CLEARFIELD – District Attorney, William A. Shaw, Jr., announced today that Clearfield County joins the 2011 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Observance, a time to honor victims and the advocates of victims’ rights. This year’s theme— Honoring the Past stronger lives.
For victims, reshaping the future means confronting many challenges. After a crime, victims need to know what rights and resources they can count on. They may need funds to bury a loved one or pay medical bills. They may want information on the criminal justice process, their rights to be present or heard in court, and to be notified about court proceedings and offenders’ whereabouts.
For victim advocates, reshaping the future – particularly in these financially stressed times – means finding ways to do more with less. It means locating resources for victims who want them and helping new victims – such as the millions harmed by financial fraud – to restore their credit and financial security. Reshaping the future requires meeting present and emerging challenges.
It also requires understanding how crime has marred the past. As we approach the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, we honor the memory of the victims and their families’ struggles to rebuild a future despite their grief. We also remember the thousands of homicide victims in our nation in recent years, and the millions who live each day in fear of violence.
Honoring the past also means recalling a time, not too many years ago, when victims had no voice in the criminal justice system – when murder victims’ families were excluded from courtrooms and assault victims paid all their own medical bills. National Crime Victims’ Rights Week honors the victims and advocates who confronted such injustices and helped produce a nationwide system of victim compensation and victims’ rights. It also reminds us that failures to enforce these laws or to fund programs for victims jeopardize the success of these reforms.
Shaw encouraged Community members to join in the week’s activities and get involved in helping victims of crime. For additional information about National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, or information on local services, please contact the Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Victim Witness Program, at 814-765-2641, ext. 1270. For more ideas on how to volunteer, visit the Office for Victims of Crime Web site, at www.ovc.gov.
Shaw stated that Clearfield County is fortunate to have a dedicated team of professionals working in the Victim/Witness Office. Shaw stated that “director Margie Rosselli and her staff are an extremely hardworking and compassionate group of advocates. On a daily basis, Margie and her staff provide essential support services for victims and witnesses here in Clearfield County”. More importantly, Shaw noted “the Victim/Witness staff is available 24 hours a day and these folks respond to help victims whenever called upon”.
Shaw stated that services provided by the Clearfield County Victim/Witness Office include: advocacy, case status, county correctional release notification, courtroom orientation, crisis intervention, employer/creditor intervention, supportive counseling, referral to community agencies, accompaniment to criminal proceedings, property return, restitution assistance, state correctional release notification, assistance with victim impact statements, sentence notification, appellate notification and crime victims compensation assistance.
In 2010, Shaw noted that the Clearfield County Victim/Witness Office assisted 1291 victims in filing compensation claims. Shaw said this “helped victims in Clearfield County with a total of $54,951.02 in medical bills, dental bills, funeral expenses, transportation costs, medical equipment and supplies, medications, and counseling expenses”. Shaw explained that the Clearfield County Victim/Witness Office is the only victim service agency in Clearfield County that utilizes the victim’s claim process.
Anyone with knowledge of a crime is asked to call Clearfield County Crimestoppers at 800-376-4700. All calls to Crimestoppers are confidential. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by visiting the Clearfield County District Attorney Web site and selecting “Report A Crime”.
