Title
Adopt Resolution to:
Designate the Monterey County District Attorney's Office - Victim Witness Assistance Unit as the provider of major and comprehensive victim and witness services in Monterey County for the County of Monterey, State of California.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Adopt Resolution to designate the Monterey County District Attorney's Office - Victim Witness Assistance Unit as the provider of major and comprehensive victim and witness services in Monterey County for the County of Monterey, State of California.
SUMMARY:
In 1978, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office established the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. Over the last 10 years, the unit has provided 135,000 mandated services to 22,000 crime victims in Monterey County and serves as the primary comprehensive victim and witness service center in Monterey County.
DISCUSSION:
The Victim Witness Assistance staff work to provide crime victims with crisis intervention, emergency assistance, training for criminal justice agencies, public presentations, court escort and support services, and additionally provides resources and respect as victims navigate the often-turbulent water of the criminal justice process. The Victim Witness Assistance Unit staff encourages crime victims to talk about their needs and listens to their wishes with compassion and a commitment to help.
Commencing in 1998 and continuing to the present, the Monterey County District Attorney's Victim Witness Assistance Unit participates in National Victims Crime Week by planning and implementing the annual victim ceremony in April which honors victims of crime. In 2013, the District Attorney's Office received a specially trained courthouse facility canine named Odile. Odile works with victims and witnesses providing comfort and calmness. Odile is one of six canines to be placed in California District Attorney's Offices.
The Monterey County District A...
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