Victim Services on a Shoestring

Source: (1984) Federal Probation 48(2):39-42.

Probation, parole, corrections and district attorneys’ offices can play a greater role in victim services. This article focuses on what can be done within a probation and parole context. Although many jurisdictions are financially hard-pressed, much can be done by reorganizing existing staff resources and by reassessing policies and creating new attitudes toward crime victims. Victim-offender reconciliation, information and referral, restitution, and reparation services are defined and illustrated with examples based on experience with these programs in Vermont. The author concludes that there are dangers, such as placing victims within a bureaucratic maze, which can result from probation’s becoming too fragmented while pursuing victim services.