Stakeholder’s Meeting - Victim Notification
Policy Report
On June 5, 2009, the Board of Corrections Victim Services Focus
Group held a stakeholders meeting to address the need for
The revised drafts reflect the report outs from the meeting.
Currently the revisions are being reviewed by the Victim Services
focus group and will be presented to the Board of Corrections
in July.
Positives
- Consistency
- Comprehensive
- Protection
- Clearly identifies the procedure
- Definition of victims
- Designated staff to do the notification
- Policy intent is inclusive
- Statutory conditions
- Notification of release form is clear
- Clearly indicates the information that is allow to be
released.
- Emergency notification is not limited to specific events.
- It notifies victims of supervised home confinement
Delta - Needs Improvement
- Some Procedures
- DOC vs. Riverview – informing of location
- Add to notification “Certified Mail” notice
- Notification is allowed to leave messages or give to a
3 rd party.
- Changes in discharge dates
- Evaluation criteria
- The process of finding victims who have moved.
- Should include the LE Agency in geographic area.
- Victim information to follow the prisoner when transferred.
- Clarify – it should include Class D crimes
- Time to notify if the offender bails or gets time served.
- Mental health issues.
- No Fail Safe to protect the victim.
- Verification Process – it seems to be missing and
needs to be defined and provided to victims and communication
service providers.
- Definitions
- Policy
- Procedures/Protocols
- Verification/Accountability
- Frequently asked questions and release dates
- Victims updating their information
- Add Victim Svc. Agency as avenue for request.
- Automatic registry of victims rather than they requesting
notification.
- The Notification Form seems to be asking for too much
information.
- Human Trafficking covered for notification.
- VI - 6 VWA must notify victim
Questions
- Why do victims who choose to visit the offender
give up their rights to do so if they fill out a request of
notification? (unless prohibited)
- This is on the request form submitted by the prosecutors
office, the purpose is for safety of other visitors and staff
- What about Pre-Release Convictions?
- Bail after conviction but prior to sentencing, notification
is usually done by the victim witness advocate
- What is the definition of “Serious”?
- Any offense can be considered serious by the person impacted.
- Can DOC harassment policy extend to the jails?
- The jails could establish a similar policy based on service
of a harassment order by a law enforcement officer
- What to do about offenders bailed to Victim’s address.
- Information should be provided to the bail commissioner and
a no contact condition added.
- How do victims know they have a right to be notified?
- Victim witness advocates provide information to victims regarding
post conviction release notification
- How are they notified about what the process involves, who
to contact, what are the resources?
- 17-A M.R.S.A. Section 1172 (2) requires the prosecutor to
provide victims with a pamphlet which outlines their rights.
Suggested Policy Wording
- VI Procedure 2:a – not “upon release”,
should be “before release”.
- VI Procedure 2:c – should be worded “before
release”.
- A better definition of what information victims can have
about offender i.e. release dates, programs…..
Bail Notification Policy Report
Positives
- All victims notifications will be documented
- It allows broader notification then just DV.
- Good Intent/great advances made.
- The investigating officer should know how to reach victims.
- Documentation is good.
- Good but arbitrary #3.
- Focus group to include jails is great.
- DV Form including victim contact info required
- Consistency
- Option to notify in appropriate non-DV cases.
- Documentation required
- Flagging Files
- Mandatory transfer of packets
Delta – Needs Improvement
- There isn’t anything in place for victims that are
underground due to an incident and are unable to be contacted
by law enforcement.
- There should be a jail victim advocate who would handle
all the information and who the victims would contact if
they relocated.
- Need a process to ensure victims are giving contact information
to obtain the information they are seeking.
- Does not “ensure” notification; it’s up
to dispatch or intake to notify LE – it should clearly
state who contacts LE. Unclearly written.
- Have dispatch or intake do the contact instead of LE.
- Intake (custodial agency) to do Victim Notification, then
if no contact advise LE – exclude dispatch.
- Bail forms from court not readable
- Breakdown in communication between agencies
- Standardize the notification form and integrate it into
the booking or transport sheet.
- Confidentiality – making it separate and uniform
in all jails.
- Make information available by website.
- Include additional crimes requiring notification.
- Need feedback system – to guarantee VN has occurred
- Documentation required by all
- Clarify definition of DV offence – LE should clearly
note DV cases.
- Doesn’t include Alternate contact person and phone
number
- Needs to be a mandatory transfer packet.
Questions
- Why aren’t we notifying
all victims instead of just DV victims?
- Current statute on bail release notification is specific
to domestic violence arrests
- Under 17-A § 1175… not all hate crimes are felonies,
which hate crimes do have victims that would want a notification…..
Statute change???
- Statute change is something to consider.
- How do victims know what the bail conditions are?
- The Victim Witness Advocate
in the prosecutors office would be able to answer victim’s
questions regarding bail conditions.
- Who will take the information when the system fails the victims
to explore what happened.
- At this time, a failure to notify a victim of release on
bail should be brought to the attention of the jail administrator
and sheriff for follow up. Statute currently requires the
arresting law enforcement agency to notify the victim once
the agency receives notification of the release from the jail.
