The Webpage of the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council

Contact: Sharon Taylor, Victim Services Program Manager

Email: s.taylor@nstq.org

Phone: 250-305-2350 Fax: 250-392-1533

Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday to Friday

Aboriginal - Community-Based Victim Services

Program Objectives:

a) to lesson the impact of crime and trauma on victims and their families and to assist in their recovery.

b) to increase victim safety and to help reduce the risk of further victimization;

c) to increase the level of participation and sense of empowerment for victims throughout their participation in the criminal justice system; and

d) to increase the effectiveness of a victim while acting as a witness in court proceedings.

The Community-Based Victim Services Program will provide justice related services to assist Aboriginal victims (male, female, adult and children) of all crimes. This includes victims of crime who may choose not to be involved in the criminal justice system.

The Society (NSTC) will be responsible for the establishment and administration of the Community-Based Victim Services Program, which will provide services to Aboriginal victims of crime in the Williams Lake Detachment area.

Service Recipients:

a) The victim service program provides services to victims of crime who may or may not have reported the crime to police or be involved with the criminal justice system.

b) To provide services to Aboriginal victims of all types of crime.

c) The service area of the victim service program includes the policing area of the Williams Lake RCMP Detachment.

Required Services:

The victim service program will provide the following services:

a) EMOTIONAL SUPPORT: The victim service worker will provide victims with emotional support to assist them in their recovery from the effects of crime and trauma. The program does not provide counselling services to a victim: however, the victim service worker will refer a victim to an appropriate resource of their choice, for those services. While working under the terms of the contract, the victim service worker will not refer to themselves as counsellors or therapists.

b) GENERAL INFORMATION: Victim service worker will provide victims with information including, but not limited to: the justice system: relevant federal and provincial legislation and programs pertaining to victims of crime; crime prevention; safety planning; and community, government, justice, health and other resources available.

c) JUSTICE – RELATED INFORMATION: Victim service worker will provide, or facilitate victim access to, case-specific information which may include, but is not limited to:

i) the status of the police investigation, charges laid against the offender, protective orders, outcome of court appearances, the custodial status of the convicted offender, and length of sentence/parole information; and

ii) courtroom orientation, procedure, and etiquette.

Victim service worker will not provide legal advice to victims.

d) COMMUNITY RELATIONS: In providing service to victims as outlined above, the victim service program must establish and maintain working relationships with local community, government, justice, health and other service providers to facilitate coordination, minimize service duplication, and maximize effective referrals across agencies.

e) PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT: Victim service worker will:

i) together with the victim assess the needs for additional supports and/or services and make appropriate referrals to community, government, justice, health and other resources.

ii) assist victims in completing applications for the Crime Victim Assistance Program and victim impact statements;

iii) facilitate/coordinate safety planning including liaison with justice system personnel, the Victim Safety Unit, and/or local community partnerships (where they exist) established to provide safety assessments and protective devices including cell phones and home alarms for high-risk victims; and

iv) provide other types of practical support and assistance as appropriate.

Victim service worker does not provide crime scene cleanup.

f) ACCOMPANIMENT: Victim service worker will, at the request of the victim provide or facilitate their accompaniment to police, Crown Counsel, or court in cases of serious crime and/or where victims are particularly vulnerable.

g) REFERRALS BETWEEN VICTIM SERVICE PROGRAMS. In communities with both community-based and police-based victim services programs:

i) Police-based victim service program will refer victims identified as: victims of violence in relationships (adult, youth or child), victims of sexual assault, victims of criminal harassment, victims of child abuse/assault (both physical and

sexual), adult survivors of childhood abuse (both physical and sexual), and child witnesses of family or sexual violence to the appropriate community-based victim service program.

ii) Community-based victim service worker will refer victims that are identified other than victims of violence in relationships (adult, youth or child), victims of sexual assault, victims of criminal harassment, victims of child abuse/assault (both physical and sexual), and adult survivors of childhood abuse (both physical and sexual), and child witnesses of family or sexual violence to the police-based victim service program.

iii)In exceptional cases, where the victim service worker determines that the procedure outlined in (i) or (ii) above is not appropriate, the rational must be documented in the file.

iv)In situations, where the involvement of both police-based and community-based victim services programs is identified, the programs will coordinate an approach to services delivery and jointly develop victim-centred support plans.

h) COORDINATION AND PROTOCOL. In communities with both community-based and police-based victim services programs, Programs have develop and adheres to the local victim services program protocol which contain the following provisions:

i) Regular meetings with other local victim services programs;

ii) Consistent referral procedures; and

iii) Detailed procedures for handling disputes/grievances.

LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES:

BC Victim Services

Protection Order Registry

Victim Safety Unit (SVU)

Victim Link: BC Toll Free 1-800-563-0808

24 hours, 7 days a week