Many services available to crime victims apply to victims of either adult or juvenile offenders. Included below is an overview of constitutional and state laws covering crime victims’ rights from the California Office of the Attorney General and other information and resources for all crime victims. Also included are specific resources for victims of juvenile crime.
Click on any of the topics below for more information.
Resources for All Crime Victims
California's Criminal Justice System: A Primer (Jan. 2007)
(PDF)
Describes the role of victims/victimology in the justice system, includes crime statistics based on victim surveys, and asks, "Who are the victims?" This provides basic information rather than listing specific resources for victims.
From the California Legislative Analyst's Office.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR): Office of Victim and Survivor Services
The primary purpose of this site is to proactively enforce and promote the rights of victims and survivors throughout the state's youth and adult correctional systems. Some types of assistance includes:
1. Criminal Law Victim Witness Assistance Programs
2. Information for victims, survivors, or witnesses to a crime (information is specific to cases where the offender was sentenced to the CDCR, as opposed to other criminal justice systems, i.e. probation, but is useful to any crime victim)
Victim Witness Assistance Centers
These centers can help crime victims apply for compensation for losses due to medical, funeral, and burial expenses; loss of income or support; and job retraining. If you can't find a center in your county, check the white pages of your telephone book under "County Government" and look for "Victim Services" and "Victim Witness Assistance," or call toll-free 1-800-842-8467.
Alameda Through Lassen Counties
Los Angeles Through Mendocino Counties
Merced Through San Francisco Counties
San Joaquin Through Trinity Counties
Tulare Through Yuba Counties
Information for Victims, Survivors, or Witnesses to a Crime
This provides valuable information for all crime victims and a special section for victims of juvenile offenders. The Office of Victim and Survivor Services site includes the following topics: Helping Crime Victims & Survivors, Restitution, Special Conditions of Parole Notification, Historical Landmarks, Resources, Training Opportunities, Statistics, Calendar of Events, Links to the Law, and the National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Most of the information is also available in Spanish.
National Center for Victims of Crime
The National Center for Victims of Crime is a resource and advocacy organization for crime victims. Its mission is to forge a national commitment to help victims of crime rebuild their lives, and, it is dedicated to serving individuals, families, and communities harmed by crime.
National Center for State Courts
This site provides a subtopic in its "CourTopics" library on victims that is regularly updated with new publications and resources.
National Organization for Victim Assistance
The National Organization for Victim Assistance is a private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization of victim and witness assistance programs and practitioners, criminal justice agencies and professionals, mental health professionals, researchers, former victims and survivors, and others committed to the recognition and implementation of victim rights and services.
Office for Victims of Crime
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) oversees diverse programs that benefit victims of crime. The site includes a specific section on Help for Victims. It is provided by the Office of Justice Projects, United States Department of Justice. Other information from this site includes:
- Directory of Crime Victim Services
An OVC online resource designed to help service providers and individuals locate nonemergency crime victim services in the United States and abroad. You may search by location, type of victimization, service needed, or agency type.
- OVC sponsors an annual event to commemorate National Crime Victims Rights Week (NCVRW).
- OVC Fact Sheet: What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime
A publication that explains your rights as a victim of crime and how to get help.
- OVC Fact Sheet: The Justice for All Act
The Justice for All Act of 2004 was enacted to protect crime victims' rights, eliminate the substantial backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders, and improve and expand the DNA-testing capacity of federal, state, and local crime laboratories. This section also provides many other sources of information for victim assistance.
- OVC Help Series Brochures: Resources for Victims in Crisis (March 2002)
The OVC Help Series (BC 000669) is a set of 10 brochures that address eight categories of crime victimization: assault, child abuse, domestic violence, drunk driving, homicide, robbery, sexual assault, and stalking. Each brochure includes an overview of general crime facts, a description of what victims may experience, and suggestions for how to seek help. The brochures are intended to supplement the information victim service providers can offer and to give victims a resource they can easily refer to in a crisis. Also available in other languages.
- Other OVC Publications and Fact Sheets
Office of Victims' Services
The main Office of Victims' Services site focuses on its mission to improve the coordination of assistance and outreach programs for crime victims and offers many resources and information. The site also provides a helpful guidebook with information on victim's rights and resources: Help for Victims of Crime and Their Families (PDF)
California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Overview of Victims' Rights and Victim's Bill of Rights
An overview of rights under the California Constitution and statutory laws from the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General.
What Should I Do if I'm a Crime Victim?
A State Bar of California pamphlet containing questions and answers for crime victims. It also includes a checklist for what to do if you are a crime victim.
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Resources for Juvenile Crime Victims
What are the rights and role of victims in the juvenile court process? (PDF)
As a victim of a crime, you have rights. You have a right to information and a right to participate in the court process. This pamphlet explains these rights, particularly as they apply to cases in the juvenile court system.
Office of Prevention and Victims Services (OPVS)
OPVS administers delinquency prevention and victim services for the California Department of the Youth Authority (CYA). This site, part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, identifies what services are available to victims of juvenile crime and provides many other resources.
Teen Victim Project
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the National Center for Victims of Crime collaborate to form a national network of service providers to meet the needs of young people victimized by crime. This report launches the Teen Victim Project, a project to raise national awareness about the incidence and impact of crimes against teenagers and to help those who have been victimized. The report reviews research and data on teen victimization and how it impacts American youth.
- Our Vulnerable Teenagers: Their Victimization, Its Consequences, and Directions for Prevention and Intervention
- The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) and The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) jointly prepared this report on the issue of teen victimization, which helped launched the Teen Victim Project. Though it does not provide direct assistance to teenage victims, it does raise national awareness about the incidence and effect of crimes against teenagers and provides suggestions for model practices and programs to help those who have been victimized and to prevent future victimization.
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