Support for Law Enforcement
OVC supports partnerships with law enforcement agencies at the state, tribal, and local levels to combat crime, promote safer neighborhoods, and establish collaborations between police and the communities they protect. Through discretionary grant programs, OVC grantees help agencies provide effective, trauma-informed law enforcement practices to better serve victims. OVC also funds national-scope discretionary programs to provide comprehensive services to victims and family members in the aftermath of crime. These national-scope initiatives help demonstrate the benefits of law enforcement efforts in addressing the needs and rights of victims of crime.
In FY 2017, OVC awarded $400,000 through the Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims Technical Assistance Project to support a multi-phased implementation and evaluation of the "Service, Support & Justice: A Strategy to Enhance Law Enforcement Response to Victims" model. The model was developed in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has been well-received by law enforcement agencies working to improve their response to crime victims.
In FY 2018, OVC launched the Law Enforcement-Based Direct Victim Services and Technical Assistance Program. The new program will administer 17 awards totaling $7.5 million to develop or enhance direct victim assistance programs within law enforcement agencies and to better coordinate partnerships with community-based programs to serve the broader needs and rights of all crime victims. Grantees will hire staff to develop new or enhance existing law enforcement-based victim service programs, with a strong focus on reaching victims in high-crime areas and improving services for these crime victims.
In 2003, OVC partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to create a demonstration initiative to implement and evaluate a strategy for improving law enforcement agencies' responses to victims of crime. The resulting Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims (ELERV) initiative focused on three medium-size police departments: Chattanooga, Tennessee; Saginaw, Michigan; and Casper, Wyoming. In FY 2017, IACP provided subject-matter expertise to the sites by developing a strategy for implementing the programs and helping each department identify a local evaluation partner. The initiative will use lessons learned from the three sites to develop a toolkit, establish ELERV as an evidence-based strategy, and offer training and technical assistance to local law enforcement on how to implement ELERV.
For additional information, please visit OVC's website.