April 2019

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week begins April 7

Every April, the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) is held to promote victims’ rights and to honor crime victims and their advocates. The 2019 NCVRW runs from April 7 through 13, with recognition events scheduled to take place across the state.

In 1997, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s mission statement was amended to include the phrase “To assist victims of crime,” and what had been the Victim Services section within the Parole Division was elevated to become the Victim Services Division. For more than two decades, VSD has worked hard to provide innovative programs and services for crime victims.

Victim Services Division Director Angie McCown commented on the upcoming Victims’ Rights Week: “In April we will once again commemorate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year’s theme ‘Honoring our Past, Creating Hope for the Future’ offers each of us the opportunity to reflect on our past contributions to the Victims’ Rights Movement, to honor how our past has carried us to where we are today, and to focus on what we as Texas citizens and criminal justice professionals are doing to create a hopeful future for those harmed by violent crime.”

NCVRW began in 1975 and was made an annual event six years later by President Reagan. Since its inception, organizers and participants have worked to safeguard victims’ rights and provide critical help to rebuild their lives. Today, the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) provides funding for victims’ compensation through criminal fines and penalties, and this support helps many who have experienced the effects of violent crime.

For more information about the 2019 NCVRW, including resource guides and the location of observance ceremonies, visit the NCVRW and the Texas Crime Victim Clearinghouse websites. The NCVRW is supported by the Office for Victims of Crime, a component of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.