Victim / Witness Assistance Program (2024)

Once an investigation is initiated, a Victim/Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) Provider is available to assist sexual assault victimswith exercising their federally mandated rights and with navigating the criminal justice system. VWAPs also provide information on services and resources, and they interact with lawyers and commanders. VWAPs help ensure the victim's situation is respected, that victims have a voice in the process and that victims are kept informed of the status of the investigation and prosecution.

DoD Victim and Witness Definitions

The DoD uses the following definitions for "victim" and "witness," but more information may be available through your installation's Victim/Witness Assistance Program, which is usually located in the installation legal office (Judge Advocate).

A victim is a person who has suffered direct physical, emotional, or financial harm as a result of a crime committed in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Victims of crime in other jurisdictions are also included if any portion of the investigation is conducted primarily by an agency in the DoD. Such individuals include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Military members and their family members
  • DoD civilian employees, contractors and their family members (when stationed outside the continental United States). However, in stateside locations this group is not eligible for some services, such as medical care in military medical facilities.
  • Children or people needing representation. When a victim is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated or deceased, the term "victim" includes one of the following (in order of precedence): a spouse, legal guardian, parent, child, sibling, another family member or another person designated by a court or legal authority.

A witness is a person who provides information or evidence about a criminal offense within the investigative responsibility of the DoD. When the witness is a minor, the term "witness" includes a minor's family member or legal guardian. The term does not include a defense witness or an individual involved in the crime as a perpetrator or accomplice.

Resources

To locate your Victim/Witness Assistance Provider, you should contact your local installation's office of the Staff Judge Advocate or Judge Advocate General.

For additional information or to find Victim/Witness Assistance points of contact:

Victim / Witness Assistance Program (2024)

FAQs

Is victim assistance programs provide services to witnesses True or false? ›

The role of the Victim Witness Assistance Program is to ensure that victims and witnesses of Federal crime, who have suffered physical, financial, or emotional trauma, are informed of their rights, receive the assistance and protection to which they are entitled under the law.

What are victim witness assistance programs designed to do group of answer choices? ›

-Victim/ witness assistance programs are designed to help better navigate the court process. -victims bill of rights seeks to provide rights for victims because defendants already have rights. Some see the victims movement as providing much needed support for victims of crime.

What is the best program to help victims of crime? ›

The National Center for Victims of Crime offers a variety of resources for victims and families, including attorney referrals, confidential helplines and educational resources. The Victim Connect Resource Center offers these and other supports.

How much compensation do you get for victims of crime in California? ›

The most CalVCB can reimburse a victim for is $70,000.

Is Witness Protection Program real? ›

Witness protection programs exist to ensure witness safety and protect witnesses from those who would harm them for testifying. These programs exist at both the federal and the state level, though the federal program is the most well known.

Is the witness protection program a thing? ›

A handful of states—California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Virginia—and Washington, D.C., have their own witness protection programs for crimes not covered by the federal program.

What do they do in the witness protection program? ›

The Witness Security Program provides for the security, safety and health of government witnesses and their authorized family members, whose lives are in danger as a result of their cooperation with the U.S. government.

What happens in the witness protection program? ›

People in the Witness Protection Program are typically given new names and a backstory to tell others and avoid discovery. In addition to providing 24-hour security, the U.S. Marshals Service provides funding for basic living expenses, medical care, job training and employment assistance.

What is an example of a witness protection program? ›

Marshals Service Witness Security Program (also known as WITSEC) protects witnesses and their dependents who are in danger because of testimonies they provide against terrorists and major criminals. Those witnesses are relocated, given new identities and provided security by the U.S. Marshals Service.

What type of victim received money most often? ›

Thirty-six percent of the applications paid were due to assault, followed by child sexual abuse (24 percent), sexual assault (19 percent), and homicide (8 percent).

What is the payment made to a victim from an offender? ›

What is restitution? A. When the court orders an offender to pay restitution, it is ordering them to pay back the damage caused, both to the state and to the victim(s). The court orders restitution in all cases and does not consider the offender's ability (or inability) to pay when the order is made.

Which of the following is not a role of victim assistance programs? ›

Final answer: Victim assistance programs do not support retributive justice.

How long does it take to get crime victims compensation in California? ›

Those sources include, but are not limited to, dental or health insurance, workers compensation insurance, automobile insurance, Medi-Cal, and Medicare. CalVCB typically issues payment within 30–90 days from receipt of a bill.

How much time do victims have to file for compensation through CalVCB? ›

The time limits for filing an application are: Within seven years of the crime, or. Seven years after the direct victim turns 21, or. Seven years from when the crime could have been discovered, whichever is later.

What does reimbursing the victim mean? ›

What is victim compensation? Victim compensation is a direct financial reimbursem*nt to a victim for an expense that resulted from a crime, such as medical costs or lost wages. Each state has a crime victim compensation program that allocates funds to survivors of sexual assault and other violent crimes.

Who provides services to the victims? ›

Since its inception in 2001, the FBI's victim assistance program has provided services—such as crisis intervention, emergency travel assistance, and local referrals for counseling, housing, and other services—to more than 2 million victims.

What are victim witness assistance programs designed to do Quizlet? ›

Victim/witness assistance programs are designed to help better navigate the court process.

What does it mean to provide support to victims? ›

the act of providing emotional and practical help for people who suffer because of a crime, or an organization that provides this: a victim support group. The police put me in touch with Victim Support.

What is a victim assistance provider's job includes which of the following? ›

Respond to client needs and facilitate client services including, but not limited to, safety planning, crime scene cleanup, protective relocation or shelter, document replacement, property repair, funeral and burial arrangements, intervention with creditors, landlords, schools and employers, and application to the ...

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