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| Including the Victim In Offender Reentry |
| By Keith Martin, Assistant Editor |
| Published: 12/17/2001 |
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Often, when people think of community supervision, the multiple needs of the offender are thought of, from job assistance to securing housing. There is also another population, however, that has just as many if not more needs when offenders are released - victims. Corrections agencies nationwide are making positive steps to ensure that the needs of these individuals are not only considered, but being met as well. 'Historically, in corrections, the customer is the offender,' says Peter Michaud, Victim Services Coordinator for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections. 'Remembering to serve the victim wasn't as much a focus in the past as it is now.' Michaud adds that a victim's needs and the impact of the crime do not end at sentencing and incarceration, so corrections needs to enhance the services it provides them. While most corrections agencies nationwide have incorporated a victim services office to handle questions and concerns, further initiatives must come straight from the top and include full dedication from staff, he says. 'We are talking about change in the philosophy of corrections and it needs to be the commissioner, secretary or director as the principal change agent,' says Michaud. 'If they acknowledge the need to serve victims, along with staff they can bring about those changes.' More agencies are making this move by reaching out to the community for assistance - another shift in traditional correctional thinking. 'For so many years, corrections has built walls to keep people in and also keep people out,' says Bill Stutz, Manager of the Washington Department of Corrections' Victim Witness Program. 'There were times when corrections said 'We can do this, we don't need to involve you.' Now, with things like community policing, [corrections is saying] 'we can't do this alone.' It takes a lot of collaboration with community-based organizations, other criminal justice agencies and victims to effectively set up supervision of offenders.' The Value of Victim Input The reintegration of an offender into the community is often accompanied with concern and fear. While there is a level of feeling safe knowing that an offender is in prison, a pending release to the community can bring a need for information and support for the victim. 'For a lot of victims, reentry [of offenders] can be a trauma trigger,' says national victim advocate Anne Seymour. 'A lot of victims are interested in when their offender is coming out and where they are going and want to know that [offenders] aren't just given 10 dollars and a bus ticket upon release. A lot of victims know the person getting out and want to know that they are being supervised, getting help with their substance abuse, getting a job [and other assistance].' To alleviate some of these concerns, Seymour advises giving the victim a vital role in an offender's reentry. From sharing information on the crime from their point of view to expressing what they feel should be a part of an offender's conditions of supervision, the victim can give concrete information while defining their own safety needs. 'I think during reentry that a crime victim should be viewed as an opportunity, not an obligation,' she says. 'They can bring great input to the process.' Earlier this year, Seymour authored The Victim's Role in Offender Reentry: A Community Response Manual, which further expresses the value of a victim's input in the reintegration process as well as provides suggestions and ideas on how the community can play an important role in meeting the multiple needs of an offender. 'Just as the family and neighbors help offenders [during reentry], I want community members to see that they have a role in helping victims,' says Seymour. According to Melissa Hook, a consultant on victims' rights and a contributor to the manual, services in corrections at this time are not at the point where they can address all victims' needs, so the community is the logical agent to help this population. 'The community reaches out to help offenders reassimilate, so why, if they are informed and have the understanding of victim concerns, would they not help victims,' she says. 'It is a natural progression and would be valuable.' Hook gives as an example an employer who has someone on his payroll with a large financial obligation to a victim. With the understanding and sensitivity towards that victim, the employer could participate in voluntary wage garnering, a helpful step in assisting the restitution process. The manual, which is published by the Office for Victims of Crime and the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), outlines the role of the community as a vital reentry partner in addressing the rights, needs and concerns of victims whose offenders are being released. The publication also includes information on current best practices for reentry partnerships. Partnerships as A Valuable Asset One section of the manual deals with the need for corrections agencies to align themselves both with victims and victim service providers as part of the reintegration process. By forming a partnership with these two groups from the time an offender is originally sentenced, corrections can gain valuable information and insight on ways to provide for the offender and victim during reentry planning. 'Everyone has to be open and communicative on what the victim and the offender needs,' says Seymour. 'Both should get equal attention - I hope reentry does not become just about the offender. I don't think all victims want their offender executed and not all offenders will rape and pillage [once back in the community], so they should look at the cases and focus on the victim whose offender is likely to re-offend against their victim.' In New Hampshire, the DOC worked closely with prosecution-based victim advocates for nearly four years. According to Michaud, this partnership has been essential in aiding the victim during the reintegration process. 'Prosecution-based victim advocates develop a relationship with victims and survivors much earlier in the process than corrections victim services - they are there from the investigation into the crime to being present with them in court,' he says. 'They [provide us] with information and guidance, so it critical we have a positive relationship with them.' Michaud adds that partnerships with other agencies, from law enforcement to treatment providers, also need to be strong in order to help victims, who should be involved as much or as little as they want. In the state, a victim is notified if their offender is transferred to minimum-custody or a halfway house. In the latter case, a victim has the opportunity to voice their safety concerns and the Victim Services office works with classification and community corrections to see if the offender can be physically separated from where the victim resides. The victim also provides input to the parole board on the nature of the crime and their safety concerns to suggest conditions of release for the offender. Michaud adds that the state is working on a process in which victims and survivors would be able to offer ideas on the type of community service offenders should participate in upon their release. 'We are trying to ensure, upon reentry, that victims and survivors are treated with respect and dignity, so we are looking at how we can do this and allow for their participation and input in that process,' he says. Creating Victim Liaisons In addition to the creation of the manual, the APPA and Seymour will provide technical assistance to three jurisdictions on how to enhance the roles of victims in the reentry process. One of these jurisdictions is the Washington DOC which has received assistance in creating 'victim liaisons' to aid in wrap-around planning. Through the Community Protection division, which oversees the transition of all high-risk offenders and victim services programs, the DOC will hire five liaisons on a regional basis who will work for corrections in several roles. From training corrections personnel on the needs of victims to working firsthand with victims during the wrap-around proceedings, the liaison will be an entity in the community for the victim to access. '[Assisting victims] is much more a community issue than it is a corrections issue - we are a small piece of the puzzle and without those other pieces, we can't provide quality services,' says Victoria Roberts, an administrator in the Community Protection division. 'It takes the support of the community to put a plan together [for both the offender and victim].' Roberts adds that the liaison will be a 'one point stop' for victims to call to express concerns, such as how to stop an offender from corresponding with them or restitution issues. By providing one person to answer all corrections-related questions, she says, victims will not have to go through calling the DOC and being passed from one person to another to get answers to their inquiries. 'For a long time, [corrections] ignored the victim, thinking of them as secondary to working with the offender,' says Roberts. '[Helping victims] is critical as corrections transitions and becomes more therapeutic. This is also a way to make offenders healthier, by having them deal with the harm they have done in the past and the need to move on in the future.' Resources To download a copy of The Victim's Role in Offender Reentry: A Community Response Manual, go to: http://www.appa-net.org/manual.pdf. Melissa Hook, Victims Rights Consultant, mele@starband.net Peter Michaud, Victim Services Coordinator, New Hampshire Department of Corrections, (603) 271-1937 Victoria Roberts, Community Protection Program Administrator, Washington Department of Corrections, (360) 753-1678 Anne Seymour, Victim Advocate, annesey@erols.com Bill Stutz, Manager, Victim Witness Program, Washington Department of Corrections, (360) 753-1678 |
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