RADFORD – The week of April 21-27, 2024 is Crime Victims’ Rights Week nationwide, and Radford City Council recently passed a proclamation commemorating the week locally.
“The term “victim” is more than just a label and has legal standing and protections that go along with it and crime victims’ rights acts passed in Virginia and at the federal level guarantee victims the right to meaningfully participate and use their voice in the criminal justice process,” the proclamation reads. “Victim service providers, advocates, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and other allied professionals can help survivors find their justice by enforcing these rights. Including and elevating the voices of survivors makes certain they are heard and seen and creates a path to forging and sustaining community trust and engaging survivors creates responses and services that are credible, meaningful, and centered on individual needs.”
“National Crime Victims’ Rights Week provides an opportunity to recommit to listening to crime survivors in every space where decisions are made that could impact them and Radford City/Floyd County Victim Witness is hereby dedicated to amplifying the voices of survivors and creating an environment where survivors have the confidence that they will be heard, believed, and supported,” it continues. “The city council of the City of Radford does hereby proclaim the week of April 21-27, 2024 as Crime Victims’ Rights Week and reaffirms our commitment to creating a victim service and criminal justice response that assists all victims of crime throughout the year. “[We express] our sincere gratitude and appreciation for those community members, victim service providers, and criminal justice professionals who are committed to improving our response to all victims of crime so that they may find relevant assistance, support, justice, and peace.”
Staff report
