DUI Crashes: Real Crimes, Real Victims

• NCJ Number: 250276
• Date Published: October 2017
• Length: 0 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-VF-GX-K008
• Agencies: OVC-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance; Instructional Material (Programmed)
• Award: Treating Victims of DUI / Impaired Driving Crashes as Crime Victims

Annotation

This video, funded by the National Sheriff's Association (NSA) with a grant from the U.S. Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime, is intended for use at law enforcement roll-calls to address the need for law enforcement officers to respond to and interact with victims of DUI (driving under the influence) crashes to ensure they receive the referrals, support, and resources intended for victims of a violent crime.

Abstract

A major theme of the video is that DUI victims are injured and killed by persons engaged in law-breaking behavior, thus making the victims and their families victims of a violent crime. In the video, representatives of law enforcement management and front-line officers, victim-service agencies, and family members of persons killed in DUI-caused crashes emphasize the importance of the officers as first responders, investigators, and victim-service providers in attending to the needs of victims and their family members. This involves providing information on services available to them, supportive follow-up information on case processing, and supplying victim contact information to victim-service agencies. Thus, law enforcement officers who respond to DUI crashes must view themselves not only as investigators of a crime but as a service provider to victims and their families as they deal with the traumatic physical and emotional effects of being the victim of a violent crime.