Victim Assistance Coordinator

A MESSAGE

From your Criminal District Attorney

     Being a victim or a witness to a crime can be a devastating experience.  When you or a member of your family becomes a victim of crime, our office wants to help.  The last thing you need when you find yourself in this situation is to be further victimized by the criminal justice system.  It is time that the emphasis be on the rights and needs of the victim and  not on the rights of the criminal.

     The criminal justice system of Texas, like that of other states, is quite closely tuned to providing constitutional safe-guards for the rights of the victims of criminal behavior.  It can also be time consuming, confusing and  frustrating. 

       Our office has a full-time person whose total responsibility is to insure that our prosecutors and staff are sensitive to the victim,our client.  Her title is Victim Assistance Coordinator.  She can refer you to community resources available to crime victims, update you on the status of your case, acquire hard-to-find answers to your question, or just lend a sympathetic ear or helping hand.

     Subject to the legal limitations under which we must operate, my staff will do all that it can to minimize the inconvenience and lack of communication which often characterize a victim's or witness' contact with our system.  I hope that you will rely upon us to represent your interest  and to protect your rights in this manner.  We want to minimize the frustrations of being a victim of a crime.

David P. Weeks

Criminal District Attorney

Walker County, Texas