This report presents the findings from six case studies of law enforcement-based victim services (LEV) programs, conducted between April and July of 2021, with the goals of exploring the organizational structure, functioning, and service delivery process of LEV grantees, and identifying their strengths and challenges in service provision.
The report authors present the findings from six case studies of law enforcement-based victim services (LEV) programs, with the goals of exploring the organizational structure, functioning, and service delivery process of LEV grantees, and identifying their strengths and challenges in service provision. The lessons learned from the cross-case analysis offer insights into, and recommendations on, how law enforcement can successfully develop, implement, strengthen, sustain, and expand victim services in their agencies. The six agencies that volunteered to participate in the case studies were identified by the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), based on their diversity across geographic location, jurisdiction size, organizational structure, and victimization types served. From those six agencies, a total of 17 staff participated in video interviews, and qualitative analyses of those interview data were divided into four main focus areas: historical context; organizational structure; training and service delivery process; and sustainability and expansion of victim services. Recommendations and conclusions discussed in the report include: invest time in identifying funding opportunities and diversify funding sources; if resources allow, hire or seek aid from experienced grant writers or managers to navigate the proposal development process; identify key stakeholders and develop their support in advance of applying for funding for victim services; ensure access to sworn colleagues through consistent meetings and shared physical space; create opportunities for victim services staff to be seen and heard within the law enforcement agency; establish consistent training requirements for victim services staff; work with law enforcement leadership to develop performance measures, collect and track data in order to demonstrate victim services program impact; and initiate financial sustainability discussions from the beginning of a grant and engage in strategic planning throughout the life of the grant.