Spokane - William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announces National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW), April 19-25, 2020.
The Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime official 2020 NCVRW theme is Seek Justice. Ensure Victims’ Rights. Inspire Hope. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused events planned throughout the country to be cancelled, including the annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington seeks to raise awareness about crime victims’ issues and rights and introduce our communities to the important resources and services available. This matters because, according to the most recent National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 3.3 million Americans age 12 or older were victims of violent crime in 2018. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime and it is important that we continue this important annual recognition.
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of NCVRW by promoting victims’ rights and honoring both crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. This year’s theme-Seek Justice | Ensure Victims’ Rights | Inspire Hope-recognizes the individuals and groups whose advocacy has propelled the victims’ rights movement forward for the past half century, inspiring in victims and their loved ones a feeling of hope for progress, justice, and healing.
U.S. Attorney Hyslop said, “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington works every day to secure justice for the victims of crime and to prosecute those who have done them harm. We continue to work closely with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to reduce criminal activity in all of our communities, and we seek to reduce the pain that many victims of crime continue to endure."
OVC and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington encourage continued participation in victim-related observances throughout the year.
For additional ideas on how to support victims of crime, visit OVC’s website at www.ovc.gov.
You may also contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington’s Victim Witness Program at (509) 353-2767.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
