To: Board of Supervisors
From: Diana Becton, District Attorney
Report Title: National Crime Victims' Rights Week April 21-27, 2024
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT Resolution No. 2024/XX proclaiming April 21st through April 27th, 2024, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week in promotion of victims' rights and to recognize crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact for this action.
BACKGROUND:
In April 1981, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first national "Crime Victims Week." National Crime Victims' Rights Week offers an opportunity to renew our commitment to crime victims by strengthening our partnerships and creating new ones, upholding the constitutional mandates of Marsy's Law and mobilizing organizations and their leaders to continue the commitment to crime victims and the safety of our community. This year’s theme is “How would you help? Options, services and hope for crime survivors.” Victims’ Rights Week recognizes prosecutors, support staff, law enforcement, crime victims and community members who have overcome so much to make our community safer.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California
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IN THE MATTER OF National Crime Victims' Rights Week 2024
WHEREAS, the term “victim” is more than just a label and has legal standing and protections that go along with it;
Whereas crime victims’ rights acts passed here in California and at the federal level guarantee victims the right to meaningfully participate and use their voice in the criminal justice process;
Whereas victim service providers, advocates, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and other allied professionals can help survivors find their justice by enforcing these rights;
Whereas the right to provide an impact statement ensures that victims’ voices are considered in court during the sentencing and, when applicable, restitution processes;
Whereas including and elevating the voices of survivors makes certain they are heard and seen and creates a path to forging and sustaining community trust;
Whereas engaging survivors creates responses and services that are credible, meaningful, and centered on individual needs;
Whereas survivors’ lived experience can serve as a catalyst for implementing innovative programs, shifting existing programs in new directions, and changing policies or practices that prevent survivors from accessing services or pursuing justice;
Whereas National Crime Victims’ Rights Week provides an opportunity to recommit listening to crime survivors in every space where decisions are made that could impact them; and
Whereas Contra Costa County is hereby dedicated to amplifying the voices of survivors and creating an environment where survivors have the confidence that they will be heard, believed, and supported.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: the Board of Supervisors proclaims the week of April 21-27, 2024, as Crime Victims' Rights Week, reaffirming the County's commitment to creating a victim service and criminal justice system response that assists all victims of crime during Crime Victims' Rights Week and throughout the year; and expressing our sincere gratitude and appreciation for those community members, victim service providers, and criminal justice professionals who are committed to improving our response to all victims of crime so that they may find relevant assistance, support, justice, and peace.