In addition to prosecuting criminals, the district attorney restores lives.
Interim District Attorney Summer Stephan said her office seeks to restore the lives of crime victims through their Victim Services Division which consists of the victim assistance program, the joint powers unit, and the Criminal Restitution Compact Unit. All three services are provided with a $3.7 million budget.
In 2016, the district attorney’s office worked with about 13,000 crime victims throughout San Diego County. In the South Bay alone the programs assisted about 1,200 new victims last year.
“Our whole goal at the district attorney’s office is to serve the community and serve victims of crime to protect them from crime and to try to restore them to their normal state as much as we can by surrounding them with the right services, the right referrals, helping them find the right shelter and providing the resources they need,” Stephan said.
In the victim assistance program, a victim advocate directs crime victims to services whether or not a suspect has been identified or if criminal charges have yet to be filed on a suspect. This program provides services such as crisis intervention, emergency assistance, resource and referral assistance, court support and restitution information.
Under the victim assistance program, an advocate provides assistance for a victim’s needs in the prosecution of a criminal by helping them get through the court process. This program provides a variety of services to victims including crises intervention, emergency assistance, and assistance in filling out an application for the California Victim Crimes program.
“When somebody is a victim of a crime, whether it’s a robbery, or they’ve been beaten or placed in a hospital, they need someone other than just the prosecutor to help them guide them through the justice system,” Stephan said. “They have so many questions they don’t know what their rights are and it’s very important to understand that our victims have rights in our criminal justice system,” Stephan said.
The joint powers unit is responsible for processing victim compensation board applications for eligible crime related losses. This program provides eligible victims with reimbursement for bills and expenses that are a result of a violent crime such as medical losses and dental expenses.
The criminal restitution compact unit ensures restitution is ordered to the victim compensation board thus holding the defendants financially responsible for their actions.
A victim must apply for any of these programs with the district attorney.
The requirements are that a person must be an innocent crime victim and that they are cooperative with law enforcement in the prosecution of a case, meaning the victim provides all necessary information needed for the case.
Violent crime victims are entitled to different benefits as non-violent crime victims. There’s no age limit for the program. Any victim is eligible for the program no matter age, sex or race, Stephan said.
“Crime doesn’t discriminate,” she said. “Anyone can be a victim of a crime.”
Victims do not have to use services right away, they can always come back later as long as they’ve applied, Stephan said.
For instance, Stephan said there was a case in Chula Vista where a stepfather sexually abused a child. At the time the mother of that child said her child didn’t need to use the victim assistance program. But the mother filled out an application for the program anyway. Years later when the child became a teenager she started `to suffer from the effects of the abuse and received help from the victim services division, Stephan said.
