Final Report on the Survey of Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services

Abstract

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) receives funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to serve as the training and technical assistance provider for the Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services (LEV) Program. Through the LEV program, IACP supports law enforcement agencies in either establishing new victim services programs or enhancing existing programs. As part of this initiative, IACP partnered with the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) and the Center for Victim Research to administer a survey to law enforcement-based victim services programs. The survey, entitled the LEV Mapping Survey, aimed to gain knowledge of the landscape of law enforcement-based victim services across the country. Survey data were supplemented by information gained through interviews with a set of survey respondents. IACP recognizes that law enforcement agencies are providing victim services through a range of approaches but there is no real picture of where and how these programs exist across the country. This survey serves to complement the data collected by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) under the National Census of Victim Service Providers by collecting additional data specific to law enforcement-based victim services. Results from this survey illuminate the current state of law enforcement-based victim services and identify needs for technical assistance and future research directions. Results can also help identify common practices in this growing field and support program development and sustainability.