KNOXVILLE – In observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 7-13, 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee will be participating in several events across the district including:
- A bell ringing ceremony to honor victims of crime, “Honoring Our Past – Creating Hope for the Future,” at Chester Foster Park in Chattanooga on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.
- A Crime Victims’ Right Ceremony at the Cocke County Courthouse on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, sponsored by Fourth Judicial District Attorney General James Dunn.
- A Crime Victims’ Tree Planting Ceremony on Friday, April 12, 2019, at Memorial Park Community Center in Johnson City, Tennessee.
“Victims of crime deserve justice. This Department works every day to help them recover and to find, prosecute, and convict those who have done them harm,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “During this National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, we pause to remember the millions of Americans who have been victims of crime and we thank public servants who have served them in especially heroic ways. This week the men and women of the Department recommit ourselves once again to ensuring that crime victims continue to have a voice in our legal system, to securing justice for them, and to preventing other Americans from suffering what they have endured.”
“National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is a time to reflect on the history of the victims’ rights movement, celebrate its progress, and renew commitments to ensure all victims of crime have the rights and services they need to recover and receive the justice they deserve,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dedicated victim-witness personnel who serve federal crime victims across the district’s 41 counties. Our prosecutors are also committed to supporting and providing service to victims of all federal crimes, including violent crimes, fraud, identity theft, human trafficking, elder abuse and exploitation, and sexual crimes against children.”
Each year in April, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorneys’ offices observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week nationwide by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. In addition, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorneys’ offices organize events to honor the victims and advocates, as well as bring awareness to services available to victims of crime. This year’s observance takes place April 7-13, with the theme: Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future.
The U.S. Department of Justice will host the Office for Victims of Crime’s annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 2019, to honor outstanding individuals and programs that serve victims of crime. The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, within the Office of Justice Programs, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each year. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime.
The Office of Justice Programs provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime-fighting strategies. Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to law enforcement officers in states, cities, and neighborhoods, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter into partnerships with these officers. More information about the Office of Justice Programs and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov. More information about Crime Victim’s Rights Week can be found athttps://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/. You may also contact the U.S. Attorney’s Victim Witness Program at 865-545-4167.
