Shakopee Police Department 2022 Annual Report

VICTIM AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

By Barbara Hedstrom, Victim and Community Services Coordinator

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CRIME VICTIM COORDINATOR AT THE SHAKOPEE POLICE DEPARTMENT?

The Crime Victim Coordinator (CVC) is a victim support professional with education and experience in helping victims of crimes The CVC is NOT a police officer Sometimes the CVC is referred to as an advocate, but the role of the CVC at the Shakopee Police Department is to: 1. Support crime victims during the investigation of a crime and may act as a link between the victim and the officer or investigator working on a case; 2. Answer questions a crime victim may have about the criminal justice proceedings and about other civil court proceedings that may apply; 3. Provide information about what legal rights and protections a crime victim has in Minnesota; 4. Assist crime victims in locating: a. Financial resources available to crime victims— including application assistance, b. Emotional and trauma support recovery services and c. Food, transportation and other resources or services; 5. Safety planning, which may include ways to receive notification of a suspect’s release from jail or prison, information and assistance with restraining order applications, and referrals to other advocates in the community that may be of more assistance to a victim 6. Connect victims, family members and others in the community with resources and provide education and information on preventing and responding to crime Although the CVC is employed by the Shakopee Police Department, the Crime Victim Coordinator does not investigate the crime or gather details about the crime If the crime victim has additional information about a crime, the CVC can help connect them with the officer, investigator, or prosecuting attorney The CVC is often able to update a victim on what happened at a court hearing or where they can get that information Like other advocates, the Crime Victim Coordinator may appear at criminal court hearings with a crime victim or in some circumstances on a victim’s behalf A CVC can help in a variety of other ways including helping find and coordinating with a therapist, assisting with funeral arrangements, helping with Victim Impact Statements to the court, intervening with landlords, employers and creditors, answering questions about a sexual assault evidence collection kit and more

Besides the Shakopee Police Department’s Crime Victim Coordinator, there are other victim service professionals or advocates in the community that victims can work with For example the domestic violence advocates at Southern Valley Alliance (952-873-4214) and the sexual assault advocates at the Sexual Violence Center (612-871-5111) are confidential “community-based” advocates that those victims can speak with and get assistance from Crime victims can also choose to speak to a victim support professional at Minnesota’s General Crime Victim Service line (612-399-9977) The Minnesota Office of Justice Programs website ( dps.mn.gov/divisions/ojp ) has more information on “Help for Crime Victims” including a list of victim service providers in Minnesota, financial help, crime victim rights and more More information is also available on the Shakopee Police Department website under Crime Victim Services The Scott County Attorney’s Office is the prosecuting attorney for all the cities and townships in Scott County They also employ Victim/Witness Assistants and Specialists (952-496-8240) who can provide crime victims with information about their rights, the status of a criminal case charged in Scott County, when to request restitution or give a Victim Impact Statement, etc Crime victims may end up talking with several different “advocates” who can communicate with each other if the victim requests As the only police department in the State of Minnesota with a dedicated full time Crime Victim Coordinator, the Shakopee Police Department remains committed to serving and assisting crime victims and the Shakopee community whose thanks has been expressed by these kind words:

Thanks for your encouragement, compassion, and understanding.

Thank you so much for calling and checking on me.

We are blessed to have you in the Community.

Thank you so much for the update.

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