CRIME VICTIMS WEEK, MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS, AND BROOKLYN GANG SUMMIT 

 

Crime Victims Week is an annual event that takes place across the nation.  This year, it is taking place from April 26^th to May 2^nd.  During this time, numerous government agencies pay tribute to the courage and resilience of crime victims with rallies, candlelight vigils and a host of commemorative activities to promote victims’ rights and those who advocate on their behalf.

 

In line with this event, I hosted a Good Samaritan Appreciation Ceremony, honoring five heroes who stepped in and went above and beyond anyone’s expectation to assist domestic violence crime victims in Brooklyn.  In some of these cases, the individuals put their own lives at risk.

 

 The theme for this year’s Crime Victims Week is “25 Years of Rebuilding Lives: Celebrating the Victims of Crime Act.”  The Victims of Crime Act was passed in 1984 under President Reagan, creating the Office for Victims of Crime to provide federal funding for state victims’ compensation funds.  Victims have received millions of dollars under this law.

 

Here in Brooklyn, we are marking two decades of victim services.  In addition, my office is noting the 10^th anniversary of our Victim Services Unit, one of the most important departments in my office because helping victims move forward and getting the services that they need is a high priority.

 

Our unit, formed in the Spring of 1999, assists victims and their families in recovering from the trauma of violent crimes that they have experienced including domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.  The social workers and counselors in this unit provide crisis intervention, short-term counseling, information on court procedures, financial and medical bill reimbursement, referrals to outside agencies, and information on any other related matters.  They lend moral, legal and often emotional support.

 

Victims should be treated with courtesy and compassion, and it is imperative that they endure the least inconvenience or suffering throughout the entire criminal justice process.  Victims need to be informed about their participation in criminal proceedings as well as the services that are available to them.  In addition, it is our duty to ensure them of their safety and be supportive and talk to them about their concerns.

 

Our prosecutors are hard at work trying to bring offenders to justice.  They are preparing for cases, gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and doing all they can to make sure criminals receive the appropriate punishment for their crimes.  One of the obstacles that they face, however, is that often throughout this process, the needs of the victims unfortunately slip to the back-burner.  That is not to say the rights of crime victims are not important.  Protecting victims and helping them in the aftermath of these crimes is a high priority to me, so hiring social workers to work with the victims was an important step, and has proven its worth over a decade of service. 

 

When I first took office in the early 90’s, one of my first acts was to create a domestic violence bureau, the first of its kind in any major District Attorney’s Office in the United States.  Right away, I noticed how difficult it was for prosecutors to deal with the high volume of domestic violence cases where victims would not cooperate, usually because they were afraid.  Hiring social workers in our office greatly impacted the efficiency of these cases because they were able to directly address the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  These social workers would work alongside the prosecutors providing much-needed social services and emotional support to the victims allowing the lawyers to focus on the prosecution of their cases. 

 

The Victim Services Unit has expanded to include 24 social workers and advocates.  Licensed social workers are available to assist with any and all victims of crime.  Some of our staff are specialists in areas such as child abuse, adolescent issues and victims with disabilities.  The Unit’s multicultural staff reflect the diversity of the borough.  At this time social workers are able to provide services to victims in the following languages – Spanish, French, Creole, Russian, Urdu, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin, Twi and Gha. 

 

With the opening of the Family Justice Center in 2005, an all-in-one domestic violence center for victims, housed within the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, the Victim Services Unit entered a new era of victim services. Hosting an array of community agencies, we have expanded services to victims of intimate partner crimes.  

 

MENTAL HEALTH

 

Mental Health is sometimes a hot topic in the news because there are some in need who do not get proper treatment.  Unfortunately, this is sometimes a result of a failure to recognize that they are suffering from mental illness as children, usually due to community violence or stress related to family issues.  These issues have a dramatic effect on their emotional development as they grow up.  The key is to try to reach out to them and help them before their illness gets worse and they spiral out of control. 

 

During the week of May 4 – 8, my office will be sending staff to high schools throughout Brooklyn, as part of Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, to promote awareness of mental illness in children.

 

Individuals with mental illnesses often have substance abuse problems, commit crimes and get sent to prison.  Many people first learn of their mental illness after they are arrested.  But incarcerating them does not solve anything.  When they get out of prison, it often leads to more serious crimes, and in some cases, the mental illness leads to suicide.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death among older adolescents and young adults.

Intervention is necessary so that we can help the mentally ill get the treatment they need and avoid the cycle of incarceration. 

 

Many of us are fortunate because we have a supportive family and community, a good education and high quality healthcare.  But not everyone is that lucky.  There are many circumstances that could lead to mental illness.  Most people would be surprised just how common this disease is.  One out of 10 children have a serious emotional disturbance; more children suffer from psychiatric illness than from autism, leukemia, diabetes and AIDS combined.  

 

Some of the statistics are overwhelming.  Only 20% of children who have emotional disturbance received treatment from a mental health specialist.  Emotional disturbance is associated with the highest rate of school dropout among all disability groups.  Only 30% of children age 14 and older with emotional disturbances graduate with a standard high school diploma.  When mental illness leads to crime, these offenders often go to prison where they receive little or no treatment.  A whopping one out of every six prison inmates is mentally ill. 

 

My office, along with the Brooklyn courts, has been proactive in helping the mentally ill avoid prison, get help, and lead a productive, crime-free life.  In 1998, I implemented an alternative to incarceration program called TADD (Treatment Alternatives for the Dually Diagnosed). After pleading guilty, offenders with mental illnesses enter a mental health treatment program for 18 – 24 months in lieu of incarceration.  Treatment is carefully monitored and reports are regular submitted to the prosecutor and the courts.  Upon completion of the program, charges are dismissed.

 

Building on the groundwork laid by our TADD program, we opened the Mental Health Court in 2002, the first such specialty court in New York State.  Like the TADD program, defendants suffering from serious mental illnesses plead guilty and enter a treatment program while sentencing is deferred.  Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic, who runs this Court, has done a tremendous job with the participants.  In fact, the Court has become a model for the rest of the country.  It is unique in that it accepts felony AND misdemeanor cases.  In order to be eligible for the mental health court, a person has to suffer from a serious and persistent mental illness and the criminal behavior has to have some connection to that illness.  The participants come to court weekly and speak to the judge and other staff who treat them with compassion.  After completion of the program, there is a graduation ceremony, offering the participants a sense of achievement and pride.

 

GANG SUMMIT

 

One of the dangers that we face in Brooklyn is the presence of gangs.  They are constantly recruiting members in schools, on the streets or wherever else they can find people who will join them in their illicit activities including robberies, assaults and murders.  On May 21, I will be hosting our first Brooklyn Gang Summit at the Polytechnic Institute of NYC.  The Summit will consist of a series of workshops to address the problem of gang violence in our community and discuss what my office does to educate our children and put an end to the gang activity.  The keynote speaker will be Sergio Arguenta, Executive Director of S.T.R.O.N.G. (Struggling to Reunite our New Generation).  Our panel of speakers will discuss the importance of community involvement aimed at developing activities that promote gang prevention and intervention.  The workshop will also analyze how spirituality can be effective in gang prevention as well as the importance of faith-based organizations reaching out to those who are being lured by gangs.

 

We will also discuss the resources available to parents in preventing their children from gang involvement.  In my office, we have been very proactive when it comes to gang prevention.  One of the problems that we have encountered over the last few years is stores selling clothes that are intentionally color-coded by sporting good manufacturers to appeal to violent street gangs.  Some clothes bear the designs and patterns of specific gangs, although consumers may not even realize this.  When innocent individuals buy the merchandise with gang paraphernalia, they become susceptible to attacks by gang members.  I have been working with Major League Baseball (MLB) to make sure that manufacturers stop making these clothes which have not been licensed by MLB.  In addition, I formed “Mothers Against Gangs”, a group of Brooklyn women who will picket and boycott stores where gang merchandise is sold until the practice is stopped.

 

My office is also very active in the community, providing outreach at places such as schools and community centers to educate people on the dangers of gang participation.  Gang members usually end up in one of two places – dead or in jail.  We are also continuously meeting with community leaders in our county to develop gang enforcement strategies that identify gang members and their criminal activities.