The Problem for Victims

Every criminal investigation creates an enormous amount of information and data around the incident, the evidence, suspects, witnesses, investigative leads, prosecution, and so on. But for victims, the process continues long after the investigation is complete, involving aspects such as court appearances, compensation, restitution, safety concerns, offender status and oftentimes, simply understanding what happens next.  For criminal justice organizations, a central question should be: Are we managing the victims’ concerns with the same discipline with which we manage the investigation? 

This is important, not only from an ethical standpoint, but federal, state and local agencies have accumulated a significant set of legally mandated victim rights requirements to follow. These would include but are not limited to; the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), the Violence Against Women Act, and several others.  These mandates place the burden on law enforcement entities to inform, protect, document, and provide opportunities for participation to victims, and importantly, to document that these actions occurred.  

Historically, among the key challenges from the victim’s perspective is that they often interact with multiple law enforcement personnel; from patrol officers, to detectives, to prosecutors and the courts, and correctional facilities, with each of these interactions often existing in different systems.  In short, while the victims may experience one journey, the government often manages that experience through multiple organizational silos.   

Managing the Victims’ Lifecycle

One way to address this challenge is to think about victim assistance as a lifecycle that exists concurrently alongside the investigative lifecycle. Once a victim is identified, technology can help initiate and manage the appropriate processes based on the offense, the jurisdiction, and the circumstances.  

With this approach, victim assistance becomes more than just a collection of forms and case notes; it is a coordinated, accountable process, allowing agencies to move from simply managing victim information, to managing victims’ rights, along with all of the mandated requirements associated with them.  A supervisor, for example, could see not only the number of active victims, but also whether required notifications have been completed; compensation or restitution of matters have been addressed, any court proceedings that are approaching, and so on.  

Connecting, and Protecting, Victim Information

Modern technology can assist in addressing the oftentimes fragmented and uncoordinated activities that victims encounter across the criminal justice system. That doesn’t mean that the entire criminal justice system, from law enforcement through to the courts and corrections needs to be on one system, but it would certainly help to have technology that could facilitate connecting information across these multiple entities using collaborative, workflow tools.  

For example, a change in offender status could generate an alert, or a victim’s compensation application could be appended to an existing case, or a newly identified safety concern could initiate an escalation process.   

Importantly, given the sensitivity of victim-related information, improved collaboration should not be at the expense of data privacy. Information relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and child exploitation, is extraordinarily sensitive, requiring stringent access controls and audit capabilities.  

Ultimately, the goal should not simply be to share more information, but to ensure that the right information reaches the right person at the right time, while protecting information that should remain confidential.  

The Other Side of the Case

At Kaseware, we have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how our technology can better support the investigative lifecycle by connecting people and processes and supporting better decisions throughout an investigation.   

These same capabilities that make modern investigative case management effective, such as structured workflows, task-management, automation, role-based access, and reporting, can also be applied to victim assistance.   

Imagine a system where, once a victim is identified, it automatically initiates the appropriate victim assistance workflows according to your jurisdiction. A system that provides a framework of support for investigators, prosecutors, victim advocates, and the victims themselves.   

Modernizing victim assistance begins by recognizing that the “other side of the case” is managed with the same discipline, accountability and care that we bring to the investigation itself.   

More Resources on Modernizing Victim Assistance:

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