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Impact

Enhancing Response to Victims: A Formative Evaluation of the Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services Program

A practitioner and victim-informed multisite formative evaluation of a law enforcement-based victim services program

Objective

To provide foundational knowledge of law enforcement-based victim services programs (LEV) and move the victim services field closer to identifying best practices for service provision.

Approach

We are using a mixed-methods research design to conduct a formative evaluation of the LEV Program. Data collection includes a web survey and telephone and in-person interviews with law enforcement-based victim services program staff, partners, and victims who have received assistance.

Impact

This study is a critical first step toward a long-overdue evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of different strategies for the law enforcement delivery of victim services. It is critical for telling us whether a victim’s needs are met through LEV programs and how law enforcement-based victim services can be improved to better serve victims, their families, and communities.

The Importance of Access to Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services Personnel

The role of law enforcement-based victim services personnel is unique among advocates, social workers, and other helping professionals in the criminal justice system. LEV program personnel have access to law enforcement agency personnel, crime reports, associated agency processes, and victims during crucial criminal justice system intersection points. They often connect with and support victims immediately after crimes are reported and help them exercise their statutory rights. Victim service personnel are the only law enforcement agency group whose primary responsibility is to focus on the rights and needs of victims.

Ensuring victims have access to law enforcement-based victim services personnel, who provide robust and ethical services, can mitigate the significant and long-term physical, psychological, and financial consequences of victimization. This support can also mitigate the harm felt by many victims who interact with the criminal justice system when criminal investigations remain unsolved or never progress to prosecution.

Victim Services: An Expanding Component of Law Enforcement Agencies

To address the importance of law enforcement-based victim services, the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) sought to establish victim service programs within law enforcement agencies. This resulted in the establishment of the Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services and Technical Assistance Program (LEV Program), which is led by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Since 2018, OVC has funded 73 LEV sites. In 2021, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded RTI, in partnership with IACP, to conduct an evaluation of LEV programs with the goal to understand and improve law enforcement response to victims through science.

Collecting Data on More than 70 LEV Programs Nationwide

The law enforcement-based victim services program evaluation was designed to occur in two phases. Because the sites widely vary in structure and approach, the first phase focuses on better understanding the landscape of LEV. To meet this aim, each LEV program was invited to complete a web-based survey that collected data across several topics and areas (e.g., staffing, collaboration, services). Of the 73 LEV programs, 68 (93.2%) completed the survey and 4 (5.5%) partially completed the survey. Respondents include direct supervisors, technical leads, and LEV personnel. To supplement the survey, the LEV Training & Technical Assistance (TTA) team provided administrative program information for each program (e.g., agency size, supervisor type). Our team accessed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to provide contextual information about the LEV programs’ jurisdictions.

An Inventory and Typology of LEV Programs

The information collected in phase one provides a comprehensive view of the law enforcement-based victim services program and allows us to start to identify similarities and differences in approaches across all LEV sites. Using the data gathered, we developed an LEV Inventory, which documents key characteristics (e.g., agency size, program size, services provided) across the LEV program. The inventory will help agencies that are implementing or considering an LEV program. We used descriptive statistics, such as crosstabs and means comparison, to explore similarities and differences between common LEV features and assist in developing an initial LEV typology.

Learn More about Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services Programs

Our LEV Inventory helps agencies develop LEV programs of their own. Click to download.

Understanding the Role of LEV programs in Victim Assistance

Additional data collection and analysis will refine our understanding of the LEV core components. In phase two of the evaluation, 10 law enforcement-based victim services programs will participate in a virtual interview and a site visit, which will include in-person interviews with LEV program staff, internal law enforcement collaborators, external partners, and victims who have received LEV assistance.

Our team’s collaboration with IACP to evaluate the LEV program testifies to RTI’s commitment to improving victim assistance through evidence-based responses. Learn more about our services for law enforcement, communities, and victims.