FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? VAWO
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2001???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
$635,000
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $635,000 to the
Territory of the Virgin Islands to prevent and respond to violence against
women, as part of this year?s STOP
(Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women
Formula Grants Program.? This program is
funded under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
??No
American should feel outside the protection of the law, or beyond the reach of
the law.? The STOP program supports communities
that champion victims? rights and develops coordinated responses to violence
against women,? said Attorney General Ashcroft.? ?The funds will give law enforcement and victim services the
resources they need to do a better job of investigating, prosecuting and
preventing crimes against women.? We
must continue to provide our communities with the resources to hold offenders
accountable and to meet the needs of victims.?
??????????? STOP funds are used to promote partnerships among law
enforcement, prosecution, the courts and victim advocates to ensure victim
safety and accountability for offenders.
The Justice Department has awarded the Virgin
Islands over $3.1 million in STOP funds since 1995, for total funding exceeding
$3.5? million under the VAWA grant
programs since the enactment of the VAWA legislation in 1994.? In the President?s FY 2002 budget request,
the Justice Department seeks $390 million in overall VAWA funding, a $102.52
million increase over FY 2001.???????????
Through this funding, states and communities
are urged to restructure and strengthen the criminal justice system response to
domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, utilizing the expertise of all
participants working in the system, including victim advocates.?
The Territory of the Virgin Islands has
developed a coordinated response to
addressing violence against women through the Law Enforcement Planning
Commission.? The Commission works
closely with the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (DVCC,) and the Child
Abuse Task Forces.? The group consists
of representatives from non-profit victim service providers, law enforcement,
prosecution, probation, family court personnel, batterer intervention program,
social workers and victim advocates. With the Fiscal Year 2001 STOP funding,
the Territory of the Virgin Islands plans to:
?
Enhance the
linkages between prosecution, law enforcement and the courts to track arrests,
protection orders and violation of orders, and conviction rates;
?
Purchase
investigative equipment and supplies;
?
Enhance
protocol procedures for responding to domestic violence calls;
?
Conduct a
lethality assessment in domestic violence cases;
?
Train law
enforcement offices, prosecutors, advocates and other personnel
involved in violence against women cases; and
Support a prosecutor and victim liaison
position in the Office of the Attorney General.
In addition, the Virgin Islands plans to standardize policies and
protocols for all batterer
intervention programs; provide direct services for victims of domestic
violence and their children that include counseling, referral services, and
legal advocacy; and produce and distribute educational materials for victims on
legal assistance and available services. ???????
?The
STOP Program is authorized under the Violence Against Women Acts of 1994 and
2000.? The STOP grants are awarded by
the Office of Justice Programs? (OJP) Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) to
designated state agencies, which must award 25 percent of the funds they
receive to law enforcement, 25 percent to prosecution, 30 percent to victim
services,
5 percent to courts and 15 percent at the state?s discretion for other
STOP program purposes.
??????????? For information about the Virgin Islands STOP grant,
contact R. Maria Brady, Director of Victim Witness Services, in the Office of
the Governor, at 340/774-6400.
Information about the STOP program and other initiatives involving
violence against women is available on VAWO?s Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo
or OJP?s Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, or by calling the National
Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free at 1-800/851-3420.
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VAW01155
After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager
#888/763-8943