Victims of crimes who cross between Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia will start receiving more attention from county and district officials with the start today of a joint effort to provide greater financial and emotional support for those whose lives have been ravaged by crime.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey; District Councilman Harry Thomas, D-Ward 5; and U.S. Attorney for the District Jeffrey Taylor are expected to announce today the start of a cross-border survivor’s network that will link crime victims with the resources that will help them recover, Ivey’s spokesman Ramon Korionoff said.
Ivey started a support network three years ago, linking recent crime victims with others who have already jumped the hurdles of the legal system, but when a Prince George’s County resident is victimized in the District, he or she can fall through the cracks, Korionoff said.
“In a metro area the geographic lines don’t stop crime from happening,” said Russell Butler, executive director of Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center Inc., an organization that advocates for crime victims’ rights. The group began in Maryland but has started taking on national cases as crime has increasingly defied borders, Butler said.
With the Internet inspiring borderless fraud and identity theft, it’s become necessary for the resource center, police officials and prosecutors to find new ways to work together to both fight crime and aid the victims of crime, Butler said.
The focus on cross-jurisdiction victims being announced today will also help victims involved in less-complex crimes, Korionoff said.
“Some people are barely making it in these tough economic times,” Korionoff said. “If someone’s car window is smashed, they may not be able to afford a high deductible on their insurance, and we can step in.”
