In accordance with its mission to provide rehabilitation and restitution to crime victims, the L.A. County Probation Department is recognizing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which is from April 8-14.
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week was created by the Office for Victims of Crime, a part of the U.S. Department of Justice. This year’s theme, “Expand the Circle:Reach All Victims,” calls for helping crime victims with better access to service and support, allowing all victims to be reached.
“We work with the victims and help them, either directly or indirectly, to services that will make them whole,” said Kerri Webb, public information officer of the probation department. “It’s more of a holistic approach.”
In addition to providing services to over 50,00 people currently on probation, the department oversees one of the nation’s largest restitution processes for crime victims. Last year, the department supervised the provision of over 3.8 million in financial restitution, paid by individuals on probation, to crime victims.
According to the L.A. County Probation Department, they are also a national leader in recognizing and serving victims of human trafficking. Since 2012, they have focused on providing rehabilitative services to young victims of sexually exploitative crimes.
“Rehabilitation and restoration are the core purposes for probation work,” said Los Angeles County Chief Probation Officer Terri McDonald. “L.A. County Probation is active in supervising restitution for the victims of crimes and directing victims toward appropriate services to support the rebuilding of their lives.”
Local crime victims in need of support are advised by the probation department to contact the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Bureau of Victims Services at da.lacounty.gov/victims.
The above information was obtained by The Signal via a news release provided by the LA County Probation Department.
