Victim-centered, trauma-informed approaches help victims recover in the aftermath of criminal incidents.1
These approaches encourage personnel involved in victim response to focus on victims’ needs during engagement with justice system processes. When law enforcement agency personnel respond effectively to victims, it creates a healthy and safe experience for those affected and can improve trust between the community and the police. A victim-centered approach can help law enforcement personnel identify the needs of a victim and provide connections to resources.
These approaches include ensuring victims receive appropriate medical attention, making victims aware of their rights, and participating in training to enhance victim response. Justice system processes can add to the overall trauma experienced by victims, but law enforcement personnel can mitigate this outcome by using trauma-informed approaches such as avoiding the use of statements that minimize trauma, asking open-ended questions, providing comfortable interview environments, and engaging in training on trauma recognition and response practices. There are several challenges to providing adequate victim response, including a lack of adequate funding and personnel, as well as the experience level of personnel. While some agencies have access to specially trained, agency-based victim services personnel, whose sole focus is on victim support, all agency personnel share the responsibility of effective victim response.
Law Enforcement Self-Assessment
The Agency Self-Assessment Tool for Law Enforcement Victim Support is designed to assist law enforcement agencies in reviewing practices related to victim response—specifically the integration of victim-centered, trauma-informed practices into the overall operating philosophy and culture of the agency. The Agency Self-Assessment Tool is organized into three sections: (1) agency information review, (2) agency personnel interviews, and (3) action planning. Each section is designed to contribute to the evaluation of an agency’s victim response.
Agency Information Review
The agency information review section focuses on collecting agency data and policies related to victim response. Considerations include organizational structure, personnel numbers, crime and victimization data, agency policies and practices, and funding sources. The information collected can be used to document a current agency overview and identify gaps in agency resources. This baseline knowledge can guide future actions and decisions related to victim response.
Agency Personnel Interviews
The agency personnel interview section encourages an agency to conduct interviews with personnel to determine knowledge of effective response to victims of crime. This section is designed to identify agency personnel’s knowledge of victim support terminology and practices, agency partnerships, victims’ rights, and funding efforts across ranks and disciplines. The tool also encourages interviewing agency-based victim services personnel to gain input and perspectives from those specialized in victim response.
Action Planning
In the agency action planning section, worksheets are provided to review data collected and evaluate agency strengths and gaps in victim response. These worksheets can assist agencies to establish measurable goals and actionable steps.
Completing the Agency Self-Assessment Tool is critical to identifying the strengths and challenges of an agency’s victim response. Information learned through personnel interviews and an organizational information review can help identify ways to meet victims’ needs and contribute to the agency’s role in improving trust between the community and law enforcement. The self-assessment can move an agency forward in evaluating its victim response and augmenting its current practices regarding victim-centered, trauma-informed approaches to policing.
For more information, please visit the IACP.org/projects/promising-practices-in-law-enforcement-victim-support. d
Note:
1National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Notifying Sexual Assault Victims After Testing Evidence (2016).
Please cite as
Matt Laforest and Amy Durall, “Law Enforcement Response to Victims: Self-Assessment Tool for Victim-Centered, Trauma-Informed Support,” IACP@Work, Police Chief 89, no. 11 (November 2022): 92–93.
