Word: crime
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...laudable desire of the courts to protect the rights of suspected criminals has long been a sore point with victims of crime, who complain that no such solicitude has been extended to them. Today organizations supporting victims' rights are sprouting up across the country. More than 400 victims advocacy groups have been set up to advise those who have been hurt by crime and to seek legislation to help them. In most states victims, like other witnesses, are frequently barred from the courtroom to prevent their testimony from being influenced by the proceedings. This "witness sequestration" rule, says Florida State...
Cash compensation for the expenses incurred by innocent victims of crimes, however, remains the major accomplishment of these groups. New York and California are in the forefront of this movement. New York, for example, annually handles some 12,000 cash claims from victims, granting an average of $1,500 per applicant. Up to $20,000 can be given a victim for lost income from work, and the full cost of medical treatment beyond what is covered by health insurance is compensated. Families can recover the cost of burials for murder victims. Says Ronald Zweibel, chairman of the New York State...
Helping the police with information, but not with physical force, is precisely the kind of cooperation law-enforcement officials most commend in citizens. One of the most successful techniques is the variously called Crime Stoppers or Silent Witness programs, in which TV and radio stations, as well as some newspapers, provide details...
...Houston, more than 200 callers a day respond to Crime Stoppers broadcasts. Fifteen police officers are assigned to follow up the citizen leads. Since the program started in 1981, 3,300 suspects have been arrested for more than 4,000 crimes. Police have seized nearly $56 million worth of narcotics and recovered stolen property valued at about $21 million as well as 802 cars...
...neighborhood patrol programs, residents roam their communities during high-crime periods, keeping an eye on strangers, watching rowdy youths, noting open doors or windows. They often keep in touch by citizens-band radio and report suspicious circumstances to police. Such groups, says Houston Police Sergeant J.C. Mosier, "are making a serious dent in crime. This pendulum of not wanting to get involved is swinging back...