Crime Victims:

I have strived during my fifteen years as your elected Prosecuting Attorney to be a strong voice on behalf of crime victims and survivors by insuring that they are not forgotten in the criminal justice system. Only until recently, have victims truly begun to become part of the criminal justice system. Our Victim Assistance Coordinator and Domestic and Family Violence Victim Advocate both provide crime victims a helping hand when they encounter an intimidating court system.

Over the past fifteen years, we have sponsored and provided important training to members of the law enforcement community to provide them with the tools to survive the criminal justice process. We need to do an even better job in continuing to provide victims with a strong voice.

Some of our accomplishments are as follows:

• The addition of a Victim Services Advocate devoted solely to family and domestic violence cases.
• Compassionate, caring service to over 3400 crime victims by our Victim Assistance Unit (1989-1999)
• Over $600,000 in restitution paid to victims through the direct efforts of the Vitim Assistance Unit
• Establishment of the "Bear Cares Program."
• Over $250,000 paid directly to bad check victims (usually small businesses).
• Implementation of the first Kootenai county Child Abuse Task Force in 1990 which served as a model for other counties in Idaho
• Drafting the law which protects senior citizens from abuse and abandonment
• Active partnerships with local victim advocacy groups such as the Coeur d'Alene Women's Center and the Post Falls O.A.S.I.S.