1997-98 Academy Text Supplement

Chapter 7

The Federal, Indian, and Military Justice Systems: Victims' Rights and Assistance Federal Law Enforcement

In December of 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released a Bulletin entitled Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 1996. Included in the important data in this publication was the following information about federal law enforcement agencies and officials:

• As of June 1996, federal agencies employed about 74,500 full-time personnel authorized to make arrests and carry firearms. The totals exclude federal officers serving in foreign countries or U.S. territories, as well as those employed by U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Armed Forces. They do include federal correctional officers.

• In comparison to 1993, employment of such personnel had increased by six percent.

• Areas of duty for federal officers included criminal investigation and enforcement (43%), corrections (21%), police response and patrol (16%), non-criminal investigation and enforcement (13%), court operations (4%), and security and protection (3%).

• Three fifths of federal officers were employed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (12,403), the Bureau of Prisons (11,329), the FBI (10,389), and the Customs Service (9,749). Twelve other agencies employed at least 500 officers.

• Women accounted for 14% of federal officers. By race and Hispanic origin, 72% of the officers were white non-Hispanic; 13% were Hispanics of any race; 12% were black non-Hispanic; 2%, Asian/Pacific Islander; and one percent American Indian.

(Reaves, B. (1997, December). "Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 1996," NCJ-164617. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Victimization of Federal Law Enforcement Officers

The Uniform Crime Reports Division of the FBI collects statistical data annually on the victimization of law enforcement officers. According to these data:

• Federal law enforcement officers experienced 3,886 assaults during a five-year period between 1991-1995.

• These assaults averaged nearly 800 federal law enforcement officers who are injured each year.

• A total of 1,165 or 30% of these assaults resulted in personal injury to the officer.

• During this five-year period, 21 federal law enforcement officers died as a result of these assaults.

• About 37%, or three in eight, of all assaults on federal officers involved the use of personal weapons, and 13%, or one in eight, the use of a firearm. Other weapons included vehicles (eight percent), blunt objects (five percent), knives (two percent), and bombs (one percent).

• Twenty percent of assaults involved a threat.

• Based on the FBI data, the annual assault rate per 1,000 officers varies greatly among agencies employing 1,000 or more officers. Using the average number of assaults per year for the period 1991-1995, the National Park Service had the highest annual rate, about 52 per 1,000. Next were ATF (29.6), DEA (25.5) and INS (25.0). The lowest rates were FBI (3.5 per 1,000) and IRS (2.6).

(Ibid.)

Victimization of Federal Correctional Officers

The FBI data do not include assaults on Bureau of Prisons staff. However, BJS collects these data as part of its Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities. The victimization rate of federal correctional officers is the following:

• In 1995 alone, there were 1,124 assaults on federal prison staff resulting in one death.

• Over its 67-year history, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has experienced an average of one correctional officer death every three years.

(Ibid.)

National Sex Offender Registry Assistance Program

As a result of recent federal legislation, the establishment of an effective national sex offender registry that is capable of providing instant access to data on sex offender location on an interstate basis has become a national priority. The development of the National Registry for Sexual Offenders involves a coordinated effort between:

• The FBI, which will maintain and operate the registry.

• The National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS), which will operate through states that will communicate registry information between and among themselves and the FBI.

• The states, which have primary responsibility for gathering data on sex offenders for use within the state and for input into the national system.

The permanent National Sex Offender Registry File will be developed as part of the FBI's NCIC-2000 project and will include a fingerprint and photo (mugshot) image of the registered sex offender. The permanent system is expected to be in place by mid-1999. Pending the establishment of a permanent system, an interim national pointer system has been established by the FBI that flags criminal history records of persons identified by states as being registered as sex offenders.

As of March 1998, the FBI indicates that 23 states are providing data to the interim system and that an estimated 31,590 records are currently being flagged. However, all states operate some type of sex offender registry at this time. In order for the national system to permit law enforcement agencies in each state to have information on offenders initially released in other states, or traveling throughout the nation, individual state registries must be automated, accurate, and interfaced with the national system.

As a result, in March, 1998, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) within the U.S. Department of Justice announced the establishment of the National Sex Offender Registry Assistance Program (NSOR-AP). The program is a component of the BJS National Criminal History Improvement Program. It is designed to help states ensure that state sex offender registries identify, collect, and properly disseminate relevant information that is consistent, accurate, complete, and up-to-date.

Additionally, the program will help states establish appropriate interfaces with the FBI's national system so that state registry information on sex offenders can be tracked from one jurisdiction to another. The program will assist states in meeting the relevant requirements of current federal legislation including: the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act; Megan's Law; and the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act (42 U.S.C. 14071, 14072), as amended by Section 115 of the general provisions of Title I of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and

Related Appropriations Act of 1998, P.L. 105-119) and applicable state standards. The 1998 appropriation includes $25 million to support the national sex offender registry. (Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1998, March). "National Sex Offender Registry Assistance Program", NCJ-169273. Fiscal Year 1998 Program Announcement. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Recent Federal Initiatives

On June 25, 1996, President Clinton announced his support for a federal victims' rights constitutional amendment. Immediately following this announcement, the President directed the Attorney General to take a number of significant steps to improve the treatment of victims of crime within the federal criminal justice system. An overview of some of the important training, technical assistance, and demonstration programs that have been initiated in the past few years are highlighted below.

National Symposium on Victims of Federal Crime

In 1997, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) sponsored the first National Symposium on Victims of Federal Crime. The symposium brought together for the first time over 800 professionals that serve crime victims from a number of federal agencies for a four-day training program that assisted federal criminal justice professionals in achieving the President's goal of holding the federal system "to a higher standard of victims' rights than ever before."

Update on Victim Services in Indian Country

In 1996, OVC modified the Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) program to recognize tribal sovereignty and the government-to-government relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. This change allows for directly funding tribes, instead of the past practice of funding states, which then make awards to tribes for establishing "on-reservation" victim assistance programs.

• During the transition to this new process, OVC provided direct funding in FY 1997 to all tribal programs at the FY 1996 levels. This funding will continue in FY 1998, with an additional amount allocated to fund six to eight competitive programs. In FY 1998, OVC will announce the availability of all VAIC funding on a competitive basis.

• Activities that may be funded include, but are not limited to: the hiring of victim advocates; establishment of 24-hour crisis hotlines; recruitment of victim service volunteers; emergency transportation of victims; and provision of bilingual counseling services.

• Overall, since 1988, OVC has provided over $6 million in grants to support victim assistance programs and to improve the handling of child abuse cases in Indian county. New programs over the past year include the first Native American children's advocacy center, and four court-appointed special advocate programs (CASA).

• In 1996, the Attorney General launched the Indian Country Justice Initiative at the Pueblo of Laguna and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. This initiative is a comprehensive approach to deal with tribal criminal justice issues, and a laboratory for promising practices that can be adapted in other areas of Indian Country.

(Office for Victims of Crime. (February 1997). OVC Advocate. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Federal Bureau of Investigation Victim-Witness Program

In 1996, a significant development in federal law enforcement agencies' response to crime victims was the FBI's efforts to review and expand its entire victim-witness program. Among the new initiatives, the FBI implemented a comprehensive victim assistance program at the Headquarters level. As part of this new program, the FBI created a unit for victim-witness assistance, staffed the unit with a Unit Chief and six supporting positions, and assigned Victim-Witness Coordinators in each of the 56 FBI field offices nationwide.

Federal Outreach for Victims of Child Exploitation

Federal law enforcement has stepped up its efforts to respond to child victims through multi-disciplinary responses. In 1995 the Attorney General established the Federal Agency Task Force for Missing and Exploited Children:

• Composed of representatives from 14 federal agencies, the mission of the Task Force is to coordinate federal resources and services to effectively address the needs of missing, abducted, and exploited children.

• In addition to serving as an advocate and working to enhance services for missing and exploited children and their families, the Task Force has developed the publication Federal Resources on Missing and Exploited Children: A Directory for Law Enforcement and Other Public and Private Agencies. The Directory provides information on the resources, technical assistance and support, and services that are available during the investigation of cases involving missing and exploited children. (Federal Agency Task Force for Missing and Exploited Children. (1996, May). Federal Resources on Missing and Exploited Children: A Directory for Law Enforcement and Other Public and Private Agencies. Fox Valley Technical College, prepared for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.)

Support for Oklahoma City Bombing Victims

Since the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, the victim assistance community on the local, state, and federal levels has provided tremendous support to the hundreds of victims and survivors. The February, 1997 OVC Advocate provided an overview of the many cooperative efforts on the federal level that have been undertaken to provide support and outreach:

• Within minutes of the bombing, the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) began preparations to send a nine-member crisis response team to Oklahoma City. With support from OVC, the team arrived on the scene the day of the crisis.

• With cooperative efforts of NOVA, OVC, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education within the Department of Education, additional crisis response teams were sent to Oklahoma City. The teams assisted over 1,000 emergency workers, school children, and teachers -- providing debriefings and trainings.

• As noted in the update of federal legislation, in 1996, as a result of the passage of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the Office for Victims of Crime was able to use its new authority under the Act to provide substantial financial assistance to the victims and survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing.

• OVC has worked closely with the United States Attorney's Office and the state of Oklahoma to ensure that victims receive services, including: developing brochures about victims' rights and services; supporting two victim advocate positions to work with victims and survivors attending the trials in Denver; supporting three additional victim-witness positions to assist the many victims and survivors; funding crisis counseling for victims during the trial; and supporting victim and survivor travel to the trial in Denver.

• Important changes to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure were undertaken to allow closed circuit viewing of the trial by the victims and survivors: "Notwithstanding any provision of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to the contrary, in order to permit victims of crime to watch criminal proceedings in cases where the venue of the trial is changed -- (1) out of the State in which the case was initially brought; and (2) more than 350 miles from the location in which those proceedings originally would have taken place, the trial court shall order closed circuit televising of the proceedings to that location, for viewing by such persons the court determines have a compelling interest in doing so and are otherwise unable to do so by reason of the inconvenience and expense caused by the change of venue." (42 U.S.C. 10608, Section 235. "Closed circuit televised court proceedings for victims of crime.")
• As a result of the many cooperative efforts resulting from the aftermath of the Oklahoma City tragedy, the Office for Victims of Crime has undertaken cooperative initiatives with the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys to be prepared to respond to future large scale crises.

Looking Toward the Future

In 1996, the Attorney General established the Deputy Attorney General's Victims Rights Working Group to assist in bringing the entire Department into greater compliance with victims' rights legislation and the Attorney General's Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. The Working Group is composed of high level policy representatives from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and all Department of Justice litigating divisions that handle criminal prosecutions. OVC is providing assistance to the Working Group. In May of 1997, the Acting Deputy Attorney General required each agency to develop a plan to raise the level of victim services within their agencies. OVC assisted the agencies in the development of the plans which have been submitted to the Deputy Attorney General and are being implemented by the agencies.