Saginaw Police Department's Law Enforcement-Based Direct Victim Services Program; Strengthening Partnerships & Victim Support Beyond ELERV

The purpose of this award, funded under the OVC FY 2019 Law Enforcement-Based Victim Specialist Program, is to develop or enhance crime victim specialist programs within law enforcement agencies to better support victims through the criminal justice process including connecting them with community-based direct victim services programs to more quickly and more effectively serve them. As a continuing effort to improve law enforcement response to victims of crime, the Saginaw Police Department (SPD), a current Public Safety Partnership (PSP) and Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims (ELERV) site, will increase coordination services among the police department, social service agencies, and victims of crime. The SPD project will expand community-capacity building efforts, and the overall sustainment and expansion of the Victim Services Unit. To accomplish this, SPD will expand and integrate its Victim Services Unit by hiring a part-time advocate as a new city position. Internalizing the position will ensure a stable delivery of direct services to victims, continued community involvement and coordination efforts. Increased coordination and service delivery will be achieved through use of a domestic violence lethality assessment, additional memorandums of understanding with community agencies, and more in-depth management of fatal and non-fatal shooting victims and their families. CA/NCF