Crime Victim's Assistance

The Crime Victim's assistance office of the Deer Park Police Department provides the following services free of charge to victims of crime and their families:

• Notification of Victim's rights
• Assistance in filing Protective Orders
• Aid in applying for Crime Victim's Compensation
• Court accompaniment upon request / availability
• Notification of trial dates, proceedings, and case disposition
• Assistance in filing Victim Impact Statements
• Referrals to community resources that offer free or inexpensive services
• Act as contact person between Victim and Criminal Justice System
• Help in making a report and / or filing charges

Chapter 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedures (Rights of Crime Victim's), Each local law enforcement agency shall designate one person to serve as the agency's Crime Victim Liaison. The duty of the Crime Victim Liaison is to ensure that a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim is provided with crime victim's rights.

Resources For Victims

Office of the Attorney General

Local Resources and Referrals

Volunteer Victim Assistance

About the Volunteer Victim's Assistance Program

The Deer Park Police Department's newly implemented Volunteer Victim's Assistance Program (VVAP) centers around secondary contact between the police department and citizens who are victims of crime.

Often times we hear from victims that once the initial report is taken, they never hear from the police department again. This leaves the impression that the officers "just don't care." In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth. The Police Department does care about our citizens, their well being and peace of mind after they've been victimized.

Volunteer Victim Assistance Functions

The VVAP consists of volunteers from the Police Department who make follow up contact with victim's after the crime has occurred. Volunteers first make contact via telephone to ascertain if the victim has any new information relating to the crime. Our volunteers will then ask for an email or mailing address where they can send a letter explaining who the beat officer is, how the citizen can contact the beat officer should they have new information pertaining to the crime and also information is sent to the victim that pertains to the crime they were a victim of.

The Deer Park Police Department prides itself on its Police/Community Partnerships and the VVAP is just one more way for us to reach out to our citizen's in a positive and hopefully reassuring manner.