Requires police stations, district attorney offices, hospitals and other places where crimes may, or must, be reported to make available to crime victims printed information pertaining to social services and financial assistance for such crime victims.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4198
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 23, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and
Correction
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to providing information
on victim and witness assistance programs to crime victims
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 625-a of the executive law, as
2 amended by section 15 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 1. Every police station, precinct house, general hospital established
5 under the laws of this state which maintains facilities for providing
6 out-patient emergency medical care, domestic violence shelter, homeless
7 shelter, any appropriate location where a crime may, or must under the
8 office's rules and regulations, be reported and any location required by
9 the rules and regulations of the office shall have available informative
10 booklets, pamphlets and other pertinent written information, including
11 information cards, to be supplied by the office, relating to the avail-
12 ability of crime victims compensation including all necessary applica-
13 tion blanks required to be filed with the office and shall display prom-
14 inently posters giving notification of the existence and general
15 provisions of this article, those provisions of the penal law that
16 prohibit the intimidation of crime victims and the location of the near-
17 est crime victim service program. The office may issue guidelines for
18 the location of such display and shall provide posters, application
19 forms, information cards and general information. Every victim who
20 reports a crime in any manner whatsoever shall be given notice about the
21 rights of crime victims and the existence of all relevant local victim's
22 assistance programs and services that are funded by the office and
23 programs and services that are licensed and approved by the office of
24 children and family services, including, but not limited to, rape crisis
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10418-01-1
S. 4198 2
1 centers, elderly victim projects, victim assistance hotlines and domes-
2 tic violence shelters and programs pursuant to section six hundred twen-
3 ty-five-b of this article, and supplied by the person receiving the
4 report with information, application blanks, and information cards which
5 shall clearly state: (a) that crime victims may be eligible for state
6 compensation benefits; (b) the address and phone number of the office;
7 (c) that police and district attorneys can help protect victims against
8 harassment and intimidation; (d) the addresses and phone numbers of
9 local victim service programs funded by the office and such programs
10 licensed and approved by the office of children and family services,
11 where appropriate, or space for inserting that information and a brief
12 description of the services provided by such programs; or (e) any other
13 information the office deems appropriate. Such cards shall be designed
14 by the office in consultation with local police, and shall be printed
15 and distributed by the office. The office shall develop a system for
16 distributing a sufficient supply of the information cards referred to in
17 this subdivision, to all the appropriate designated locations, which
18 shall include a schedule for meeting that requirement.
19 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 625-b of the executive law, as amended
20 by section 16 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended
21 to read as follows:
22 1. The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services in
23 cooperation with the office shall develop and implement a standardized
24 procedure to be used by police officers, county sheriffs' departments
25 [and], general hospitals established under the laws of this state which
26 maintain facilities for providing out-patient emergency medical care,
27 domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters and state police officers
28 whereby victims of crime are notified about the rights of crime victims
29 and the existence of programs funded by the office and programs licensed
30 and approved by the office of children and family services designed to
31 assist crime victims.
32 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
33 it shall have become a law.
