
many different kinds of services required by each of these '
special groups of victims. Their needs usually extend
beyond those of other groups, but is is clear that
substantial progress is being made. As you may know, a
Federal-Provincial Task Force on Victims was established
last year to examine ways of improving victim services, and
I understand that particular attention is being given to
these special groups of victims. This Task Force is
expected to produce a report this summer detailing steps
that can be taken by the different levels of government and
by criminal justice agencies. Ultimately, however, it will
still be up to criminal justice practioners such as your-
selves to carry out changes. Our goals should not
compromise criminal justice, but they must include victim
justice.
SGT. ED PAYUK
/2z,-(7-ee4
THE EDMONTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
VICTIM SERVICES UNIT
Traditionally, the victims of crime appear to be the forgotten people by the Judicial System since the system focuses first on the crime itself and there after on the offender. More and more emphasis has been placed on the rehabilitation of the criminal who committed the act. While incarcerated, the criminal has access to legal aid, food, shelter, medical needs, counsellors, psychiatrists, and is ensured that his family is provided for while he is detained.
What about the victim? In the majority of all reported cases, the victims are left to fend for them-selves. No one advises them or provides them with professional help to assist them to overcome the traumatic experience of being victimized.
In MAY of 1979, the City of Edmonton, having acknow-ledged citizens' concerns for enhanced police services, funded an unique Edmonton Police Department program entitled "Response to Crime - A Strategic Approach" which encompasses a number of new police concepts.
One of these programs was the implementation of Victim Services Unit. Fundings were awarded to establish a Victim Services Unit to "improve and standardize police services to victims and to develop and provide programs and procedures which will provide direct assistance to ihem".
The Victim Services Unit is formulated within Community Services Section and falls directly under the Chief of Police in the chain of command. One Sergeant, two constables, and three support staff man the Unit and the hours of operation are from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Unit's basic objective is to develop and provide programs and procedures which will provide direct assistance to victims of crime, both in terms of infor-mation about their case and in terms of assistance with their problems.
Our program is not to he confused with the Victim Compensation Plan, but one whose principal objective will he to close the communication gap between the victim and whatever community or other resources which may be used to relieve their loss or injury.
2
IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES PROVIDED:
Initially the unit dealt only with victims of house break-ins and shop break-ins. It was evident that break and enter victim never heard from the Department after making the initial report unless the victims initiated the contact. Even then, if the victim called about the status of his case, he probably experienced great difficulty locating someone who knew anything specifically about the case.
Phase I was implemented to provide information to victims about the status of their particular case. Procedure taken in this regard was that, after one month of the initial investigations, Victim Services Unit wrote a letter to the victim advising them of the status of their particular case. The correspondence indicates whether the case has been concluded, is still under investigation, or has been suspended. A word processor was purchased and utilized to produce various form letters, which are consequently sent to victims of break-ins.
The Victim Services Unit information card was prepared for distribution to victims by the member investigating the initial crime complaint. This card informs victims of the services available from the unit and provides them. with the case file number and telephone numbers of the unit.
A Victim Services Unit brochure was also prepared. The brochure briefly outlines Victim Services Unit's obiectives, departmental procedures, and Crime Prevention programs. The brochures are enclosed with the initial letter to the victim. They are also available to all members in all sub-stations for distribution.
During Phase I, we also looked at the recovery of property, which often was kept as exhibits for months and years depriving the victim of their personal belongings. As a result of a close liaison with the court system and concern for the victims, we developed a policy whereby property is released by photographs and the photographs are utilized as evidence instead.
On the 26 NOVEMBER, 1979,.robbery victims were incor-porated into the program. Robbery victims to include: armed robbery, robbery with violence, purse snatching, etc. The same procedures were undertaken as in Phase I in relation to the letter correspondence.
Each phase of the program was implemented on a pilot basis and closely monitored during the initial weeks of operation. The inter-departmental policies governing each phase were revised, as necessary, during a demonstration period to improve effectiveness.
3 ■•■■
It was evident that most victims experienced a common series of emotional reactions which we refer to as "the victimization syndrome". Aside from just being an infor-mation centre for the victim we decided to provide a more effective assistance to the victims by adopting the personal visit policy in Phase II. Victim Services Unit staff would peruse all incoming reports, evaluate them, and seek out victims who obviously were faced with various problems. The victims were then contacted and personal visits were conducted. If Victim Services Unit staff could not he any assistance, the victims were referred to community sources who could provide them with the essential assistance. We found that the majority of the victims of crime were unaware of what avenues of assistance were open to them and that they were not knowledgeable of the procedures necessary to obtain assistance. Others were to traumatized or injured to even begin to cope with the dilemma.
When Phase III was incorporated in APRIL of 1980 involving various victims of assaults and injury accidents, more concentration was given to the personal visits. The letter policy governing break-in victims and robbery victims was maintained, however, it was not initiated with assault and injury accident victims.
During the implementation of Phase II and Phase III, we have made a point of establishing an effective working relationship with the variety of social services sources. Regular attendance at Community Services meetings and frequent contact with the community services agencies directors, has enabled us to maintain an effective referral system for our crime victims.
Soon after our program became operational most victims felt that a program such as ours was sorely needed and long over due, and many have taken the time to confirm these feelings. The victim's reaction to services of the program made it clear that there is a real need to establish victim assistance programs as broadly as possible.
On the 4 FEBRUARY 1981, all victims of crime were incorporated into the program. The same standard of assistance was maintainted to provide assistance to victims of crime. Our workload was doubled to the extent that we were dealing with approximately 2500 victims of crime on a monthly basis. Despite the workload imposed on the Victim Services Unit staff, we were able to hold our heads above water, however, we found it would be impossible to expand our program without additional hiring of staff and by the same token we wanted to broaden the services to assist victims in the immediate crisis situation. Until now we dealt with victims on a secondary crisis situation or often referred to "follow-up calls". The solution was simple. We needed to implement a volunteer program of
4
approximately 60 or more volunteers consisting of professional people as well as lay people to assist us in the immediate crisis situation and also in the secondary crisis situation. The intention of the project is to cover a 24 hour shift - 7 days a week, with its primary objective as follows:
1. to alleviate the immediate impact of a disruptive, stressful crime.
2. to help a victim of a crime to cope with the effects of the crime by mobilizing the psychological capabilities and social resources.
3. to focus on the prevention of further victimi-zation and providing encouragement on partici-parting in the apprehension and prosecution process.
4. help to reduce the "service time" of police officers and to be of service to investigators by providing assistance to the victim during the crime investigation.
Inspite of the intent, the proiect could not be imple-mented by the department due to the budget restraints.
There was, however, another criteria of concern regarding the implementation of such a project and that was the possibilities of duplicating the existing social services agencies. On the 23 APRIL 1981, a laboratory on victimology was held involving delegates from various social services agencies to determine the necessity and the possible duplication of such services.
The outcome indicated that although there are various social, legal, health, and educational services in Edmonton dealing with these victims; there seems to be little cordination, outreach, and no comprehensive approach. Delegates repeatedly stated that victims of crime "fall through cracks" of the existing system and it was generally felt that there is a dire need to establish a volunteer program to assist victims of crime in immediate crisis and secondary crisis situations.
We feel that since the beginning until now, our program's foundation is firmly established, and our primary objective, at this point, is to broaderuand improve the effectivess of our current standards. This is just what we have been doing. In NOVEMBER 1981, we introduced a volunteer program entitled "Citizens Participation and Support Project".
Through advertising in our local newspaper, radio stations, we were able to.acouire volunteers with pro-fessional backgrounds, as well as lay people into the
5
program. The volunteers (victim advocates) are required to donate 5 hours per week to the program and are responsible to liaise with the victim and provide assistance to them in relation to the problem. The policy is such that the victim advocates deal with all victims of crime and in addition to that they also deal with victims where there is severe trauma involved and not oriented with the crime such as crib death, industrial accidents, sudden deaths, accidential deaths, suicides, attempted suicides.
To date the program covers certain hours of the day, however, the twenty-four hour coverage is not attained. The advocacy contained twelve teams with 6 - 8 members per team. The hours designated currently for the advocates are from 18:00 hours - 23:00 hours, Monday through Friday and from 10:00 hours to 01:00 hours, Saturday and Sunday. The advocates are responsible for both the immediate crisis response and the secondary crisis response. The policy governing the responses are as follows:
1. Immediate Crisis: is when there is severe trauma and a lack of supportive persons available to the traumatized victim. When immediate crisis services are needed through the Citizens Partici-pation and Support Project, the investigating officer, through Victim Services Unit, will notify the Citizens Participation and Support Project advocates of the crisis. Once requested and informed, two Victim Advocates will respond to the scene as soon as possible, with the investigating officer remaining at the scene, if necessary, until the advocates have arrived. Responding advocates will remain with the victim, providing services as deemed appropriate. Follow-up will he per non-immediate crisis procedure.
2. Non-Immediate Crisis: Includes the above stated crisis symptons, hut adequate supportive persons are immediately available to the victim. The investigating officer can request follow-up services when completing the police report and directing a copy of Victim Services Unit. A follow-up will also be conducted upon the request of the victim. A follow-up may also be initiated after perusal of a police report and after assess-ment conducted by V.S.U. staff.
Currently we have 88 victim advocates within the program. The age covering the advocates are from approxi-mately 20 of age to 68 years of age. There are approxi-mately 65 percent women on the advocacy compared to 35 per-cent men. With the expansion of the volunteer program and to increase the effectiveness of the program, we feel it is highly important to utilize senior citizens, retired personnel, and people from various ethnic groups. As our
6
Chief of Police has indicated in the past, senior citizens and visible minority groups in our society have special problems which demand special solutions.
Members of these groups are often subjected not only to crime but unpleasant comments or discriminatory conduct by persons who openly display their prejudices and ignor-ance. Both senior citizens and visible minority groups involved in this project, will not only assist victims of crime with their problems resulting from the victimization but will train police members about the need for special understanding and techniques in dealing with these victims. In view of this, the Edmonton Police Department encourages the participation of senior citizens and visible minority groups into the program, however, the majority of the advocates do range from 25 - 35 years of age.
OTHER COMPONENTS OF VICTIM SERVICES UNIT:
The unit acts as a centralized information centre for the entire police department and upon request, provides information to victims regarding the status of their case, the status of stolen property involved, information about the policies and procedures of the police, court and other elements of the criminal justice system. The police department bas establisheà detailed procedures allowing the unit to have continuing case information regarding status of all crime victims. The unit acquired a computer and has access to any confidential police reports. In addition to this the victim advocates also have access to confidential police reports.
The unit acts as a liaison between the victim and the investigating officer. Investigating members also utilize the unit as a resource component for assistance. The unit also submits reports on additional information obtained from victims and the reports are immediately sent to the investigating member.
EVALUATION:
As a result of the evaluation of the program and recent documentation of the "victimization syndrome" conducted by Victim Services Unit the finding of the project are as follows:
While victims reactions to their victimization and the degree of trauma from injury or loss, vary among our cases, one factors appears predominant in each case we handle; namely, that the innocent victims are most overwhelmed by the fact that someone actually cares about their safety and
7
While all degree of victims suffer some kind of trauma, the elderly appear to suffer the most and require the greatest amount of attention and Crime Prevention counselling. This conclusion was reached soon after the program began, therefore, we sought out the elderly victims to provide them with the necessary assistance.
Injury and loss are not necessary the factors creating the greatest pain and suffering. The terror generated by the criminal act and the fear of repetition are eaually responsible for the subsequent need to comfort and counsell victims. For this reason, we seek out when ever possible, those who have been simply victims of an attempted criminal offence.
Most victims are more frighten then people realize. However, we find that a calm and friendly review of their case but perhaps a basic crime prevention counselling goes a long way towards stablizing our victims.
We capitalize on the opportunity of involving the crime Prevention Section. We found that Crime Prevention counselling is effective especially when conducted in their surroundings, exhibiting concern for our victim's welfare.
As a result of the distribution of the Victim Services Unit information cards by members investigating the initial crime, the victim is referred to a easily accessible centralized point of the department for additional information and assistance.
We found that the brochures described earlier provides information often sought by the victims. Other brochures from various social services are also provided to the appropriate victims by correspondence.
PROJECT SIDE EFFECTS:
Our program is still the only Victim Assistance program in the Edmonton area even though crime victims know that our assistance activities are confined to Edmonton, we receive several calls requesting help from victims from other jurisdictions. The majority of these victims seem desperate and simply don't know what to do. While we have not allowed ourselves to become overly involved in such cases, we have taken the time to review the available services and their jurisdiction and have made suggestions as to which would be the most appropriate sources to approach for assistance. These victims have been grate-full for our guidance and have understood why we are not able to hecome more extensively involved.
8 ■■■•
Many victims have told us that they have been victims in the past, but had not reported the offence due to the fact that there had been no witnesses, the culprit had left the scene, and therefore the police department could not do anything about it. Such victims are enlightened when we explain the importance of reporting every criminal offence, including suspicious incidents, so that the police can develop a pattern and other evidence that is not obvious to the victim.
In conclusion, I would like to say that today, the criminal justice system is under more public scrutiny than ever befoi-e, and I firmly believe that programs such as _ this, where great concern and assistance is displayed to the victim, will help bring citizens and community support for the entire criminal justice system. It will not only develop a Rood rapport with a police department, but will lead to a more effective prosecution of the criminal and ultimately, a reduction in crimes committed.
CE 5
THE EDMONTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
ROUTINE ORDER NO. 82-78 27 SEPTEMBER 1982
SUBJECT : VICTIM SERVICES UNIT THE CITIZENS' PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT PROJECT
This project is being implemented to enhance services to victims of crime and to act as a resource component for Members. Citizens from various communities have volunteered their professional assistance to the project in an effort to help build citizen and community support, not only for the Police Department, but for the entire Criminal Justice System. All victims of crime and their families, as well as victims of upsetting incidents other than crime, and their families, will benefit. -Specific benefits of this endeavour are: alleviation of the crime victim's suffering; increase of the victim's sense of security and confidence in the judici-al and law enforcement system; increased victim co-operation in prosecution of cases; and increased co-ordination of existing *community services and resources to aid victims.'
(a) Organization :
The Citizen Participation and Support Project will be affiliated with Victim Services Unit under the direction and control of the Chief of Police.
(b) Definition of a Victim Advocate :
A qualified citizen assigned to the project for the sole purpose of providing direct assistance and moral support to a victim.
(c) Project Objectives :
The support project uses Victim Advocates to:
(1) Lessen the immediate impact of a disruptive, stressful crime.
(2) Help victims to cope with the effects of crime by providing counselling and contacts with social agencies.
(3) Focus on the prevention of further victimization and provide encouragement to the victim by explainirg the apprehension and prosecution process.
• (4) Help to increase the 'Unit availability time' of police Members and be of service to investigators by providing assistance to the victim -during the • crime
• investigation. 7: ,•
LUI■4'NEY CHIEF OF POLICE
2
(d) .Crisis Identification :
The following shall be used to determine crisis situations to which Victim Advocates will respond.
(1) When disorientation is observed in the victim in such forms as nervousness, shakes, tremors, cryirg, hysteria, rambling speech, difficulty in reasoning, hyperactivity, feeling of helplessness, withdrawal, or depression.
(2) When the crime is an event the victim believes threatens his or his family's life or security.
(3) When the distressed victim lacks family or friends who could be of assistance.
(4) When moral support or assistance is required in Incidents unrelated to crime, such as industrial accidents, crib deaths, motor vehicle deaths, sudden deaths, accidental deaths, and suicides. _ • .
• (e) Crisis Response :
(1) "Immediate Crisis":
When there is severe distress and a lack of responsive persons available to the upset victim, the services of a Victim Advocate are needed. In such cases, the investigating Member will notify Victim Services Unit (telephone 421-2213 or -2214), which will assign two Victim Advocates to respond to the scene. If at all possible, the investigating Member should remain at the scene until the Victim Advocates have arrived. The Advocates will remain with the victim to provide appropriate assistance.
(2) "Non-Immediate Crisis" :
When the crisis symp.toms described in (e) (1) occur but adequate assistance is immediately available from friends and family, the investigating Member may request 'follow-up' Victim Advocate assistance by directing a copy of his report to Victim Services Unit.
In both 'Immediate Crisis' and 'Non-Immediate Crisis' cases, V.S.U. staff may initiate a follow-up.
(f) Hours:
The 'Immediate Crisis' ReFponse comes into effect Sunday, 3 October 1982 at 1000 hours and will operate from 1800 to 2300 hours Monday through Friday and, on weekends, from 1000 hours Saturday until 0100 hours Sunday and from 1000 hours Sunday until 0100 hours Monday. It is expected that in the near future the Citizens' Participation and Support Project will grow with the addition of new volunteers, at which time the program will operate 24 hours à day, seven days a week. - _
REMOVAL DATE 31 Jan. 83
CAROLINA GILBERT I
Project Type 1
Project Type 2
FREDERICTON WORK SHOP
Victim/Witness Service Models - Prosecutor/Court Based
Over the past fifteen months the Federal Government, through a collobarative effort involving the Department of Justice and the Ministry of the Solicitor General has undertaken some major initiatives on victims of crime. These activities have involved extensive consultation & programme planning with provincial ministries as well as agencies in the private sector. Since I have been asked to present a brief overview of the Department's activities in the area of prosecutor/ court programmes, I will limit the discussion to this area.
First, our activities in the victim/witness area has involved a mix of research and delivery of services using an experi-mental or demonstration project approach. In both of these areas the groups under study are: victims, witnesses, law enforcement such as the police, court personnel and social service networks.
All projects which fall under Prosecutor/Court based victim/ witness programmes are built around one of three models:
'Model 1 - Victim/Witness management; Model 2 - Victim/Witness accommodation; Model 3 - Victim/Witness assistance«
What I would like to do is to give you both a conceptual and operational profile of the programming relating to each of these models.
In essence, all three programming models share a common set of objectives - basically, that is to meet the needs of the victim/witness and improve the court process in the criminal justice system. However, each programming model sets out a somewhat different set of - strategy's for achieving the stated objectives. In light of the different strateoies we find differences -.in'the:
1) - organizational structure of the programme -- In this context there.are three basic type of projects.
Project Type 3
- new practices, procedures, and concepts are introduced through new projects
- new practices, procedures and concepts are introduced through existing ser-ices or framework •
- there are no new practices, procedures or concepts, however, there is a Y- eorganization of existing procedures basically reallocating resources
-2-
2) - differences in the kinds of services delivered; and
3) - differences in the client population served.
Some projects focus on a very general target population and can also be seen as providing general kinds of resources e.g. information packages, while others focus on a very specific, narrowly defined target group e.g. battered women, and provide very indepth services or resources. The best way to look at some of these differences would be to highlight the three different models and give a concrete example of each.
In describing the various programming schemes in relation to these three models, the term "model" is used rather loosely. Each of the three models do not reflect a distinct set of concepts and practices. Instead programmes under each area differ primarily with respect to their organization, how the operation is linked to the operation of the criminal justice system and the specific services which are delivered by the programme. As you will see as I am discussing each of the models, programming components under each are not necessarily unique to the model under which they are identified. As often as not, there is visible overlap both in terms of stated objectives and services delivered.
Model 1 Victim/Witness Management
1) Example: B.C., Yukon and N.W.T. Case Management Studies
2) Stated Objectives
- to meet the needs of the victim/witness by inproving practices within the criminal justice system.
- the aim is to identify problem areas in the delivery of justice services and by improving the practices the ultimate result will be meeting the needs of the victim/witness.
3) Organizational Structure
- structure involves a re-direction of existing practices or resources within an already present system
- no new manpower, no new budget allocation
4) Programme Output - practices changes are:
1) charge process (evidence checklist) 2) reports to crown counsel - ensuring required evident-
iary information is available and complete (In B.C., it is estimated that is costs $45.00 per evidentiary report having to be returned for additional information. The number of returned reports have been reduced from
-3-
51.9% to 2.0% as a result of establishing an evidentiary checklist which became a part of the revised reports to the crown.)
3) witness notification - personal!. courier v.s. the mail delivery of subpoena's (improvements resulted in a 87.5 percent reduction in cost)
4) police notification 5) introduction of a police/crown liaison officer
- supervises quality control duties of shift officers and screen reports
- also determines if police witnesses are required and eliminates any unnecessary ones
- swears information before J.P. (B.C. report estimates that is costs $140.00 per police officer to appear as a witness. During a 5 month period a total of 947 police witnesses were eliminated resulting in a cost saving of $132,580.00)
6) witness administration - encompasses all aspects of witness contact following the witness notification phase: (i) travel and accommodation;
(ii) court facilities for witnesses; and (iii) witness fees.
(This phase can also be seen as falling under Model 2 - witness accommodation) In B.C., the courts negotiated with Pacific Western Airlines to allow for transportation reservations and hotel accommodations at the destination point. As a result, all that the ministry staff need to do is to inform the Pacific Western Travel Centre of the day and time the witness is required in a specific place.
7) Crown-DefenCe Interface - increases the importance of disblosure by
both sides of the adversary process - witnesses (both police and civilian) would
not have to appear for trial only to be in-formed that the crown has stayed its case or the accused has changed his/her plea to guilty
- will result in a reduction in the number of trials held
- more research is needed in this area, the issue of disclosure involves a number of confounding variables
8) case-disposition and follow-up - develop a Court Management Information System to which all courts submit case status reports
5) Clientele - all victim/witness clients would derive some benefit from this programme model.
*- The department is presently involved in cost-sharing a Witness - Co-ordinator demonstration program in Ottawa, Ontario. This project will try to implement a number of the above stated procedural changes.
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- The British Columbia Case Management Study is available on request. However, the case management assessment studies in the Yukon and N.W.T. are not available until the end of March.
Model 2 Victim/Witness Accommodation
1) Example - Winnipeg Victim/Witness Assistance Program
2) Stated Objectives
- to meet the needs of victims/witnesses of crime at the court level, that is during the time interval bet-ween first court appearance and disposition of the case.
- secondary objective is to save prosecutors time by handling witness inquiries and dealing with a variety of concerns that witnesses express.
3) Organizational Structure
- this approach is a combination of re-organization and re-direction of existing CJS resources together with introducing new resources.
- new resources in this programming scheme are directed towards providing the victim/witness with various basic, practical services e.g. - babysitting services
- separate waiting rooms - transportation to and from court
- in addition to providing services to assist victim/ witnesses meeting their responsibilities as a participant in the justice process, it is also argued that this will produce benefits to the system itself in that "a happy witness" is more co-operative.
- in some instances the court based victim/wtiness pro-ject should only be seen as one component of a larger programming scheme involving victim/witnesses.
- In Winnipeg, the court based component is directed towards all victim/witnesses across all type of cases, whereas other components of the programming scheme focus on certain type of victim/witnesses, e.g. the elderly,and also on specific types of cases, e.g. robbery and Break and Enter. .Recognizing that this area of direct service programming is in its infancy, it may be that the overall nature of court based pro-gramming might also be refined somewhat . in the future so as to focus on a more narrowly defined target pop-ulation.
4) Programme Output some program components are:
1) a witness reception area; 2) general inquire service - office number is listed on
the 1:). -. ochure accompanying the subpoena; 3) witness alert system - basically for physicians; 4) cancellation notification; 5) time narrowing.
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* basic aim is to provide a range of informational ser-vices to individuals who have been subpoenaed to appear in court
5) Clientele
- all Victims/Witnesses could benefit from this type of programme (The evaluation report of the Winnipeg Victim/Witness Assistance Programme will not be available until the end of March, 1983)
Model 3 Victim/Witness Assistance
1) Example - Hiatus House Complainant Support Programme
2) Basic Objective
- to provide direct client services from the time of occurrence until dase disposition and also indirect services by acting as a referral source which would link the client (victim/witness) to other resources in the community e.g. battered women who are seeking the services of the support programme may also be in need of the resources provided by the transition House.
- the services provided by these referral agencies may go well beyond the disposition stage of the case
- is to provide information to the victim/witness con-cerning legal option, rights and obligations in con-junction with the court process, court procedure, and additional follow-up information at the disposition stage.
3) Organizational Structure
- this project includes new resources and procedures - specifically, in Windsor, the project is staffed by
a lawyer who is referred to as the "complainant consultant".
4) Programme Output
1) close consultations with the victim/witness in order to identify problems and needs
2) identify legal options 3) informs client of rights and resonsiblities in conjunctions
with processing case through court.. 4) assists client through court stage provided client
goes to court 5) provides client with information and explanations about
the disposition of the case.
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5.) Clientele
As I have just described, this form of victim/witness assistance programme focuses on only a narrowly defined population or group of victims. And, accordingly, limits the services provided to the somewhat unique needs of this group, other programmes deal with a broader cross- section of victims and therefore are designed to the responsive to a more general set of needs. Even though clients' involvement in these more general programmes could be seen as being less intensivqy the overall length of their involvement goes beyond the disposition stage (e.g. payment of witness fees, property recovery).
In summary, the most effective prosecutor/court based victim/ witness programme would encompass some ingredients from all three of our so called "models". It is hoped that further research together with a rigorous evaluation of existing programming initiatives will assist both policy makers and
programmers in their efforts to develop better._servicès to victims of crime.
British Columbia Case Management Evaluation
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Under contract with the Department of Justice, Evaluation and Statistics Division, the firm of H.J. Bradley and Associates performed a systematic evaluation of the current court case management services in British Columbia. Their mandate included the assessment of the following:
(a) document flow between criminal justice components (Crown Counsel, defence & police);
(b) witness -management practices;
(c) existing procedures for quality control of case intake;
(d) case scheduling techniques;
(e) present system of information storage, access and analysis; and
(f) the development of a future cost-effective case management based on improving, modifying and replacing existing processes.
The evaluation was constructed in three phases:
(a) Person-to-person interviews were held with Crown Counsel, police and defence representatives by the researchers. These were conducted in thirty-six locations within six regions (Victoria, Vancouver, Yamloops, Surrey, Burnaby and Yelowna).
(b) Detailed analysis of each system at the Crown Counsel, victim/witness programme and defence level for a review of guidelines determining the required case information needed for prosecution or suspension.
(c) Recommendations towards a future model incumbent upon document flow, quality control, witness management and global cost-efficiency.
. . .2
Report 'evidence checklist' police retain one copy for files
Incident (Crime)
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The research topics identified were:
(a) The maintenance of an 'evidence checklist' to be standardized throughout the entire province. This document is fourfold in nature. The additional time spent by the reporting police officers to complete the information reduced substantial processing at latter stages of the criminal justice system.
(b) The establishment of a Police/Crown Liaison' Officer at the court level to screen the evidence checklist. His main tasks were to see that all the reauired information is illustrated, eliminate any unnecessary witnesses, and noting the days when pertinent witnesses are available.
(c) Crown Counsel reCeived the report from the Police/Crown Liaison to fùrther evaluate the information and to formalize arrangements concerning the matter.
This can be graphically explained as follows:
Police/Crown Liaison 'screening' - evidence presented - unnecessary charges
suspended - retain one copy for
files
Crown Counsel - prepare case for
court trial or return report for elaboration
- one copy retained for files
The remaining copy would then be filed at the court office including the final disposition in a fire safe proof vault.
Until August of 1982, 1,612 reports were submitted, with only two percent returned for clarification. The average time spent on individual case preparation was two and one-half hours thus indicating this procedure is prime in cost and time benefit.
. .3
-3-
Further recommendations were sugoested:
(a) Transportation: to provide quicker, more prompt attendance of justice personnel/ witness/victim/offender, the Pacific Western Airlines would establish this service (nominal fee required).
(b) Witness Administration: the curent service is located at the court office, responsible for the payment of witness fees, information of general trial proceedings. The extention of this service would be beneficial in other court areas.
(c) Witness Notification & Denotification: presently the majority of subpoenas are mailed. The development of a witness notifier co-ordinator would facilitate contacting witnesses individually, i.e. trial dates. Problematic were areas where transportation, resource and known dialogue scarcity.
(d) Victim Assistance: to date programmes were implemented and include:
(i) Since 1980, police officers have provided victims with business cards informing them about crime compensation, and a case reference file number to call for assistance.
(ii) C.A.R.E. was specifically designed to deal with questions concerning victim/offender reconciliation.
(iii) Both of the above mentioned programmes are federally funded through the Youth Employment Services.
(iv) At the court level, victim assistance programmes have not been able to contact victims; but rather wait until the victim approaches them in their offices.
. . .4
-4-
(v) Trial co-ordinators are.situated in each of the six regions (Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, Burnaby and Surrey). Their functions were to minimize delays by proposing available dates, victims/witnesses could attend, to the justice during first appearance in court.
(vi) The problems that did arise were due to traditional discrepancies between Crown Prosecutors and lawyers conferring with each other over trial dates, and information regarding witnesses essential to the case.
H.J. Bradley and Associates offered a thorough examination of the British Columbia management services. Developed were modules reflective of basic and sound practices based on cost reduction, as opposed to any which may be expensive to integrate. In summary, their module attempts to instrument:
(a) an evidence checklist - standardization of information;
(b) quality control - mandatory completion of the checklist before the end of the police officer's shift;
(c) witness control - knowledge of the victims/Witnesses necessary for the trial by the Crown Counsel and defence;
(d) document preparation and processing;
(e) Police/Crown Liaison - primarily screening of circumstance pertaining to the individual cases;
(f) pre-printed file jackets;
(g) police/civilian notification and denotifcation - confirming available dates for attendance, means of transportation, assignment of fees, estimated duration of trial, and contact person at the court level;
(h) central registration - keeping of one complete set of information at the court office to refer to, and for future needs;
--.5
-5-
(i) filing system;
(j) trial scheduling;
(k) procedure manuals;
(1) staff training; and
(m) a periodic evaluation.
In all interviews with criminal justice personnel, it was found that everyone agreed with the developed modules as practical, effective, and in most cases, lead to significant cost savings. This was evident in the reduction of a backlog of cases, relating to misrepresentation of caseload material, insufficient evidence for prosecution, loss of information, and unnecessary witnesses/police in attendance. In the past, it appeared that each blamed another for incompetence in backlog and lack of management skills. The atmosphere currently is of "let's-work-together-to-solve-the-problem".
Support staff have become interested, and feel more accounted in their functions. Each view their position as important to the entire success of maintaining a steady and consistent flow between the modules. If one does not fulfill his duties, in the appropriate timeframe, it becomes apparent, as well as obvious to the point of.origination.
The Deputy Attorney Ceneral has taken a concern for a full scale implementation evaluation to be undertaken during the latter part of 1983, ensuring compliance between the jurisdiction and the function of the module.
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(3). REVIEW OF -HIATUS HOUSE
• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND FUNDING SCHEMES OF HIATUS HOUSE
The primary interest for a shelter for battered women
came from Legal Assistance of Windsor, a muliidisciplinary
law clinic staffed by senior law and social work students.
Each academic term, the students are involved in a project
which is designed to assist both the legal and social work
professions.
According to Delores Blondie, co-ordinator of programs
at L.A.W. (1975), "the impetus for an emergency shelter for
battered women and children originated from the battered
women themselves". Within two days, 15 women, who all had
cSildren, and were being beaten by their partners came to
L.A.W. for support. They all wanted to separate however,
they had nowhere to re-locate. Thus, a "need was
identified and the issues relating to battered women and
their families as well as service needs became a student
project from Legal Assistance of Windsor.
In order to access the scope of the problem, and to
ascertain how many battered women requiring assistance were
potentially within the Windsor-Essex county, questionnaires
were sent out to existing social services asking questions
such as "how many battered women do you have on your current
case load?," and "would you be interested in providing.
supportive services to a residential program for battered
women?" The results revealed that, basically, no agency
could establish the incidence of- wife assault cases which
require& their services. Their reporting procedures did not
encompass such a category as "battered." "Assault is
assault is assault", no matter who does it. Specifically,
the agencies were not making distinctions between domestic
September 1976 Hiatus House received a per 2
- 39 -
assault and common assault. Hence data collection became an
issue of concetn for policy and program developers. After
considerable discussion, it was felt that "crisis shelter"
was the major need The existing residential services were
operating under mandates addressing a designated need and
hence could not encompass "battered women with'children."
On July 12, 1976, Hiatus House of Windsor, serving the
geographic area of Windsor and Essex county, opened their
doors to "receive battered women and their children and to
offer them a place of refuge to escape their dangerous and
violent homes and to offer them the opportunity to make a
decision about their future and to assure them of help in
following through on whatever their decision may be." The
opening of the house was made possible by a six month grant
in the amount of $15,000 from the city of Windsor and was
personed by an executive director and twenty trained
volunteers.
On Aug. 23, 1976, Hiatus House incorporated and over
the next two years received a number of grants which allowed
them to develop. A breakdown of the grants received are as
follows:
1) November 15, 1976 - LIP grant in the amount of
$20,400. This allowed Hiatus
House to hire five residential
staff.
diem rate for the residents
tinder the General Welfare
Assistance Act.
- 40 -
• 3) November 1976 - A per diem rate was negotiated
with Essex County Social
services to commence January
1, 1978.
4) June, 1977 - A Cnada Works"Project Grant
in the amount of $44,034.
permitted the hiring of seven
additional staff members.
5) Summer of 1977
- Received a Young Canada Works
grant for $11,945.
6) 1977 and 1978 - Received two Special Projects
Grants from United Way ($21,818 and $41,289).
7) Summer of 1978
- Received $15,264 on a Young
Canada Works Grant.
8) January 1, 1979 - A larger house was deemed
necessary, consequently a
solid funding base and a
mortgage were sought. On
January 1, 1979 Hiatus House
was accepted as a member
agency of United Way. This
core funding allowed Hiatus
House to purchase a new
residence with a bed capacity
of 24 and carry a mortgage in
the amount of $130,000 from
Canada Housing and Mortgage
Corporation.
9). August 1980 - The new residence was
officially opened' and that •
summer four summer students
were hired through a grant
from the Health Promotion
Directorate in the .amount of
.$14,868.
10) January 1, 1981 - Hiatus House entered into a
purchase of Counselling
services agreement with the
City of Windsor and at the
same tiMe received a special
project grant from the United
Way of $15,000 for a Child
Case program.
11) March 1981 - Funding from the Department of
Employment and immigration
permitted the hiring of three
persons at minimum "wage.
12) October 1981 ' - Department of Justice funded
the Hiatus House Complainant
Support on a demonstration
project basis until March 31,
1983.
13) January 1, 1982 - A special project grant from
United Way allowed for the
funding of a part time staff
to provide group therapy for
male batterers.
HIATUS HOUSE •
Hiatus House officially opened on July 12, 1976 and was
staffed by an executive director and twenty trained
volunteers. The initial shelter consisted of a small three
bedroom house with available space for nine women and
children. From the onset, it was recognized by the Board of
Directors that the existing three bedroom house was
inadequate in terms of bed space, security and it's
capabilities of meeting program needs. Thus, it became a
long-term goal to find a permanent funding base - provided
that the service statistics would warrant a larger
facility. On February 24, 1979, Hiatus House moved to a new
facility with a bed capacity of 24.
The organizational structure of the agency has remained
constant since the opening of the house. At the helm of the
organizaiton is the Board of Directors. Activities of the
Board encompass fund raising, administration, personnel,
finance, - program and policy development, public relations,
public education, research and accountability. Donna
Miller, who has been the Executive Director of Hiatus' House
since its inseption, is an 'ex officio' member of the Board
of Directors and is responsible for developing, adminis-
tering and directing Hiatus House.
Since the origin of Hiatus House, both the target
population for the program and the source of client referral
have remained constant. Specifically, the target population
has been limited to women who have been physically abused by
their partner or threatened with physical abuse. These
women enter into the program in five different ways:
II - 43 -
II
% 1) Legal: police, justice of the peace, Legal
Assistancb of Windsor, private lawyers and family
I court •
112) Medical: hospital emergency departments, hospital
social work departments, psychiatric departments,
II doctors and public health nurses.
. 3) Social Service Agencies: - all agencies, with
11
the two Children's Aid Societies being the largest
referring sources
. .
II 4) Clergy, family and friends
5) Self referrals .
11 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
II The principle underlying the origin of Hiatus House was
to provide a shelter that would give "24 hour residential,
emergency shelter for battered women and their children". II
As stated previously, the'house officially opened July 12,
II 1976, with the "residential" component being it's mandate.
However, on the second day of operation, the "non-residen-
I/ II
tial" component of the house commenced, again initiated by a
"women in need". This component consisted of basically
providing the same services (e.g. counselling, court
assistance and supportive type services) to battered women
who wanted to move directly into the Community without going
11 through the residence.
By the third day of operation, the house was full to
capacity, however, referrals weie . still coming 'in. In
response to this, Hiatus House deVeloped a community Home
II ,
- 44 -
program whereby volunteers would take battered women into
their own homes on a temporary basis until they could be
taken into the program at Hiatus House. Approximately 12
families were placed in private li(mes before the Executive
Director of Hiatus . House, Donna Miller, in consultation with
the Board of Directors, terminated the program. The reasons
fôr termination were two fold; firstly, the women placed in
private homes were returning to the violent situation and
secondly, they felt that they were intruding and needed the
support of other "battered women".
The outcome of this exercise demonstrated that there
was a real . need for group living and that staff and
volunteers were not an adequate resource. The key resource
was the support offered by battered women themselves.-
HIATUS HOUSE INCORPORATED - PROGRAMS
The program parameters of Hiatus House are a result of
the philosophic frame of reference. The overall agency
program goals are:
1. To provide crisis intervention services to
battered women and their families.
2. To provide temporary emergency shelter for the
battered woman and her children in a group
residence.
3. To provide the battered woman with information
with regard to her legal rights to lay threatening
and/or assault charges against her partner and to
be supportive to her throughout the criminal
justice process.
2
I
I .
- 45 -
4. To provide professional counselling to battered
women and their families.
5. To provide'professional child care counselling.
6. To provide group therapy for male batterers.
Within the agency, there are a number of programs
available which directly meet the overall program goals.
They are as follows:
1) Emergency Shelter:
As previously mentioned, Hiatus House is first. and
foremost an emergency shelter for battered women
and their children. From January 1, 1981 to
December 31, 1981 there were 643 referrals made to
Hiatus House, (374 of which were children).
Crisis Intervention and telephone counselling:
This encompasses assisting the battered women
without actually admitting her into the
residence. In many instances the woman merely
wants information regarding the residential
program or a referral to legal resources. She May
just want to talk about the physical abuse and as)
to be listened to.
3) Medical Intervention:
Once admitted to Hiatus House, a battered woman
and/or her children may require medical
- 46 -
attention. When this is the case, arrangements
are made with her to either go to emergency
departments of hospitals or to her own doctor.
4) Appropriate legal referrals:
The resident is advised to seek legal counselling
immediately, in an attempt to learn what her legal
alternatives are and to take whatever action is in
her best interest. Of special concern to many
mothers is the issue of child custody. Mothers
sometimes choose to temporarily withdraw their
children from school - at least until an Interim .
custody order is obtained. In these instances,
arrangements are made with teachers to send
schoolwork to Hiatus House provided that their
absence is no more than one week. Should they be
removed from s .chool for more than one week in
duration, arrangements are made with the
appropriate schoolboards to provide the children
with a tutor at Hiatus House.
5) Returning ho7-_e for personal possessions:
If a women wfshes to return to her home to obtain
her and the children's personal belongings, a
staff member with a police escort will accompany
her.
Ongoing pron-ssional counselling is offered in an
informal and structured basis 24 hours a day.
Potential dezisions are made by battered woMen -
- 47 -
- during their stay at Hiatus House (1981 - average
length of stay was 8 days per family). The woman
may decide to:
re-establish within the community - in 1981,
approx. 50% of the families made this
decision;
(ii) to return to her partner in a chaotic
unplanned manner with no counselling (40% of
the residences made this decision);
(iii) to return to the partner in a planned manner
with the male partner receiving therapy
and/or the couple receiving conjoint marital
therapy.
7) Re-establishment services:
The staff will provide support in locating adequate
housing, furnishings etc. to those women who are
re-establishing as single parent families.
8) Follow-up services:
If necessary, a residential counsellor will meet with
the women after her discharge from Hiatus House to
discuss child management difficdlties, complete court
action, work through past marital relationships etc.
The above mentioned services available at Hiatus House
have been in existence since the opening of the residence
for"battered Women. However, due to increased staffing, a
- 48 -
-
solid funding base, and additional fundin.g sources the House
has been able to offer additional components to their basic
core programs. Such "components" include a
1) Child care program;
2) . Group counselling for the male batterer, and the;
3) Complainant Support Programme.
1) Child Care Program
The child care program was funded on a special projects
grant from United Way in the amount of $15,000 - effective
January 1, 1981. The primary goal of the child care program
is to provide "professional services to children who have
witnessed their mother being battered by their father or
step father." In 1981, 374 children were admitted with
their mothers to Hiatus House.
The child care program is principally operated bY Cathy
Lee, a certified child care worker. She is assisted by
trained volunteers who work directly with the children and
mothers. In addition, another group of volunteers comprise
the "Child care advisory committee" set up in January of
this year. The purpose of this committee is to provide the
child care staff with consultation directly related to child
care and to assist in the area of staff training and
development.
Other sources of assistance have been student summer
placements from both St. Clair college and Vocational
Rehabilitation of a Hear'ing Handicapped person. A summer
grant, 1982, from the department of employment and
:mmigration ($14,8755 had permitted the hiring of five
:.tudent staff to provide a creative play therapy for the
- children this .summer.
The child care program has four basic components and
they are as follows:
(1) Assessment;
(2) Activity Programs;
(3) Child management program;
(4) Follow-up component.
- 49 -
II 1) Assessment
As Donna Miller points out, children are in crisis as a II res-ult of the violence within their home. They often enter
mi Hiatus House afraid and unaware of what is happening to
II Lheir family situation. Thus, it becOmes the role of the
child care worker to meet with the mother and the children
II and talk about their admission to Hiatus House. In
addition, the child care wbrker assesses the child's needs
and any other particular problems he/she may be
experiencing. Following the assessment the child care
worker decides if the child could benefit from the group
activities available within the program and if not, outside
im referrals are made so that ultimately the child receives II appropriate attention. (Such referrals include Regional
Children's Centre, Windsor Group Therapy and Child's Place)
2) Activity Programs
Should the child benefit frOm the services available at
II Hiatus House, he/she will remaih at the house and enter into
le activity program. Through a $1,047.00 grant from the •
- 50 -
• Ministry of Culture and Recreation, a film projector and . •
educational toys were purchased to be used in the playroom.
A swimming program allows both mother and child to engage in
physical activity together. The most recent addition to the
child care program is an outdoor play area used by both the
children and their mothers.
3) Child management Program and Follow-up
The ultimate goal of the child care program is to help
the mother deal as effectively as possible in her
relationship with her children. Thus, in addition to
helping the children with their own individual needs, the
child care worker and staff is also involved in teaching
parenting skills to mothers.
Following the discharge of the mother and her children
from Hiatus House, the child care worker provides additional
counselling on either a group basis or on a one to one,
individual basis.
FRESH START MEN'S GROUP
During the development of the various components and
programs relating to Hiatus House, it was deemed necessary,
due to the agency philosophy that when one person in the
family unit is in trouble, or is hurting, that there are
spin-off effects on other family members, to involve the
batterers in . a program of their own. (Marriage counselling,
although available, is not always appropriate simply because
men would agree to counselling in order to "get h5s partner
to leave Hiatus House and come back home").
- 51 - .
As a result 5f this perceived need, a group work
approach with male batterers was instigated, and on July 7,
1981, the first group started with 4 male participants. At
present, this program is funded for 10 hours a week on a
Special Project grant from United Way. This allows for the
operation of at least two groups Per week.
After a man has been referred to the co-ordinator of
Fresh Start, Tom Rolfe, an appointment is arranged. During
the appointment the social worker discusses the manes
problems and needs, informs-him of the group counselling
process and advises as to when he could join the group.
The first two weeks of group are of an introductory
nature and the men decide, during these two weeks, if they
will continue and commit themselves to a further six weeks
of therapy. It is the goals of the group to:
1) end abusive behaviour;
2) learn alternative behaviours;
3) learn to express anger in non-oppressive and more
constructive ways;
4) to identify and express feelings and self doubts;
5) learn to better communicate and learn problem
solving skills;
6) learn new and flexible attitudes and expectations
towards women;
7) identify roots of anger and violence, its impacts
on self and others.
In addition to working_ towards these goals, the men
exChange telephone numbers and are encouraged to maintin
contact outside of the group sessions. It is the philoSophy
- 52 -
of Hiatus House that groups provide men who batter with an
opportunity for social learning which would be next to
impossible to find in other treatment settings.
The final session is used as an "evaluation session".
At this time, each group member is given the opportunity to
terminate group therapy or renegotiate their goals and
continue.
As of- July 7, 1981 to the present, there have been 34
male batterers refetred to Hiatus House - Fresh Start.
(The majority of referrals are internal referrals). Of the
34 referrals, 27 have completed the intake process. Of the
27;
-.10 men have terminated group therapy (i.e. have
successfully completed the program);
- 8 are currently in group;
- 6 decided not to continue after the introduction
meetings;
3 are pending new group.
To quote Donna Miller, Director of Hiatus House "it is
important that all members of the family have access to
services" - the batterer included.
Complainant Support Program
Up until October 1, 1981, if a women was considering
laying a private information, Hiatus House staff would
inform her of her rights and supply her with the necessary
information pertaining to the Criminal Justice System.
- 53 -
If the womad had to attend court, a residential
counsellor, if available, would accompany her. Only
residents of Hiatus House, therefore, had access to such a
service. Women who had been assualted and wanted to lay
charges, but were not residential clients, would not be
given the opportunity to be informed of the options
available to them. Other areas of concern were as follows:
1) complainants who lay charges will frequently want
them dropped at a later date due, often, to the
frustration they experience;
' due to a heavy -work ,load carried by prosecutors,
they frequently do not have available time to
speak with the complainant and prepare her for
court appearances;
3) - Comlainants- lack. iriformation about their rights,
the existing services and access to services
within the community.
In response to these identified concerns, a proposal
for obtaining a funding base for the courtworker complainant
- consultant program developed.
On October 14, 1981, funded by the Department of
Justice on a demonstration basis until March 1983, the doors
of the "Hiatus House Complainant Support Program" opened.
This program offered "the coordination of a complete
consultant system in conjunction with the Crown attorney's
office to provide information to complainants of the process
of the criminal justice system and of available services, in
the system in obtaining those_ services." (This is an
adjunctive service that is not located at Hiatus House .
proper. Office space at a location close to both the police
station and court house was deemed more suitable).
2
- 54 -
The stated goals of this demonstration project are as
follows:
1) to complete an orientation and training program
provided by Hiatus House;
to consult with the Crown Attorney and the Defense
Bar with respect to the possibility of writing to
the judges to advise the courts of the program
goals;
3) to meet with the Crown Attorney and appropriate ,
Police personnel for the purpose of the
development of the project goals to insure that _
the goals are compatible with the functioning of
these individuals;
4) to develop a referral system to the police and/or
the Crown Attorney in co-ordination with the
police, Crown Attorney and through the Crown
Attorney to the Senior Provincial Judge to the
Justices of the peace;
5) to develop intake and assessment forms to be used
with complainants;
6) to interview complainants and provide ongoing
consultation and supportive counselling with them
as well as make appropriate referrals to community
resources;
7) to assist with court attendance and to attend
court especially where in the opinion of the Crown
Attorney or the police such attendance would be
helpful;
1
- 55 -
8) • to provide the police and Crown Attorney's office
with such - information as may be . helpful to them.
Cathy Yeoman (L.L.B.), the Complainant Consultant,
I states that as of July 21, 1982, the total number of
contacts have been 128. Of the 128 contacts, 67 have been
of a brief nature, providing general:information about the
service and legal rights and remedies with regard to laying
charges. Sixty-one cases have been opened and have required
II extensive services.
11 The next section presents a brief overview of the kinds of
research questions which could be addressed in an evaluation
111 of the Hiatus House Complainant Support Program, Hiatus
MI House proper, the Group for Batterer's - Fresh Start, and
the Marriage Counselling Program.
1 I . 1
e
(4) INFORMATION NEEDS AND SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions' have been identified as
relevant to issues to be addressed in an evaluation
proposal: •
1. What is the, nature and incidence of reported family
violence in Windsor?
2. What policies procedures, and practices are followed in
processing incidents of family violence brought to the
attention of the justice system?
(i) Who assumes'responsibility for the laying of
charges?
(ii) How are cases processed through family court
versus criminal court?
3. Does (i) or (ii) influence the eventual outcome or
disposition of cases (consider "withdrawals",
adjournments, final disposition)?
4. What is the timeliness of the Criminal Justice process
(i.e. length of time between: (i) incident and laying
of charge, (ii) laying of charge and first court
appearance, and (iii) first appearance and
disposition)?
Do the policies and practices of criminal court versus
family court influence the timeliness of the delivery
of justice?
5. What are the stated objectives of the program and how
are these objectives - translated into service delivery
goals?
- 57 -
6. 1iow are program services organized and delivered (time
budget analysis)?
7. To what extent and'how effectively and efficiently are
the objectives of the prograffi being met?
8. What are the socio-demographic characteristics of the
client population and caseflow through the program?
9. To what extent does the Hiatus House program interface
with other agencies (frequency, type and appropriate-
ness . of_client referrals across programs)?
10. What is the "professional users'" (i.e. related
agencies and criminal justice personnel) awareness of,
involvement with and satisfaction with programming _
initiatives being evaluated?
11. Are clients satisfied . with the level and quality of
services received from:
(i) the Criminal Justice System (police, courts), and
(ii) Hiatus House.
12. Does clients' involvement in the Criminal Justice
process and the services delivered by the programmes
influence the:
(i) nature and incidence of family violence in their
relationships, and
(ii) other legal proceedings such as separation,
divorce, custody of Children.
The material discussed in sections two and four, together
with further consultations involving Hiatus House staff,
- 58 -
pcilice officials and Crown Counsel in Windsor, will be used
as a basis fo il developing an applopriate Methodology and
field work logistics for the evaluation.
MAJOR - FRED MILLS
A VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION
AND
SERVICES TO VICTIMS AND WITNESSES OF CRIME
Notes provided by Major Frederick Mills, Area Administrator for The Salvation Army Correctional Services Department in Ottawa, Ontario, in connection with a presentation made at
The Victim/Witness Workshop
Fredericton, N.B.
March 2 - 3, 1983
Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to
speak to you for a few minutes about the role of a voluntary
organization in the delivery of services to Victims and Witnesses
of Crime.
Most of us here, in our private lives, belong to that segment
of society called the Christian Church. Therefore, as members of
that church, we operate from a 2,000 year old mandate with regard
to Victim Services. You will recall that on one occasion, Jesus
told the story of a Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). In that story
a Samaritan traveller helped a man who was the victim of both
assault and robbery. When Jesus finished telling the story, Jesus
said "Go and do likewise" (v.37). Since that time, the Christian
Community has, from time to time, reached out to help people in
distress.
As a part of that Community, The Salvation Army, from very early
in its history, has had a very sensitive social conscience with
regard to the needs of people in distress. The extent of our
Social Services, when compared with the numerical strength of our
church, bears witness to this fact. Last year we celebrated our
one hundredth birthday in Canada. Although, from time to time,
during our first hundred years, The Salvation Army has assisted
Victims of Crime in an informal way, it was not until January, 1977,
when we commenced a Victim Care Program in one of the Police
Divisions in the City of Toronto, that we began to make any formal
attempt to address these needs.
THE OTTAWA VICTIM/WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
I knew of the Toronto Victim Care Program when I moved to
Ottawa in 1979, consequently, when in January, 1980, Mr. William
-2-
Jackson, Area Manager for the Probation and Parole Services,
Ontario Ministry of Correctional Services, asked me if we would
consider undertaking.a Needs Analysis with regard to a Victim/
Witness Assistance Program in Ottawa, I was delighted to under-
take the project. Money was not available at that time, bût we
were given to understand that funds for the Needs Analysis were
to be set aside in his 1981 Budget and additional funds were to
be made available if there proved to be a genuine need for this
program. We agreed to underwrite all costs during the initial
stages. However, by March 1981, we knew that no money would be
forthcoming from the Province, because money budgetted for the
offender' could not be - spent to help the victim.
Since then, we have been exploring varibus avenues, both
Federal and Provincial. We have recently worked out with the
Ottawa Police a funding formula that appears to be satisfactory to
the Federal Solicitor General for the Victim Assistance part of
our proposal. Unfortunately, we have not made as much progress with
the Province with regard to the Witness Assistance part of our
proposal.
In any event, during the months of August and September, 1981,
we recruited about 30 volunteers. These were put through a six
weeks training program, consisting of 3-hour long sessions that
included such things as:
- an overview of the needs of the Victim in the Criminal Justice
system;
- crisis intervention counselling;
- what the volunteer could expect from the Police and the reverse;
- what the volunteer could expect from the Court System and the reverse;
- how to use community resources;
- simulated exercises in victim response,
- visits to both the police station and the courts.
-3-
We used the Brampton Model and adapted it to suit our purposes in
Ottawa.
Arrangements were also made for us to participate in an
in-service training program with members of the Ottawa Police in
December. A target date was set for January 1, 1981.
Our intention was to gather information from those we serviced
and to interview a significant number of those who had not been
serviced to ascertain whether or not they knew of our program.
If the victim thus interviewed did not know of the program, whether
or not they would have used it if they. had known. Fortunately for
us, a student in the Master's Program in Criminology at the university
of Ottawa, came to work with us in the Spring of 1981. When she did her
own research, she also included in it the questions that we wanted
answers for. She found that:
(3/73) 4% knew about the program. Not one of them had heard about
- it either from the police force or in the courts;
(11/73) 15% said they would have used it if they had known; an additional
(4/73) 6% said that they could still use it. This meant that 21%
would use the program;
(65/76) 86% thought that the service was needed.
(38/65) 60% of the taxpayers expressed a willingness to pay additional
taxes for a comprehensive Victim/Witness Assistance program,etc.
The completed document is on the display table.
HOW IT OPERATES
Our volunteers for crisis at-the-time-of-the-crime calls are
organized in pairs, often husband and wife teams. Where this is not
possible, we endeavour to have a man and a woman in each team. Not
all volunteers have cars. Therefore, we match those who do not have
a car with someone who does. The one who does not have a car uses
-4-
a taxi chit to get to the scene and his/her partner will take
hiM/her home when the call is completed.
All calls come through the Communication Centre of the Ottawa
Police Force. The Centre keeps a daily schedule in a 3-ring
binder showing who is on call and who is available for back-up.
The Police Officer at the scene informs the victim of the
existence of the Service and if requested, calls the Communication
Centre. Special forms have been prepared for the Communication
Centre. I have included a copy of this with the handout material.
These are used to record the information which is then passed on
to the team on call. Our average response time is about 30 minutes.
After the volunteers conclude the call, they complete a
Report Form (also included with handout material) which they either
drop off at our office the next morning or call us so that we can
arrange to have it picked up. In addition to vital statistics about
the victim, the Report Form includes:
- the File Number
- a brief description of what the volunteer found when he arrived
- a brief description of what assistance was given
- recommended follow-up, etc.
During the two years that we have been in operation, we have
handled everything that the police have thrown at us, even the clean-up
of a room where a shot-gun suicide had occurred. I would not suggest
that you make many of the latter kind of referrals or you will soon
lose your volunteers. In the handout material, you will find a
Victim Sampler and a Witness Sampler giving you some idea of the kinds
of calls we respond to and what assistance was given.
We have not been asked to serve anywhere near the number of
victims who would use us if they knew about us. For example, in the
- 5 -
summer of 1981, we did a check on the number of B & E's (residential
and apartment), Robberies and Assaults that occurred during the
months of July and August. We found that in July, there was a
total of 753, and in August 636. 21% of the above would have required
that we respond to 158 calls in July and 133 in August. That never
happened! We attribute our low referral rate to the absence of a
consistent visible presence at the police station, sensitizing the
police officers and checking occurrence reports. We think that we
have finally found the solution in the appointment of a police
sergeant to the Victim/Witness Assistance Program full-time, and by
making a change in the Occurrénce Report to make it mandatory for
the Officer to tell the victim of the Victim/Witness Assistance
Program. The latter has not been implemented yet, but is due to
• be implemented in the near future.
OTHER VICTIM PROGRAMS THAT THE SALVATION ARMY IS INVOLVED IN
In Ontario, The Salvation Army is currently involved with three
Victim/Witness Assistance Programs:
Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario
London, Ontario
Ottawa, Ontario
I recently received word from our Correctional Services Administrator
in Hamilton that a co-operative effort will be attempted in that city
in May or June of this year. Another Police Division in Toronto -
Don Mills Area - has expressed an interest in duplicating the
Etobicoke Model, and the Police in Cornwall are exploring the
possibility of doing the same thing.
- 6 -
THE ETOBICOKE MODEL
began as a feasibility study in August 1980 and later became
a pilot project. It is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Correctional
Services. They have one full-time Director, Marilyn Fields, and a
secretary who comes in one day a week. They rent an office from
the Church and if they need more secretarial help than provided by
the one day secretary, they use the church secretary. They started
out with 35 volunteers, all from the same church, i.e. The Salvation
Army Etobicoke Corps. They now have 45 volunteers. They employ
their own answering service. The Director carries a pager. Initially,
they served one division, i.e. the 23rd. Recently they have expanded
to include the 22nd. Marilyn says that there are over 475 police
officers involved. Until recently, their service was primarily to
the victim and the majority of their referrals were of a domestic
nature. More recently, they . have been getting a-greater variety of
victim calls and have even gone to court with two witnesses.
THE LONDON MODEL
Although it is called the London Victim/Witness Assistance Program,
it is, strictly speaking, only a Witness Assistance Program that
operates exclusively in the Court. It has one full-time court worker,
Janet Lee, and two social work students who help her. The Salvation
Army Correctional Officer in London is currently trying to secure
funds for a Victim (at-the-time-of-the-crime) Assistance Module.
On the display table is a copy of their Consumer Report.
WHY A VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION - LIKE THE SALVATION ARMY?
The question has been asked, "Why a voluntary organization like
The Salvation Army?" To that I reply, "Why not?" It has been
serving people in need for over 100 years. It is known and trusted
-7-
by the general public, the police, the courts and various social
service agencies in the community from whom the victim will need
to receive help.
It has experience and expertise in recruiting and training of
volunteers.
It can give itself in single-minded fashion to the service of
the victim and not be hampered by the mandated pre-occupation which
from time to time would be bound to plague a police officer or
court official. I think that I am safe in saying that very few of
you who have served as a police officer have escaped the frustration
of wanting to help a victim of crime further, only to have another
call beckon. I would suspect that the saine principle would apply
equally as well to a court worker who operates out of the Crown's
office.
Therefore, if you are interested in doing something to humanize
the Criminal Justice System and improve substantially the lot of the
victim of crime, why not consider enlisting the help of a voluntary
organization. It does not have to be The Salvation Army. It can
be any voluntary organization. There are a good number of them
around.
„
1
FILE NO.
The Salvation Army Correctional Services
VICTIMANITNESS ASSISTANCE PROJECT
ANSWERING SERVICE REPORT SFIE-ET
VICTIM'S NAME
ADDRESS/LOCATION
TELEPHONE
NATURE OF OFFENCE
NAME OF REFERRING OFFICER
DATE TIME OF CALL
NAME OF VOLUNTEERS
•
J. b-) r j. .J. 11. \J. 1 J. 1 J. 1-7 ■ •
J -Lim's Naine
- II dress
VICTIM/WITNESS'ASSISTANCE PROJECT
VOLUNTEER WORKER'S REPORT SHEET
- Age •
Telephone
Sex
II Time Time of Time of . ate Call Arrival. departure Rec'd at scene from scene
II
. ource of referral
- Name of investigating officer
IIature of offence
Il
nef description of the situation which you found when you arrived on the scer
ifhat assistance were you able to give?
11 ghat follow-up(if any) do you recommend?
Irime Miles • pent - Travelled Volunteer's Signature.
VICTIM ASSISTANCE SAMPLER
• VICTIM - 60 year old female
OFFENCE - Break and Enter
INVESTIGATING OFFICER - Constable Hall
RESPONSE TIME - 25 minutes
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - A female volunteer spent time with the victim over a cup of tea while a male volunteer checked the premises to be certain that all was secure and called the police station to confirm that the two suspects had been taken into custody. The female volunteer stayed with the subject until 7:30 a.m. A different female companion was found to stay with the subject for the following two nights as she was nervous of staying alone.
XXXXXXXXXXX
VICTIM - 54 year old female
OFFENCE - Indecent Assault
INVESTIGATING OFFICER- Constable Booth
RESPONSE TIME - 30 minutes
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - The volunteers met the subject at the police station where she had been taken to try to identify the assailant. The victim was fearful of returning home that night as her assailant had threatened her with further violence if she called the police. She could not get acc-ommodation at a hotel as she could not find a hotel which would cash her cheque (she had no cash).The volunteers arranged for her to stay at the Y.W.C.A.; accompanied her home to pack some personal items in an overnight bag and then took her to the Y.W.C.A.
XXXXXXXXXXX
VICTIM - 24 year old female
OFFENCE - theft under (friends of a baby sitter had stolen $160)
INvESTIGATING OFFICER - Constable Mac Farlane
RESPONSE TIME - 20 minutes
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - Initially the assistance given was primarily counSelling and assurance of support. Subsequent assistance involved contacting the City Welfare to confirm for them the genuineness of the loss and to receive from them the assurance that they would assist the subject in connection with her loss and would also further assist her with rent as soon as she found a suitable apartment.(She had been staying with a friend when the money was stolen.)
XXXXXXXXXXXX
VICTIM - 71 year old male (partially blind paraplegic war vet)
OFFENCE - Assault and Robbery
INVESTIGATING OFFICER - Detective Neil
RESPONSE TIME - this referral took place some time after the occurance
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - The volunteer visited the subject; assured him of his concern and willingness to help;discovered that the subject had enough food for his morning and evening meal.on Sunday and his morning meal on Monday; made arrangements to take him a hot meal on Sunday noon. He also arranged for the Salvation Army Family Services Officer to take emerency assistance to the subject on Monday morninq. He also contacted the City Weiftre and arranged for their worker to visit the subject on Monday. He also contacted the Canadian Legion tc secure duplicates of the lost I.D.
11 ' VICTIM ASSISTANCE SAMPLER
VICTIM - 28 year old male paraplegic (U.S. citizen)
li OFFENCE - Robbery
INVESTIGATING OFFICER - Sgt. Proulx
II RESPONSE TIME - 25 minutes
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - Volunteer met subject who was waiting in the lobby of Place de Ville with two police officers. Subject traveled in a motorized wheelchair; subject was taken out to dinner while the volunteer waited for M & 0 bus service; provided him with overnight, supervised accommodation and took him to the U.S.Embassy at 11:30 a.m. the next day.
XXXXXXXXXX
ig VICTIM 23 year old female with baby
OFFENCE Wife battering
SOURCE OF REFERRAL - Salvation Army Crisis Line
RESPONSE TIME - 15 minutes
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - Picked up subject from apartment of her mother-in-law"
11 in the same building where she had sought temporary shelter; took her to our office from which we attempted to make arrangements for alternative accommodation; unable to secure accommodation at Interval House, Amitee House or YWCA, as they were all full. Subject called a girl friend who had
I an extra bd and who would provide her with temporary accommodation. Volunteer took subject and her baby to the house of her friend.
XXXXXXXXXX
VICTIM 19 year old female
II OFFENCE Abduction
SOURCE OF REFERRAL - Detective Turner
I RESPONSE TIME - 30 minutes
ASSISTANCE GIVEN - The subject, with her 14-month old daughter, was waiting for us in the Morality Department of the Police Station. We took
II her to the bus terminal, purchased a bus ticket for Montreal for her and gave her money to buy a lunch for herself and milk for her child.
XXXXXXXXXX
VICTIM - 78 year old female
II OFFENCE - B & E
INVESTIGATING OFFICER - Constable Byron Smith
RESPONSE - TIME - 20 minutes II ASSISTANCE GIVEN - The volunteers spent some time with the subject; helped her clean up the mess; boarded up the broken window and secured the back
I door; checked the rear of the house to make sure it was secure; advised subject with regard to notifying the insurance company and having the damage repaired by a carpenter the next day.
WITNESS ASSISTANut
72 year old Female
Robbery with violence
'WITNESS -
OFFENCE -
SITUATION 7 The witness received a subpoena in June indicating that she was to appear in Court for a preliminary hearing during the last week of July. ibject had already made plans for a trip with friends on her annual leave.Her
zriends could not'change their date. If she had to appear in Court during the last week in July, she would be unable to take the planned trip.
anASSISTANCE GIVEN - Volunteer contacted Crown's Office, explained the "situation and requested that the Court date be changed to a later date. The Crown was able to have the date changed from July to October. The witness w-as able to go on her holidays as planned.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
WITNESS - 28 year old Female
"OFFENCE - Rape
SITUATION - Subject had never been to Court before and was intimidated by the thought of going to Court. She was also very distraught by the whole affair an IIwould not have reported the matter unless she had been encouraged to do so by her priest.
.ASSISTANCE GIVEN - A volunteer met the subject at the Provincial Criminal Court Building on 1 Nicholas Street and accompanied her to the waiting room, where she sat across from the offender, who was out on bail at the time, and who kept casting dark looks in her direction. The volunteer accompanied her
II into the Courtroom and stayed with her until the Preliminary Hearing had been completed.
II ITNESS - 24 year old Male
OFFENCE - Murder
II SITUATION - A key witness for the Crown was considered to be at risk if he remained in Ottawa because he was known to the family and friends of
la the accused.
IFASSISTANCE GIVEN - The witness was at the time being supported by Welfare and had no funds. We picked up the witness with his wife, purchased them bus tickets to another community some distance from Ottawa, and arranged
II for hotel accommodation there until we could arrange for the local Welfare in that community to pick up the tab.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"WITNESS - 65 year old Female
OFFENCE - Theft with violence
"SITUATION - Subject had to go to Court with her do -..:tor for a Preliminary Hearing and was uneasy about the whole affair because she had never been
m in Court before.
"ASSISTANCE GIVEN - We accompanied her to Court and stayed with her during the hearing. Her case was #5 on the docket. Before the first case was finished, her doctot wâs telling her that if he didn't get an opportunity to
II -testify soon, he was going to leave. After the firs': case was completed, we ,,poke to the Crown Attorney, explained the situation to him and he brought
. forward her case and dealt with it next. Thus a te:timony, which would
11 otherwise not have been available, could be written into the record. .
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
TOTAL 132
108
9
38
155
VICTIM/WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
NUMBER OF CALLS
From Jan. 1, 1981 to Dec. 31, 1982
OFFENCE OR REASON FOR CALL -
B & E 26
Domestic 13
Theft 12
Fire 11
Purse Snatching 11
Assault 14
Robbery 6
Accommodation required
(other than fire) 6
Witnesses needing help 9
Harassment 5
Fraud 2
Murder - 2
Abduction 2
Transportation needed 3
Threatening 2
Kidnapping with violence 1
Indecent exposure 1
Public Disturbance 1
Drunk 1
Car accident 1
Home without heat 1
Offender upset with charge 1
Suicide 1
NUMBER OF PERSONS HELPED -
Victims
Witnesses
Others (includes fire victims and suicide)
TOTAL
MICHAEL HETHERINGTON
.2/k' 'reir
II I am going to speak to you this.morning on a
I summer youth Employment program titled "Services
To Victims' Survey". First of all I would like
II to tell.you how this particular survey came
to be. The Fredericton Diversion and Alternate
II Sentincing project has been interested in the
needs of victims for the past two years. The
diversionProgranuuses alternate means of dealing
II with youth in conflict with the law other than
the regular court system. In the diversion option .
II special attention is paid to the victim of the
youths particular crime and that information is
s taken into consideration when mediating the
II final outcome with the youth and his parents.
It was this contact with the victims element and
II concerns that inspired the notion for further study
into the area of victim needs and services.
The vehicle to be used for conducting the
11 study was the summer youth employment program
sponsored in this case by the Ministry of the
II solicitor General and the Provincial Department
of Justice, Corrections -specifically the Program
II was identified with the Fredericton Diversion
11 Program and was based in the Victoria Health Center.
Two students were hired to conduct the study,
a project manager and a project worker.
Their role was to assiSt in the design of the
questionnaire, administer the éluestionnaire and
assist in the interpretation of the findings of the
questionnaire. The students were Laurel Lewey, a
4th year Social Work Student from St. Thomas
University, projèct leader, and Shannon Doran, a
3rd year Sociology student from the University of
New Brunswick. In addition to the resource of the
summer youth employment scheme, the Ministry of the
Solicitor General, Consultation Center were able to
provide funds for an independent researcher, Dr. Robert
Mulally from St. Thomas University.
As the findings of the survey cover a broad area of
questions and topics, it is impossible to share with
you in detail the various findings. However, copies
of the report are available upon request from myself.
Please feel free to make your request known at the
break time or by contacting the Fredericton Probation
Office.
I will now try to summarize the metholodgy,
results and r'ecommendations of the study.
METHODOLOGY
Over the summer of 1982, the project_surveyed
200 vicitms of crime and 60 w5,Inesses of crime in i::!‘
1
1
Fredericton from the past two years. The nature of
this project was to provide an indepth study in the
area of Vimtim services .as they pertain to the City
of Fredericton, New Brunswick. ; The results of which
can provide information for the appropriate persons
or agencies to base further action plans for services
to victims. This reflects a shift of awareness from
fodusing on offenders to becoming more sensitive
to the needs of victims.
7TC7c:C: VICTIM SAMPLE
The two main considerations for the sample
were that they be a group of persons who had experienced
a property-related crime and a group of persons who
had experienced a person related crime - sexual assault,
cases of domestic violence and attempted homocides were
*excluded because of the sensitive nature of these crimes.
to their victims, resulting in a reluctance of wllUer..
tô give out information. The person related crimes
consisted of assaults and indecent acts. Property -
related crime consisted of break and enters and property
damage. A disproportinate sample was drawn from each
group in order to give as accurate a representation
of these victim areas as was possible with the number
of cases available to be sampled.
eed Ah:aefrom the files The witness samples were
of the Crown Prosecutors office and covered person
related crime witnesses such as assault, dangerous
driving, causing a disturbance, robbery and property
related crime witnesses such as theft over, theft - under, break and enter and property damage. This
sampling was all the witnessesthat were available
and it was attempted to contact them all.
That exactly did the questionnairs look for?
(1) The victim questionnaire was brokèn into four
parts:
(a) Crime incident information - who, what, when
and where type of questions.
(b) Needs of Victims - type of assistance needed
at time of incident - victim efforts to pro-
tect themselves - psychological indicating
stress - contact with police and police
handling of the incident.
(c) Court Supplement - problems encountered with
court system. ex. unsure role, intimidation
by accused, court date postponed.
(d) Socio-Denographic Date - who were we interviewing,
age, income, work, etc.
(2) The witness questionnaires consisted mainly of
questions related to the experience of going through
1
1
5
Court - starting with subpoena to.court appearance
and arrangements surrounding witness fees.
(3) The specific categories of VIlims section dealt
with 12 different agencies that dealt with victims'
of crime. Responses were gained from the workers'
experience with their agency with emphasis on what
• was felt to be appropriate eaDefs for their
specific victim.
1
1
The scope of this survey did not allow us to capture
information in the following areas: persons who never
reported crimes; open cases in Police files; categories
of more serious crimes than we studied and more data on
the experience of victims in witnesses may have when going
through the Justice System. We recommend further investiga-
tion into these areas.
More specifically, we recommend the fcillowing areas for services to
victims be 'considered:
CRIME PREVENTION encourage people to insure their propeXty.
INFORMATION/REFERRAL....design a brochure'to describe legal services available tO victims to include:
how to contact insurance companies
what to expect of Police regarding apprehension of offender, investigation and follow up
information on ,the Crime Victim's Compensation Act
Phone numbers of appropriate social agencies in Fredericton
phone numbers of locksmiths
phone number of legal aid
1
a . - 56 -
POLICE....Hand out previously mentioned brochure
verbally describe to iiictims what they can expect in terms of apprehension of offender and follow up
attach unit to Police force or work in collaboration . with an independent unit to provide crisis counseling at the time of the incident, immediate ' security if need is indicated or perceived, emergency repairs to home and referral for longer term counseling.
COURT Provide extra staff to brief victims on court procedure before the court appearance.
• Design a brochure to describe for victims the location of the courthouse, who to contact in the courthouse, where to go and what to expect in court. The•• brochure may also describe court procedure.
CRIME VICTIM'S COMPANSATION ACT....
Review amounts awarded to victims. -
Ensure that Act is well advertised and accessible.
- 57 -
We recommend the following areas for services to
witnesses of crime be considered:
Design of brochure, "So You're Going to Be a Witness?'! to include to include information on location of courthouse,
. where to go once inside, who to contact in court- . house, explanation of court procedure, description
of how to obtain witness fees.
Review of amount of witness fees.
Appropriate agency to encourage businesses to compensate employees who must appear in court.
• - Further study is recommended to learn more about witness needs..
tr3. • - 58 -
Recommendations made by agencies in Frederiction regarding
services to victims:
A feasibility study of how counseling programs for : abusers and mediatidn with families/couples involved in domestic violence sould be incorporated into .the Justice System
Continued education and communication between agencies to increase understanding of mutual concerns by:
agencies briefing their own staff of services • other agencies offer
- agencies briefing each other.
Cognitive and legal recognition that rape is not a sex-related crime.
Justice System make efforts to ensure that juries for rape trials include equal numbers of men and women re-presenting a range of ages. •
Coverage for persons who are victims of property - damage and theft between $200 and $500. This may be accomplished by:
small claims court
extending eligibility criteria in Crime Victim's . Compensation Act
petitioning insurance companies to lower their deductible
encouraging restitution which would include victim compensation for deductible and the increased insurance payments by the offender.
Co-operation by businesses in identifying their property. •
APPENDIX C
AGENCIES INTERVIEWED •
Fredericton City Police .
Doctor Everett Chalmers Hospital Emergency Ward
Crown Prosecutor's Office
Legal Services regarding Crime Victims. ' Compensation Act
Chimo
Salvation Army
Motor Vehicle Division/Unsatisfied Judgement Claims
Mental Health Clinic
Community Based Services for Seniors (CBSS)
Crime Prevention Unit of the Fredeticton City Police
Women in Transition House Incorporated
Rape Crisis Centre
STAFF SGT. ROY RUSHTON
, / ../
RESTIGOUCHE FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION PROJECT
An overview of this project is more easily understood if we
look at the areas we were attempting to serve, what it was we are setting
out to achieve, and who would be participating.
Obviously, this project did not just arrive on the horizon one
day by magie or some other mean with all the planning goal setting, train-
ing and hours of think sessions, and soal searching completed.
In reality, in the months and ye'ars prior to 1978, the majority
of enforcement groups and social service agencies all existed and all were
working independently doing the work of their departments. There was how-
ever only occasional discussions between departments as to what part each
played in the total picture.
In regards to Crisis Intervention, each did the least possible and
got clear of the situation as soon as they could. We assumed a family in
conflict was a personal situation while structured agencies as police, social
services, welfare, mental health, medical and clergy could have only limited
effect.
This type of thinking however resulted in each department accusing
the other of doing very little to pet at the heart of the problem.
Early in 1978, exploratory meetings were held where all departments
serving the public were represented and openly voiced their concerns. From
these meetings, we observed there was much duplication of service but also .
many blank spots such as service on stat. holidays, weekends and after normal
working hours existed.
.../2
RESTIGOUCHE FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION PROJECT PAGE 2
Those early meetings revealed that all departments were in fact
ready and opened to new suggestions. We were alerted to the London Ont.
experience where full time trained professionels were working with the
London P.D. on family crisis calls. We reviewed their project in an
effort to establish if it could be adopted to our needs.
We found that their trained workers were working in the confines
of a City which made it easy for quick response. They were available 24
hours per day which made them useful at time of crisis and they were paid
by the City which made funding easy.
We on the other hand wanted to work in both City and Rural areas,
to cover a total population of approx. 40,600 scattered over 3,300 square
miles which averaged approximately 12 persons per square mile. That popula-
tion was located in five distinct communities:
A) Village of Jacquet River
B) Dalhousie Town
C) Village of Kegwick
D) Village of St-Quentin
E) Campbellton City
Coupled with this, it was policed by three rural R.C.M.P. detach-
ments, one City R.C.M.P. detachment and a Municipal Police Force at Dalhousie.
Obviously, the number of calls from anyone of those area would not
justify the cost of a full time professional intervener. To have a 24 hour
service, more than one person would be required to perform the service.
At this point, we hit on the idea of training volunteers who would
only be paid while working.
• • '13
RESTIGOUCHE FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION PROJECT - PAGE 3
We communicate with various departments and groups in an effort
to obtain funding. The Department of Solicitor General agreed the system
did have merit and two years fundings was granted as a pilot project.
The second year into the system revealed we required data to
support the results we believed we were obtaining namely, fewer domestic
disputes and fewer return calls.
Another submission was put together and The Solicitor General
Research Division granted funds to hire a trained researcher to gather and
catalogue the data, also to review all the police files of all the police
forces in the area to establish what the rate of calls, types etc., were
prior to Crisis Interveners.
We subsequently received a one year extension of funds for a third
year on the original Restigouche Family Crisis Intervention Project.
We set up a citizens committee which was a cross section of all
segments of the population of Restigouche County. From that group, a
stearing committee was selected to manage the every day function of the
group. As soon as fundings was received, we interviewed and hired a full
time criminologist as our project'leader. We were very fortunate in finding
a native N. B. resident, who was bilingual and familiar with the moods of ,
Restigouche County.
We next decided to develop a resource list of what agency did what,
where they could be located and areas of operation. This list also contained
names and phone numbers of member agencies and itself probably was worth all
the effort of forming the Restigouche Family Crisis Interveners.
We interviewed residents interested in helping neighbours in times
of need. A training project was set up where interveners and police were
brought together and trained. Each became aware of what the other could do
and what each expected of each. A good working arrangement developed.
.../4
RESTIGOUCHE FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION PAGE 4
As the project developed, changes were made until we arrived at
the present module. Namely, a project leader with trained interveners
from the five main areas of the County. Each working only in their own
areas. Gerald DAIGLE, the project leader is responsible for training and
monitoring of development, quality of intervention and dissimination of
information to the Police Departments and agencies involved in the project.
He is also responsible for compiling the annual reports and related data.
Detailed graphs, with support data are compiled by Peter LERETTE, a crimi-
nologist, again a native N. B., who is also bilingual, who has specialized
in data analysis. LERETTE has been hired to obtain that material under a
separate two year grant.
The project has a present and projected future budget of $50,000.
We have not as yet, establish a firm method of raising the $50,000. We have
attempted to have every community pay on a per capita basis which would
amount to 50e per capita. Campbellton, Dalhousie and Balmoral agreed and
set aside funds for that. The smaller communities have very limited funds
so another way must be found to cover their share of the cost, as we wished
to serve the total County. Service to their area was felt necessary even if
direct funding from the smaller areas was not possible.
A project of this nature can only survive and flourish if agencies
work together and if police departments want it to happen. Interveners are
only invited into a family dispute when police departments feel they will be
of some value both to help the family resolve the problem and to allow the
policeman to return to his normal patrol duty. In essence, if you choose a
good director, if you instruct and guide him as to your needs, then you will
receive a product you can use. He is turn trains interveners with policemen,
the project will work as policemen can see value for the effort spent imple-
menting the project.
.../5
RESTIGOUCHE FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION PAGE 5
The only other thing missing from the police point of view was
a sheltered home. A place where wives and children could stay for the
night or a weekend until regular social agencies are available. We set
up sheltered homes in each of the five regions which solved this problem.
They are in reality only rooms in existing private homes. The exception
being Campbellton where the parish of Notre Dame des Neigesdeveloped a
sheltered home by volunteering a part of the rectory with the religious
order "Filles de l'Assomption" volunteering two sisters full-time. The
house is opened twenty four hours a day and seven days a week for women
and children only. The cost of persons referred to the Notre Dame House
by interveners is paid by the Restigouche Family Crisis Intervention.
R6 . Rushton, S/SGT I/C ampbellton City Det.
Ki›,14ite
R. C.M. POLICE
DAVID WRIGHT
I
I.
I
EXISTING NEEDS AND SERVICES OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
IN NEW BRUNSWICK
Many of the services we have today for victims and witnesses
have been stimulated by the interest and involvement of the private
sector. It is imperative that those who work within the Criminal
Justice System remain open and approachable to new ideas from the
private sector. In Saint John the initiative for the transition
house for battered women, Hestia House, came mainly from the private
sector. Several crisis lines, which operated at one time in Saint
John, were all started by the private sector.
The Saint John Human Development CounCil was brought into
being to stimulate and encourage both private and public sector
involvement. It resulted froM a study done in Saint John during
1976-1977 of "people needs".
This study carried out by the firm of L.J. D'Amore and Associates
touched every aspect of the human service field. The result of
all of this was a framework for the planning and delivery of human
services in the City of Saint John to be created under the um-
brella of an organization known as the Saint John Human Development
Council. Its main objectives would be to encourage and promote
opportunities for human growth and development by means of research,
social planning and -community development. The structure of the
Human Development Council allows for involvement from every sector
of the community which facilitates not only the identification of
service needs but the research of these needs in relationship to
the communities ability to sustain them.
The Human Development Council has just completed a year long
study of community needs and is in the process of completing
its report. The study had a three phase process with input from
all sectors of the community and covered seven theme areas: Health;
Education; Social Services; Justice; Income Maintenance & Em-
ployment; Environment & Housing; Recreation, Culture and Spiritual.
-2-
The study is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a
social planning process which will lead eventually to a service
delivery system more in tune with the needs of the community. We
would hope by first identifying needs, we would see the community
and hence the service providers taking a much more proactive
role rather than a reactive one as is sometimes the case now.
The Human Development Council has and is involved in Justice.
issues. We were involved in a supportive role with the steering
committee that established the transition house for battered women
in Saint John. We were given information by the committee on
their project and therefore at the time when they applied to the
City of Saint John for a rezonlng on a building and again when
they applied for federal funding we were able to support their
application.
The second victim issue we are presently involved in is that
of sexual assault victims in the Saint John area. Through the
cooperation of the Department of Justice ! Ottawa, we are presently
undertaking a study of services available for sexual assault victims
in Saint John. The interest in this problem came from the community
and H.D.C. was approached to research the issue. A steering committee,
independent of H.D.C., has been established to act on the findings
of the study. So again in this instance H.D.C. is acting as a
facilitator by undertaking the research.
We have seen during the 1960's and 70's a great proliferation
of services in many communities. Now in the 1980's this pace of
development has slowed considerably as funds become fewer. There-
fore the need for planning,cooperation and coordination become
paramount if we are to be able to respond to new social problems.
No longer can we remain isolated in our professional roles, we
must be willing to reach out and encompass the community in which
we work. The Human Development Council was created as a vehicle -
to encourage cooperation and coordination of service providers, but
You don't need this approach if you in your communities can recognize
that the only way we are going to be able to respond to community
needs is through a program of sharing. If you in the Justice
System are confronted with a problem you feel incapable of resolving,
-3-
then we would hope that you would look to ydur community to assist
you in the resolution of the problem. As I stated at the beginning
many of the services that are now in place for victims and witnesses
came into being because people in the Justice System reached out
into the community and the community responded.
t. a
ii EUGENE WESTHAVER
_
COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME in
PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK
What is compensation under the Act?
It is a payment of money from public funds to
compensate a victim for pain and suffering, (physical as well
as mental), and loss of property resulting from injuries
received to person and property at the hands of another who is
committing or attempting to commit a criminal offence.
What is the Rationale for compensation?
With the exception of Manitoba and Quebec the
rationale for the scheme of state intervention in the
remaining provinces of Canada is the humantarian (pluralist)
approach. An elaboration of this position is made by the Law
Reform Commission of Canada in its working paper # 5 entitled
Restitution and Compensation 1974 at p. 17:
"Restitution by offenders cannot deal with all cases in which there is a need to pay back the loss suffered by victims of crime. In some instances an offender may not be able or willing to pay restitution, or, having agreed to pay, may for various reasons be unable to pay all or part of the amount required. In another type of case the offender will not be known or proceedings may not be undertaken because of lack of evidence. Accordingly, there is a need to consider a scheme of compensation
- from the state to supplement restitution from the offender.
■•■■■ 2
Compensation for victims of crime can be a valuable tool in supporting the purposes of the criminal law. As suggested in the Commission's working paper, The General Principles of Sentencing and Dispositions, the Commission is of the view that one of the purposes of the criminal law is to protect core values. At the basis of any society is a shared trust, an implicit understanding that certain values will be respected. Some of these values are thought to be so important that they are protected through various provisions of the criminal law. A violation of those values in some cases may not only be an injury to individual rights, but an injury as well to the feeling of trust in society generally. Thus, the law ought not only - to show a - concern for the victimes injury but also take concrete measures to restore the harm done to public trust and confidence. Public confidence and trust might also be reinforced by prompt police action or dispostions that demonstrate a serious concern for the wrong done. This concern, however, is directed against the offender. Compensation, on the other hand, is directed towards the victim and should not be lost sight of as another meaningful and visible demonstration of societal concern that criminal wrongs be righted."
The Law Reform Commission of Canada enumerated a
few arguments advanced in favour of state compensation one of
the more interesting arguments, and I dare say supported by
the legislation in New Brunswick, is as follows at p. 18 of
paper # 5:
"Among the foregoing, arguments are sometimes put that the state, in undertaking to provide security to all members of society, is under a duty to provide compensation when that security fails. It has been pointed out, however, that the state does not really hold out a promise to protect everyone from all
•••• 3
criminal injuries. At most it simply attempts to keep the peace and keep crime to a minimum. These attempts by the state do not give rise to legal promises nor legal rights or duties. At most the state may be under a moral obligation to provide compensation to victims of crime."
In New Brunswick the present method of delivery
of the scheme of compensation to the victim is favoured.
There are financial considerations and psychological
advantages. Happily in New Brunswick, to date, the volume of
applications permit what some criminologists would call an
ideal situation, given that there are good reasons why the
social liability for criminal injuries should be closely
associated with the criminal justice system rather than be
discharged through a public insurance scheme.
The two principle aims of a compensation scheme is
as mentioned before is to:
1. sustain public confidence and trust that
core values will be supported and remain
important;
2.. to demonstrate a concern for individual
rights and well being.
4
Accordingly it becomes important that
compensation to victims of criminal injuries be connected to
the Departments of Justice or Attorneys-General and visibly be
seen as an instrument in support of the administration of
justice.
What are the instruments with which the compensation of victims of crime scheme is delivered in New Brunswick?
1. The Agreement
2. The Act
3. The Regulations
The history of the legislation may be briefly outlined as follows:-
1. The Act:
(a) Assented to May 15, 1971 earliest payments under the Act made in the fiscal year beginning April 1st, 1972;
(b) Significant amendment made July 1980 - mandatory that the initial application made to Minister of Justice.
2. The Regulations:
(a) 28 crimes in 1st Regulation numbered 71-111 filed November 10, 1971;
(h) 9 additional crimes by a 2nd Regulation numbered 73-3 filed January 10, 1973;
(c) 1 crime added by a 3rd Regulation numbered 73-103 filed September 19, 1973.
5
3. The Agreement:
(a) Parties - Federal and Provincial Governments;
(h) Dated llth of January 1973;
(c) Executed by the parties the 9th of August 1973;
(d) Shared costs was per capita rate at time of execution 5 cents per capita or 90% of compensation awarded whichever was less;
(e) Shared costs per capita rate changed to 10 cents per capita or $50,000.00 but no more than 50% of compensation awarded which change was made in April 1977 and the change was made optional;
(f) New Brunswick opted to stay with the 5 cents per capita formula - it was to the advantage of the province to do so receiving approximately 90% of compensation payments in each of the following years to date.
Eligibility - victim or victims dependents section 3(1) (direct victim):
1. ... person injured or killed... ... by act or omission... ... during commission of an offence... ... under Criminal Code prescribed by
Regulation...
2. ... a person injured or killed...section 3(2) (the indirect victim)
... suffers loss or damage to property...
... by act or commission...
... resulting from - lawful citizens arrest or attempt - prevention or attempt to prevent - rendering assistance to a Peace
Officer in the execution of his duty.
6
3. Corporations need not apply.
Who may apply?
1. Where victim killed by: section 4(2)
(a) person responsible for maintenance;
(h) dependent of victim;
(c) person responsible for maintenance of the dependent of the victim.
2. Any other case by: section 4(3) '
(a) victim;
(h) person responsible for the maintenance of the victim;
3. Any person for whose benefit an order of compenstion under A & B may be made. section 4(4)
Only one application: section 4(5)
1. where only one victim;
2. where more than one victim from the same incident.
To whom made:
1. 1st to Minister; section 6.1
2. 2nd to Judge with the consent of Minister; section 5(2)
7
By what means: (victim and victim (diceased))
1. application form provided;
2. contents of application. section 6
Application considered by the Minister:
1. special damages;
2. general damages.
Offer made - Releases executed
Direction executed - directing payment out of fund.
Payment made.
Limitation of action period - 1 year for applicant section 15(1): Limitation of action period - 45 days for Minister to reply section 6.1(6):
1. 1 year period can be abridged; section 15(2)
2. 45 days pass - applicant can apply to judge; section 6.1(6)
Compensation shall not be ordered where: section 15(1)
1. applicant not within 1 year period;
2. crime not reported to authorities - non cooperation with authorities;
3. injury death loss of property arises from act or omission by victims himself;
-8-
4. victims cause of action arose before act corne into force;
5. victim culpability - 100%. section 16(1)
Quantum, how determined: section 16(2)
- as in a civil action.
What may compensation be awarded for: section 17
1. reasonable expenses incurred or likely to be incurred as a result of the victim's injury or death;
2. pecuniary loss resulting from total, partial or temporary disability affecting the victim's capacity for work;'
3. pecuniary loss to dependents resulting from the victim's death;
4. pain and suffering, where the award is for the benefit of a victim;
5. loss of or damage to clothing, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and like property on the victim's person, where the award is for the benefit of a victim; and
6. loss of or damage to property, where the application is made for an order for compensation under subsection 3(2).
What are the limits: section 17(3) & 19(5)
$ 5,000.00 • $10,000.00 $25,000.00
- 9 --
What amounts are deductible from an award: section 18(1)
1. statutory; 2. civil action; 3. insurance; 4. workers compensation; 5. release of any right of action prior to
making order for compensation. section 18(2)
Joinder of applications or actions: section 19(2)
Judge may award costs: section 20
Amount payable to victim and not subject to execution nor is it assignable: section 21
Payment disposition: section 22(1)
1. in trust 2. lump sum 3. periodic
Interested persons can by application to Judge who made the order have the order: section 22(4)
1. varied 2. suspended 3. rescinded
Order by a Judge can be appealed to Court of Appeal of New Brunswick: section 22(5)
- 10 -
General:
1. Victim can launch civil action and at the same time make application for compensation; section 23(4), (5) and (6)
2. Victims who recover civilly must reimburse the Minister the compensation paid under the Act;
3. Victims who do not take civil action - victims' rights to civil action are subrogated to the Minister. section 23(2)
DATED at Fredericton the 2nd day of March, A.D.,
1983.
/ Eugene D. Westhaver, Q.C. General Counsel Law Enforcement Division
NEW BRUNSWICK
VICTIM/wITNESS WORKSHOP EVALUATION -
MARCH 2 - 3, 1983
Low Hi9h
(1) Were the presentations satisfactory? 1 2 3 4 5
(2) Were the appropriate subject areas covered? 1 2 3 4 5
(3) Were subject areas covered in enough detail?
(4) Was the material distributed helpful?
(5) Was the film presentation valuable?
(6) Were-small group sessions useful? 1
(7) Was the duration of the session right ( ) to short ( )' too long ( )
(8) Suggestions for changes or improvements.:
(9) Suggestions for follow-up workshops in Victim/Witness area at the local level:
1 2 3 4 5
12 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
i OF THE SOLIBRARY
1 MINISTRY LICITOR ! GENERAL
Le Séminaire sur les Victimes et les Temoins
de Èlouveau Brunswick
2 et 3 Mars, 1983
30 J.90fei
BIBLIOTHÈQUE MINIZTÈRE DU SoLLIciTEuk GÉNÉRAL
Insatisfaisant Satisfaisant
, (1) Les exposés étaient-ils satisfaisant? 1 2 3 4 5
(2) Les sujets pertinents ont-ils été traités? 1 2 3 4 5
Il - (3) Les sujets pertinents - ont-ils été traités dans les détails? 1 2 3 4 5
(4) La documentation distribuée renfermait. elle des renseignements utiles? 1 2 3 4 5
(5) La presentation du film renfermait-il des renseignements utiles? 1 2 3 4 5
(6) Les discussions de groupes étaient-elles utiles? 1 2 3 4 5
(7) Le séminaire a été juste assez long ( ) trop court ( ) trop long ( )
(8) Changements ou amérliorations qu'il conviendrait d'apporter
(9) Autres points pour seminaires locales au sujet de victimes et temoins
SOL.GEN CANADA L 8/13 eLp 11111 I Ill
0000009949 5 -FORAGE / ENTREPOSAGE
HV Victim/witness wcrkshcp : 6250.3 needs & services cf victims .C2 and witnesses in the crin- V515 mal justice system. 1983
DATE DUE
, -
LOWE-MART1N CO.• IN e.: 1169-5RG
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