Providing Services to Victims of Fraud: Resources for Victim/Witness Coordinators

摘要

As a nation, we can be proud of the thousands of victim assistance programs that have been established to assist the tens of millions of persons living in America who fall victim to criminal acts each year. Given the limited funding to hire staff to address the emotional, physical, and financial consequences of crime to all of its victims, it is understandable that the vast majority ofprogram dollars have been dedicated primarily to assisting persons victimized by violent crime. However, each year, more than 24 million persons become victims of more than 38 million fraud crimes and attempted fraud crimes. Victims suffer very real emotional trauma and financial devastation as a result of these acts. Therefore, the criminal justice system, and the federal criminal justice system in particular, can no longer ignore fraud victims need for support and informational services. Currently, victim assistance professionals have at their disposal little information about the emotional and financial needs of fraud victims and few practical resources to help them develop comprehensive assistance programs and services for fraud victims.