The Victim Services Unit resides within the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy to promote services and policies that provide victims of crime: the right to be safe in their homes and in their communities; the right to have increased access to services; the right to possess the requisite tools to become self-sufficient in the aftermath of criminal activity; and the indispensable right to receive restitution.
The purpose of this program is to support effective violence reduction strategies, predominantly focusing on gun violence, via evidence-based and evidence-informed health programs. These programs or initiatives are either developed through rigorous scientific research demonstrating measurable positive outcomes in preventing gun violence or based on principles capable of being evaluated for their impact on reducing gun violence. This includes hospital-based violence intervention programs that provide comprehensive support to individuals recovering from violence-inflicted injuries, integrating intensive counseling, case management, and social services through hospital collaborations.