Protecting Victims’ Rights

The criminal justice system is designed to prevent crime from occurring, as well as administering justice after a crime is committed. One important aspect of this side of the law is to ensure that victims of crime are well protected and receive fair treatment throughout the process. That is why government and local agencies are required to ensure victims’ rights, from making sure that the accused stays away to notification for every important date concerning the crime. And no single segment of crime victims receives as much protection as female victims of sexual crimes. More than any other group of crime victims, female victims of sexual assault, harassment, and other sexual crimes are the main focus of many local, state, and federal law enforcement measures to ensure the protection of victims’ crime. As the federal level of the justice system offers a vast amount of information regarding the protection of victims’ rights, it serves as the perfect starting point to understanding victims’ rights. The most comprehensive bill that covering victims’ rights is 18 United States Code, Section 3771, which includes eight measures designed to protect victim’s rights. One point of the Bill of Victim’s Rights is that the victim has the right to be reasonably protected from the accused (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This includes every measure that local and government authorities can take to make sure the accused does not cause any further hardship or threaten the victim in any way. Another important part of the victims’ bill of rights is making sure that victims are able to state their case in full, and have the right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding (United States House of Representatives, 2006). Making sure that victims utilize their right to be heard begins initially with the law enforcement agent taking their statement. The purpose of the victim impact statement is to give the victim of the crime the chance to express, in writing, the impact of the crime, including all economic losses, physical or psychological injuries, and significant changes to the victim’s quality of life (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2000). Whatever the victim tells the law enforcement agents about the impact of the crime on his or her life helps determine the types of assistance that a victim may need. For sexual assault victims this aspect of the process is very important, as the crime is often committed with few or no other witnesses. Victims of sexual assault illustrate many of the reasons that victims require such strong protection of their rights. Because of the violent nature of rape and sexual assault, victims are often traumatized far more than other crime victims. Victims of sexual assault and rape are often left frightened and unwilling or unable to pursue the necessary course of justice against their perpetrators. This fear might encourage them to withhold information that may also be embarrassing or painful to bring up, leading to the perpetrator getting away with the crime. As serious crimes, the charges that result from sexual assault and rape are significant and can result in severe penalties for the perpetrator, including long prison sentences. However, despite the seriousness of sexual crimes, most victims fail to report them to authorities for a variety of reasons, including the fear that their rights may not be fully protected. The fact that many of these victims do not report the crime leads to the criminals not being convicted. As for all sexual crimes against females, rape remains the least reported of them all, which also includes having the least number of indictments and least number of convictions of all violent crimes in America; the segment of the population that experiences the highest amounts of rape and lowest amounts of reporting them is among college students, where the reporting rate is around 5%. (Fisher, et. al, 2000). This low instance of reporting of sexual assault and rape illustrates an important deficiency in the criminal justice system’s ability to convince female sexual crime victims of their rights. Many of the reasons that females cite for not reporting the crimes inflicted against them include fear of blame from society, desire to quickly move on with their lives, their desire to avoid a long investigation and subsequent trial, and finally out of concerns for their privacy. It is the job of police, the district attorney’s office, and federal branches to make sure that none of these reasons prevent a victim from reporting a crime. Because of this there are many programs designed to provide crime victims with accurate information about the criminal justice system and the many rights that victims possess. At the federal level, the Department of Justice offers many programs and initiatives to ensure that victims are made fully aware of their rights. The Office of Justice Programs has an Office for Victims of Crime that works throughout the year on programs designed to assist victims of crime through grants. The amount of help that the Office for Victims of Crime gives to victims is considerable. In Fiscal Year 2007, Office of Victims of Crime distributed more than $370 million to the states through Victims of Crime Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30, 2004 and contains four major sections related to crime victims and the criminal justice process, which include protecting crime victims' rights, eliminating the substantial backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders, and improving and expanding the DNA testing capacity of federal, state, and local crime laboratories (U. S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime [OVC], 2008). The Office for Victims of Crime has also given assistance grants and more than $165 million to the states through Victims of Crime Act compensation grants, with both the victim assistance grants and the victim compensation awards funded by the Crime Victims Fund, which is culled from fines, penalties, and bail forfeitures collected from convicted federal criminals (OVC, 2008). Other compensation measures taken on behalf of victims include providing reimbursement to crime victims for crime-related expenses such as medical costs, mental health counseling, funeral and burial costs, and lost wages or loss of support. hile state victim assistance programs fund local victim assistance services such as crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, and criminal justice system advocacy (OVC, 2008). And, while the Office for Victims of Crime provides monetary compensation to many victims, it also heads up several programs designed to create a stronger conglomeration of criminal justice d epartments to ensure the protection and assistance of crime victims. The Office trains criminal justice professionals about the needs and rights of victims of crime and provides them with the latest in ideas and practices in victim protection through such networks as the Office’s Help Exchange Lessons and Practices in Victim Services message board, and finally the Office sponsors the National Victim Assistance Academy, an annual training conference for those who assist victims and survivors of crime (OVC, 2008). While there remain many programs set up by the Department of Justice to ensure victims’ rights, most of the inspiration for the programs continues to come from the basic tenets of the Victims’ Bill of Rights. Another important aspect of the Victims’ Bill of Rights is that the victim is made aware of everything that occurs in the case as it progresses. This also means that the victim has the right to any and all information concerning the case of the prosecution. According to the U. S. code victims have: â€Å"The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused† (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This means that victims should not be made to wait for the latest information that arises in the case, including any revelations about the accused or any changes in his or her status. Providing accurate and timely information to victims about their rights is one of the main ways of protecting their rights, and the Nationwide Automated Victim Information and Notification System has been established to make sure that they receive information pertaining to their case as soon as it becomes available. Began with funding by the Office for Victims of Crime, the Victim Information and Notification System is a computer-automated system that notifies crime victims of key events in their cases, including an offender’s release before trial or from prison; as of September 2007, VNS was serving more than 1,300,000 crime victims nationwide with information on federal criminal justice cases provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Attorneys' Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (OVC, 2008). By keeping crime victims informed of the status of their case and of the perpetrator, criminal justice professionals are able to provide victims with a piece of mind that allows them to retain a semblance of a normal life after crime. The Victims’ Bill of Rights continue with: â€Å"The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding; the reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case† (2006). By giving the victim the right to access the court information, as well as hear the case made against the accused in detail, the federal and local governments are ensuring that victims have significant influence on the outcome of the case. They are able to revise and mistakes made in the case of the prosecution, and they are also able to participate as much as possible in the proceedings. Not only does this help the victim put some of the trauma from the crime behind him or her, but it also significantly affects the ability of the Government to prosecute the accused. Additional rights ensured by the Victims’ Bill of Rights are loyal to the basic ideals of the American Bill of Rights and deal mainly with the right to a speedy trial. According to the bill, victims have: â€Å"The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law; the right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay† (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This not only ensures that the law will pursue the case against the accused to prevent further crime, but it also reinforces the role of the law as efficient protector. Also, by ensuring that the proceedings move in a timely manner, the victim is not required to endure a long and painful process. These measures go along well with the final right guaranteed by the victims’ bill of rights, and that is the right to be treated with fairness and with respect for dignity and privacy (2006). In the end, this is most important of all the rights, and perhaps a culmination as well, as all of the rights assured victims are to treat them with the utmost respect, fairness, and dignity. The duty of the U. S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice is to ensure victims of crime that their rights will be protected, and their results have been mixed at best. While there remain many important programs to educate victims on their rights, the case of sexual assault and rape victims and their low rate of reporting crimes against them speak of a general failure in assuring victims of their rights’ protection. Organizations like the Office for Victims of Crime must work harder to ensure that the victims of crime requiring the most assurance and protection receive what they need, and not just monetary compensation for financial losses or medical bills. While some rights vary from state to state, with some states guaranteeing even more rights to victims than others, the general protections afforded by the Victims’ Bill of Rights should be known by all victims. In the end, educating victims on their rights is the biggest protection that any government or local authority can offer victims of crime.

Generational Differences About the Use of Technology in the Workplace Research Paper

Generational Differences About the Use of Technology in the Workplace and What Public Managers Can Do About It - Research Paper Example 79). What the introduction of new technology in workplaces seems to be offering are opportunities and a wide variety of services being offered. All things being offered by technology seems to be unified by a single factor; increased productivity and efficiency. On the hand, several companies have been quick to take advantage of technological advancement, adopt these technologies in their office premises, and tout improvements in their business performance that has been significant. With time, the physical office seems to be losing its importance and significance. Therefore, the employees are encouraged to embrace technology and telecommunicate from any locate that they prefer. With the workers physically isolated from each other, it is inevitable for them to suffer a blow in the interpersonal skills and workplace relationship deterioration. With the media hypes on the subject of technology in the past few years, the revolution in business technology would transform slowly with the inventions of new office equipment’s. Those willing to adapt and keep pace with the flexibility and advancement in technological development have chances of surviving and prospering in business world as compared to other business that are not ready to use of technology in their offices (Smola and Sutton, p. 363). In today’s world, business has taken unprecedented twist; it does not happen face-to-face, as many people would think. Instead, in today’s communication is fully depending on calls made from conferences and chains of emails that make it challenging for employees or any business person involved to know his or her partner. Unprecedented laments have also been heard among business people who have been dissatisfied with the advancement in technology in the workplace that has been adopted as the norm in business daily lives. With the increasing number of workers who are

Canadian National Bank Current Problems Case Study

Canadian National Bank Current Problems - Case Study Example To cope with the pressure of this kind of environment the bank has implemented a system by the name of Customer Service Capacity Management (CSCM). This system has proposed certain parameters for each branch of the bank. The branch managers of each of these branches are expected to implement these recommendations without any exceptions. In such a situation a branch manager expects full support from each and every employee working in his or her branch. But unfortunately the branch manager of Chatham Branch has been unable to get support of one of her senior customer service representative, who is holding her own grudges against the branch manager. This has resulted in a series of ongoing tension situation existing between the manager and the customer service representative. All efforts of the manager to reconcile the prevailing differences have resulted in a failure, and thus a point has been reached where the fate of both these ladies is in the hands of a disciplinary committee. Prob lem Statement: The main problem which is being talked about in this case is one of interpersonal conflict. This form of conflict is arising between a young, inspirational, cooperative customer service manager and an experienced, mid aged, frustrated customer service representative. ... When this lady saw a young woman with just a degree to back her in the shoes of a manager, she decided to make her life difficult. Sub problems in the Bank: Since the bank is currently operating in an environment which is characterized by deregulation, therefore the entire banking paradigm has changed. In this paradigm banks need to be very responsive to customers’ needs with regards to their financial products and services. Banks also need to utilize their resources very efficiently and undertake strategies which help them to reduce their operating costs. In this regards Canadian National bank has implemented a new system by the name of Customer Service Capacity Management (CSCM). The basic aim of this system is to match customer traffic with the number of customer service representatives. In this way the system enables a reduction in cost. Recently, Lesley has been asked by this system to cut the job of a clerk and have the responsibility of this job fulfilled by two custome r service representatives. These representatives will share the work hours and work responsibilities of this job post. The responsibility to carry the task out fell on Pam Stewart and Sarah Wright, both these ladies had vast experience to back them but both these ladies were poles apart when it came to their personalities. Sarah was friendly and cooperative whereas as Pam was stubborn and uncooperative. Sarah had not problems when it came to performing these additional responsibilities, whereas Pam made a fuss about things and requested that she be relieved of these additional duties. She communicated to Lesley by means of a formal letter with a doctor’s certificate, asking her to relieve her of this additional role. Lesley rightfully took up this issue with Sarah asking

9 paragraph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

9 paragraph - Essay Example is was pronounced by Shelley in Frankenstein saying â€Å"Nothing could exceed the love and respect which the younger cottagers exhibited towards their venerable companion. They performed towards him every little office of affection and duty with gentleness, and he rewarded them by his benevolent smiles† (Shelley 82). Opposite to love is also the feeling of desolation due to Frankenstein monstrous appearance as he was a mere creation of man. This was evident with these line â€Å"cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. . . when night came I quitted my retreat and wandered in the wood; and now, no longer restrained by the fear of discovery, I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howlings† (Shelley 103). Probably, Frankenstein was Shelley’s attempt put face on man’s ugliest character. Victor’s creation Frankenstein embodied all things that are ugly, wretched, vindictive, hateful and murderous which is the ugly nature of man. All this pain was not of the monster’s doing but the sin of its father which is Victor who has brought him â€Å"pain that nothing could alleviate† (57). Frankenstein also explored the bitter aspect of loving and losing someone. This happened to Victor when the monster killed his brother that he too became a figurative monster because he was consumed by vengeance and shared the monster’s desolation. In the monster’s confession, he told how desolate he felt by being alienated from society; that he â€Å"killed the boy out of revenge† (Shelley 41). The monster further confessed how miserable it feels to be alone and miserable because of his monster physique that even the family of cottagers who sheltered him that gave him hopes for compassion even drove him away. Corollary to this, the novel also explored the folly in man’s life.

Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee Relations - Essay Example The Union disagreed with the Company’s decision to use a different criteria of determining eligibility for promotion and transfers instead of the one agreed upon during the collective bargaining agreement. The third grievance was about a discriminatory action by the company on its allocation of the parking lots. The union argued that the plant workers were allocated the farthest lots from the entrance. 2. What sections of the Wagner Act are in question here? Explain In all the three grievances touched a number of Wegner act sections particularly with regard to the regulation of collective bargain agreement engagements. For example, section 8(a) 3 of the act prohibits employees against discriminatory acts such as assigning them less desirable conditions as was witnessed in the allocation of parking slots in the company. The section also stipulates that matters of promotion or transfers should be solely based on seniority, merit and other criteria of determining eligibility sign ed in the collective bargaining agreement (Budd, 234). In this regard the second grievance will also be handled using section 2 of the act. ... In my opinion, all the three grievances of the union against the company were genuine. In the first grievance, I would rule that the company breached the contract by making changes in the time schedules prior to a mutual agreement. In the second grievance, the company also violated the collective bargaining agreement by using different criteria of eligibility in giving a temporary transfer to a Janitor instead of Mr. Burn who best suitable according to the provisions of the collective bargain agreement. Finally, allocating park workers the farthest car park slots was also discriminatory since it ensured that the workers spent more time between the parking lot and their working stations and this reduced the amount of their monthly bonus. Case 2__ Does the Duty to Bargain Preclude Unilateral Wage Increases? In the case study, Winn Dixie Stores Company effected unilateral changes in the wages of the workers arguing that there was no impasse during the negotiations (Budd, 260). On the ot her hand, the Union’s position of argument was that the Company violated the provisions of section 8(a) 5 and 8(a)1 of Wagner act which states that it is an unfair labor practice for employers to refuse to bargain collectively with the employee representatives when making changes to the wage rates and other terms of employment. Questions 1. You are an administrative law judge who has to decide on this case. Which party do you agree with and why? As an administrative law Judge presiding over the case, I would support the position of the employee Union that the company’s action amounted to unfair labor practice as stated in section 8 of the

Discuss the Implications of the Increaing Length of Annual Reports Essay

Discuss the Implications of the Increaing Length of Annual Reports - Essay Example In this regard, many independent and regulatory authorities have tried to protect the investors’ and shareholders’ interest from managements’ biases by taking major steps like corporate governance and accounting policies. Publication of annual reports is one the basic responsibilities. With tightening policies from regulatory authorities, the managements are required to disclose number of information other than financial statement. This paper will attempt to present the purposes and increasing length of annual report and its implications (Stittle, 2003, p.143). Purposes and Importance of Annual Report Annual report is primarily associated the disclosure of the financial report of a corporate which is important for the users like prospective investor, existing shareholders and creditor for making economical decisions. Financial information is highly required as it shows the financial health of the organisation like financial risk, stability, volatility, assets, li abilities etc (Valencia College, n.d.). However, merely disclosing the financial information does not serve the purposes for protecting shareholders’ interest by offering sufficient level of transparency. ... The annual report also discloses other necessary information which is highly required for ensuring the biased free information. For example, the company also discloses accounting policies, footnotes which act as empirical studies for the stakeholders. Form the companies’ perspective, annual reports are also used for market signalling by disclosing a number of voluntary news and recent developments. Moreover, the annual reports are prepared in the simplest way so that a person with basic knowledge of economics is able to understand the internal information and activities. The companies are obligated to ensure that each of its stakeholders is able to access the annual reports and hence, publicly listed companies are responsible for publishing its annual reports through corporate websites, economic journals and news papers, and subscriptions (Vause, 2009, p.9). Increasing Length of Annual Report and its Implications To make the annual reports more relevant with enhanced disclosur e has become a challenge for both the regulators and firms. On one hand, regulatory authorities require that the companies’ annual reports must be understood by ordinary shareholders and investors; on the other hand, they are required to include complete and transparent disclosures. The recent financial crisis of 2007-2010 has marked the importance of financial disclosures. The international and independent organisations like FRC, OECD, IASB and FASB require wide ranges of information as mandatory disclosure. The IFRS and US GAAP are two major financial reporting frameworks that recommend upon the accounting standards and disclosures in the annual report. Their requirements of disclosure have been constantly increased for better transparency and monitoring the activity of the

The Impact Of World Demographic Change On The Future Of Business Essay

The Impact Of World Demographic Change On The Future Of Business Operations And Trading Opportunities - Essay Example The paper tells that unprecedented global demographic changes taking place are expected to impact business operations. During the twentieth century â€Å"the global population increased nearly fourfold, growing from 1.5 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000†. Population growth rates increased significantly particularly in the developing world in the first part of the century, reaching a peak in the late 1960s. The swift growth in population was met with a hitherto uncommon response. The increased concerns related to environmental and economic effects of demographic increase motivated the United Nations, bilateral foreign aid agencies, multilateral institutions and private foundations to invest billions of dollars in population programmes. The governments of several developing countries, specifically those in Asia vigourously formulated and implemented policies aimed at slowing population expansion. The emerging evidence indicates that across the globe, population impacts econom ic growth with age structure playing a crucial role. â€Å"As the dependency ratio falls, opportunities for economic growth tend to rise, creating what is now referred to as a â€Å"demographic dividend†. Development in the quality of health care, improvements in health, and the related increase in life expectancy are among the most outstanding demographic changes of the past century. The historical rise in life expectancy reveals reduced infant and child mortality due to public health interventions related to water and sanitation, along with medical interventions such as vaccines and antibiotics. On the other hand, the continued increase in life expectancy since the past few decades particularly in high income countries, is mainly associated with reductions in age-specific death rates at middle and older ages. The declines are related to â€Å"improvements in medical technology, life-style changes, and income growth† (Bloom & Canning 2004, p.4). Globally, life expect ancy rose to more than double the earlier levels, from around 30 years in the year 1900 to 65 years by 2000. It is estimated to rise to 81 years by the end of the 21st century, states Lee (2003). Clark, Ogawa and Mason (2007) reiterate that all developed countries are experiencing rapid aging of the population, and in most countries over 12 percent of the population is over 65 years and older. In Japan, the proportion of the elderly population exceeded the 20 percent level in 2005, and several other developed countries reveal similar statistics. In most parts of the developed world, â€Å"national population projections indicate continued aging, with some countries facing the prospect of actual population decline and a super aging of the population† (Clark et al 2007, p.3). Further, several developing countries particularly in Asia such as China and South Korea, as well as others less economically successful, are now aging rapidly. Those countries that age before attaining ec onomic prosperity will likely face extensive challenges in the future. The association between population growth and the economy has been debated by several scholars and policymakers. As early as 1798, Thomas Malthus put forth that the rate of population growth was held in equilibrium by the rate of economic growth (IMF 2004). While East Asia met the challenges of rapid population growth, â€Å"other demographic changes were creating opportunities for more rapid economic growth†