Carroll Ann Ellis heads the Fairfax County Police Department’s victim services unit, where she has been working for the past 20 years. The unit provides a variety of resources and services to crime victims, helping find their way through the complexities of the judicial system and providing counseling for those who need it.

What role does victim services play in the larger realm of law enforcement?

We are police personnel. We don’t carry guns, be we’re on call and have county vehicles so we can get to any crime scene in a heartbeat. We are at homicides, bank robberies, burglaries, almost every crime scene and make ourselves available to the victims. We really are part of the police department’s mission to provide full service to the county’s residents.