Victims & Witnesses

Our Mission

The Victim Support Services Division is committed to engaging, empowering, and encouraging victims, co-victims, survivors, witnesses, and families as they journey through the healing process in the community and during the criminal justice process.

Our Vision

• Provide crisis support in the community through the CARES Unit and during the criminal justice process through the Victim Service Unit.
• Inform victims of their rights and adhere to those rights in all areas of service delivery.
• Address the individual trauma experiences and needs of victims, co-victims, witnesses, survivors, and families with whom we engage in collaboration with our community partners.
• Continue our collaborative work with grass-root, neighborhood-based comprehensive victim service providers, specialized providers, federal, state, and local government, academia, medical/behavioral health, intervention and prevention, and other disciplines that support crime victims. With the goal of meeting the specific needs of individuals impacted by crime and violence that we encounter in the community or during the criminal justice system process.
• Enhance the use of technology to provide more innovative ways to support the needs of crime victims and to provide information in a more timely manner, as well as provide available resources.
• Ensure that victims/co-victim and survivors of crime and victim advocates have a voice at the tables where conversations are being held around policy and practices, community violence and victim impact. This will help inform the work of prevention and intervention in order for Philadelphia to become less violent while protecting the rights and services afforded to all crime victims.