Onscene victim assistance units within law enforcement agencies

Purpose The major purpose of this paper is the review of the administration and operation of four onscene victim assistance units within law enforcement agencies in one Canadian and three US cities. The primary purpose is to learn how these units operate and the extent to which there are accepted by...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policing : an international journal of police strategies & management 2009-11, Vol.32 (4), p.719-738
Main Authors: Smith Ekman, Margaret, Seng, Magnus Joseph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Law enforcement
Police
United States of America
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose The major purpose of this paper is the review of the administration and operation of four onscene victim assistance units within law enforcement agencies in one Canadian and three US cities. The primary purpose is to learn how these units operate and the extent to which there are accepted by the officers involved. An additional purpose is learn how many departments nationally had such units. Designmethodologyapproach The basic methodology includes telephone interviews with key personnel in each unit, an onsite examination of the Denver, Colorado unit, and a brief survey of large city police departments to learn the extent of onscene units in major US cities. Findings A review of the administration and operation of each unit reveals that each unit is well managed, integrated into the department's structure, and staffed with paid staff who are members of the department and volunteers. Key to the success of each unit is extensive training of victim specialists and a clear understanding between specialists and police that the officers at the scene are in charge. The findings clearly confirm that such units are well received by officers at all levels. The survey findings indicate that relatively few departments have onscene victim assistance units, although most do have some program to address victims' issues. Originalityvalue While there is an extensive literature on victim assistance generally, little has been written about the need for, and operation of, onscene victim assistance units that are part of police departments. This article contributes to knowledge in this area and suggests that such units can be a valuable asset to departments.
ISSN:1363-951X
DOI:10.1108/13639510911000786