To: Governor Phil Murphy
New Jersey Crime Survivors
Dear Governor Murphy and Attorney General Grewal,
We are a diverse group of crime victims (“survivors”) and organizations that serve crime survivors. We ask you to make major policy changes to support survivors and make our communities safer.
Within the Office of the Attorney General, there are two offices serving crime victims: the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy and the Office of Victims Compensation. These offices:
-Have historically ignored the needs of communities of color
-Have no understanding of community violence victimization
-Must be run by a crime survivor who understands trauma and culturally appropriate services
-Must have a commitment to supporting the grassroots organizations that actually help crime victims of color
-Must ensure that all employees are trauma-informed
-Must follow other states’ lead and fund culturally appropriate Trauma Recovery Centers in every city and Hospital-Based Violence Interruption Programs, such as University Hospital's program in Newark.
-Must use their abundant funding to fund victim services coordinators in every city, supportive services for victims, and to invest in capacity building for the grassroots organizations that support crime victims in communities of color.
Furthermore:
-We ask the Attorney General to convene a statewide advisory body of crime victims to inform policies, practices, and funding decisions.
-The reforms proposed in Senator Vitale’s bill, S498 must be made immediately. The Office of Victims Compensation operates at a snail’s pace and aggressively uses contributing behavior” language to disqualify victims of color on the grounds that they “contributed” to their victimization. The agency fails to support victims in need of emergency relocation and to take other life-saving and trauma reducing actions. Victims' bodies languish in morgues-- causing families pain--while the agency stalls on funeral expense applications.
-All law enforcement agencies must be trained in trauma-informed practices so that they understand the effects of crime victimization. Equal Justice USA and the Newark Police Department’s training, From Trauma to Trust, is a perfect model.
Finally, there must be a dramatic reinvestment from policing and incarceration into community-based prevention and intervention. In particular, we reject the status quo for incarceration, which is currently a dehumanizing and abusive experience that creates more hardened criminals. We demand consequences for criminal activity that are restorative and bring healing to the victim and perpetrator alike. Children must never be incarcerated and must always be rehabilitated in therapeutic settings close to their families.
Thank you for your attention to our requests!
We are a diverse group of crime victims (“survivors”) and organizations that serve crime survivors. We ask you to make major policy changes to support survivors and make our communities safer.
Within the Office of the Attorney General, there are two offices serving crime victims: the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy and the Office of Victims Compensation. These offices:
-Have historically ignored the needs of communities of color
-Have no understanding of community violence victimization
-Must be run by a crime survivor who understands trauma and culturally appropriate services
-Must have a commitment to supporting the grassroots organizations that actually help crime victims of color
-Must ensure that all employees are trauma-informed
-Must follow other states’ lead and fund culturally appropriate Trauma Recovery Centers in every city and Hospital-Based Violence Interruption Programs, such as University Hospital's program in Newark.
-Must use their abundant funding to fund victim services coordinators in every city, supportive services for victims, and to invest in capacity building for the grassroots organizations that support crime victims in communities of color.
Furthermore:
-We ask the Attorney General to convene a statewide advisory body of crime victims to inform policies, practices, and funding decisions.
-The reforms proposed in Senator Vitale’s bill, S498 must be made immediately. The Office of Victims Compensation operates at a snail’s pace and aggressively uses contributing behavior” language to disqualify victims of color on the grounds that they “contributed” to their victimization. The agency fails to support victims in need of emergency relocation and to take other life-saving and trauma reducing actions. Victims' bodies languish in morgues-- causing families pain--while the agency stalls on funeral expense applications.
-All law enforcement agencies must be trained in trauma-informed practices so that they understand the effects of crime victimization. Equal Justice USA and the Newark Police Department’s training, From Trauma to Trust, is a perfect model.
Finally, there must be a dramatic reinvestment from policing and incarceration into community-based prevention and intervention. In particular, we reject the status quo for incarceration, which is currently a dehumanizing and abusive experience that creates more hardened criminals. We demand consequences for criminal activity that are restorative and bring healing to the victim and perpetrator alike. Children must never be incarcerated and must always be rehabilitated in therapeutic settings close to their families.
Thank you for your attention to our requests!
Why is this important?
Crime victims in New Jersey do not receive the support they need to heal from their trauma. In particular, communities of color are the most harmed and least helped and victims in these communities are left to fend for themselves following victimization.