Group: Crime victims’ aid falls short after cases close

Crime victims too often are left to fend for themselves after court cases end and they no longer qualify for assistance from law enforcement agencies and district attorneys’ offices, according to a new survey and project launched by the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Crime victims say the services provided during criminal proceedings are helpful, but that aid ends once a case is closed, often leaving them to deal with a lifetime of trauma and grief on their own.

“Far too many crime victims’ needs are going unmet,” said David Works, who lost two daughters in the 2007 shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. “It’s not acceptable that not everyone has access to these services.”

On Tuesday, the criminal justice reform coalition released its “Victims Speak” report, which details the findings of the survey the coalition sponsored. The survey, conducted by RBI Strategies and Research and Stay Current Strategies, interviewed 500 crime victims in the Denver metro area, and it intentionally targeted minorities, said Juston Cooper, deputy director of the criminal justice reform coalition.

The survey also found victims services fall short for black and Latino people for multiple reasons.

RBI is a Democratic pollster, and the criminal justice reform coalition lobbies the state legislature for changes in state prison policies.

The goal is to persuade Colorado to invest resources in victims services and to promote policies for that help people heal and feel safe as they move forward with their lives, Cooper said.

Read the survey at ccjrc.org/wp-content/ uploads/2018/04/ CCJRC_victims_ speak33118-Final-2.pdf.