Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Governmental Operations Committee Chair RoAnn Destito today announced Assembly passage of a legislative package in honor of National Crime Victims' Rights Week aimed at improving treatment and services for crime victims and reforming procedures to protect those victims.

"This legislation builds upon the Assembly Majority's long tradition of providing services for crime victims and their families," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "While we are unable to erase the pain and suffering many victims continue to feel long after the actual crime has been committed, we must ensure laws and support systems are in place to address these needs in a fast, efficient and responsible manner."

"National Crime Victims' Rights Week allows us to take a moment and focus on those victimized instead of the perpetrators, and see how we can help them recover," said Destito (D-Rome). "Through this legislative package, we reaffirm our commitment to providing the necessary tools for people to rebuild their lives."

Legislation in today's package that focuses on protecting crime victims includes measures that would:

• Keep election registration records of a victim of domestic violence confidential, except as otherwise required by a board of elections (A.9368A/Gabryszak);
• Allow orders of protection and temporary orders of protection to be delivered to law enforcement through facsimile or electronic means in every county in New York (A.10410/Rosenthal);
• Authorize courts to revoke the firearms license and seize the weapons of those who have been found incapacitated or ordered to treatment or commitment to a mental health facility (A.7733A/Lupardo); and
• Widen the base of individuals who are eligible for benefits as "victims of domestic violence" under the Social Services Law by eliminating age requirements, adding sexual misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse, stalking and criminal mischief to those offenses which may constitute domestic violence, and otherwise conforming the definition of "victim" to take into account a more realistic understanding of what it means to be a victim by covering victims in an "intimate relationship" with their abuser (A.10440A/Weinstein).

Two bills in the package specifically address hate crimes. One would allow courts to require a defendant convicted of a hate crime to complete a program, training or counseling session on hate crime prevention and require greater training of prosecutors in prosecuting hate crimes (A.9220A/Meng), while another would establish a civil remedy for victims of hate-crime related violence or intimidation (A.529/Destito).

Other legislation included would:

• Expand eligibility for crime victims' compensation to include domestic partners (A.4089A/Glick);
• Develop policies and procedures for police officers relating to the investigation of and intervention in sex offenses (A.10571/Weinstein);
• Permit courts to direct anti-trust fines to be paid to the New York State Crime Victims Board (A.1046/Destito);
• Consolidate the reporting requirements for the Crime Victims' Board and change certain reporting requirements from annually to every two years (A.1380/Destito); and;
• Empower courts to assist victims in proving that certain financial statements were false, to protect victims' credit and property (A.10572/Hyer-Spencer).

National Crime Victims' Rights Week was established in 1981 to promote victims' rights and honor crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf.