PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Each federal department or agency that finds, investigates, or prosecutes crimes must name people who will find victims and help them at every stage of a case. As soon as it can be done without hurting an investigation, those people must identify victims, tell them they can ask for help, and give them the name, title, address, and phone number of the person to contact. They must tell victims where to get emergency medical and social help, how to seek restitution or other relief, what public and private counseling or support programs exist, and help victims reach those services. They must arrange reasonable protection from the suspected offender, give early notice about important events (investigation status, arrest, charges, court dates the victim must or may attend, release or detention of the offender, pleas or verdicts, and the sentence including parole eligibility), provide a waiting area away from the defendant and defense witnesses during court, notify victims after trial about parole hearings, escapes or releases (work release, furlough, etc.), or the offender’s death in custody, keep any victim property held as evidence in good condition and return it when no longer needed, and give general information about the corrections process (work release, furlough, probation, and who is eligible). For sexual assaults, the Attorney General or investigating agency head must pay for a necessary evidentiary exam and must pay for up to 2 anonymous, confidential tests for sexually transmitted diseases (HIV, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, and syphilis) during the 12 months after assaults that risk transmission, plus one counseling session by a medically trained professional about test accuracy and transmission risk; a victim can choose to waive anonymity or confidentiality for any paid test. A “responsible official” is the person named by the agency to do this work. A “victim” is someone who suffered direct physical, emotional, or financial harm from a crime. For institutional victims, an authorized representative speaks for them. If the victim is under 18, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, a spokesperson should be chosen in this order: spouse, legal guardian, parent, child, sibling, another family member, or a person the court appoints. Failure to give the information required here does not create a legal claim or defense.

Title 34, §20141

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(a)Designation of responsible officials

The head of each department and agency of the United States engaged in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime shall designate by names and office titles the persons who will be responsible for identifying the victims of crime and performing the services described in subsection (c) at each stage of a criminal case.

(b)Identification of victims

At the earliest opportunity after the detection of a crime at which it may be done without interfering with an investigation, a responsible official shall—

(1)identify the victim or victims of a crime;

(2)inform the victims of their right to receive, on request, the services described in subsection (c); and

(3)inform each victim of the name, title, and business address and telephone number of the responsible official to whom the victim should address a request for each of the services described in subsection (c).

(c)Description of services

(1)A responsible official shall—

(A)inform a victim of the place where the victim may receive emergency medical and social services;

(B)inform a victim of any restitution or other relief to which the victim may be entitled under this or any other law and manner in which such relief may be obtained;

(C)inform a victim of public and private programs that are available to provide counseling, treatment, and other support to the victim; and

(D)assist a victim in contacting the persons who are responsible for providing the services and relief described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C).

(2)A responsible official shall arrange for a victim to receive reasonable protection from a suspected offender and persons acting in concert with or at the behest of the suspected offender.

(3)During the investigation and prosecution of a crime, a responsible official shall provide a victim the earliest possible notice of—

(A)the status of the investigation of the crime, to the extent it is appropriate to inform the victim and to the extent that it will not interfere with the investigation;

(B)the arrest of a suspected offender;

(C)the filing of charges against a suspected offender;

(D)the scheduling of each court proceeding that the witness is either required to attend or, under section 10606(b)(4) of title 42, is entitled to attend;

(E)the release or detention status of an offender or suspected offender;

(F)the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or the rendering of a verdict after trial; and

(G)the sentence imposed on an offender, including the date on which the offender will be eligible for parole.

(4)During court proceedings, a responsible official shall ensure that a victim is provided a waiting area removed from and out of the sight and hearing of the defendant and defense witnesses.

(5)After trial, a responsible official shall provide a victim the earliest possible notice of—

(A)the scheduling of a parole hearing for the offender;

(B)the escape, work release, furlough, or any other form of release from custody of the offender; and

(C)the death of the offender, if the offender dies while in custody.

(6)At all times, a responsible official shall ensure that any property of a victim that is being held for evidentiary purposes be maintained in good condition and returned to the victim as soon as it is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes.

(7)The Attorney General or the head of another department or agency that conducts an investigation of a sexual assault shall pay, either directly or by reimbursement of payment by the victim, the cost of a physical examination of the victim which an investigating officer determines was necessary or useful for evidentiary purposes. The Attorney General shall provide for the payment of the cost of up to 2 anonymous and confidential tests of the victim for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, and syphilis, during the 12 months following sexual assaults that pose a risk of transmission, and the cost of a counseling session by a medically trained professional on the accuracy of such tests and the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases to the victim as the result of the assault. A victim may waive anonymity and confidentiality of any tests paid for under this section.

(8)A responsible official shall provide the victim with general information regarding the corrections process, including information about work release, furlough, probation, and eligibility for each.

(d)No cause of action or defense

This section does not create a cause of action or defense in favor of any person arising out of the failure of a responsible person to provide information as required by subsection (b) or (c).

(e)Definitions

For the purposes of this section

(1)

(2)the term “victim” means a person that has suffered direct physical, emotional, or pecuniary harm as a result of the commission of a crime, including—

(A)in the case of a victim that is an institutional entity, an authorized representative of the entity; and

(B)in the case of a victim who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, one of the following (in order of preference):

(i)a spouse;

(ii)a legal guardian;

(iii)a parent;

(iv)a child;

(v)a sibling;

(vi)another family member; or

(vii)another person designated by the court.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 10606(b)(4) of title 42, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(D), was in the original “section 1102(b)(4)”, meaning section 1102(b)(4) of Pub. L. 101–647, which has been translated as reading section 502(b)(4) of Pub. L. 101–647 to reflect the probable intent of Congress because Pub. L. 101–647 does not contain a section 1102 and section 502(b)(4) relates to the right of crime victims to be present at public court proceedings. Section 10606 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, was repealed by Pub. L. 108–405, title I, § 102(c), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2264. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 10607 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (c)(7). Pub. L. 103–322 inserted at end “The Attorney General shall provide for the payment of the cost of up to 2 anonymous and confidential tests of the victim for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, and syphilis, during the 12 months following sexual assaults that pose a risk of transmission, and the cost of a counseling session by a medically trained professional on the accuracy of such tests and the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases to the victim as the result of the assault. A victim may waive anonymity and confidentiality of any tests paid for under this section.”

§20141 Services to Victims