Office of The Victim Advocate

 

 

 

 

At a Glance

 

JAMES F. PAPILLO, J.D., Ph.D., State Victim Advocate

Established – 1999

Statutory authority – CGS Sec. 46a-13b et seq.

Central office –   505 Hudson Street, 5th Floor,

Hartford, CT  06106

Website address – www.ova.state.ct.us

Email address – james.papillo@po.state.ct.us

Number of employees – 4

Recurring operating expenses - $343,317

Organizational structure - Independent State Agency, under the Department of Administrative Services for administrative purposes only.

 

 

Mission

The Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA), as an independent state agency, works to protect and promote the legal rights of crime victims in Connecticut.  The OVA monitors and evaluates the provision of services to crime victims and works to advance policies throughout the state that promote the fair and just treatment of crime victims throughout the criminal justice system.  The existence of the OVA provides oversight and advocacy when the criminal justice system fails crime victims.  The OVA remains committed to ensuring that the voices of crime victims play a central role in Connecticut’s response to violence and to those victimized by crime.

 

Statutory Responsibility

     The OVA is there for Connecticut citizens who have been victimized by crime and who believe their rights, as crime victims, have been or are being violated or who believe that services available to Connecticut crime victims are being unfairly denied or not being adequately provided.  The Victim Advocate and staff receive complaints from crime victims, or others on behalf of crime victims, and can investigate such complaints.  As an attorney, the Victim Advocate can file an appearance in any court proceeding throughout the state to advocate for victims’ rights to make certain that crime victim rights are being honored and respected by the criminal justice system.  The Victim Advocate monitors and evaluates the provision of services to crime victims by state agencies and not-for-profit organizations that make up the victim service delivery system.  The Victim Advocate advocates at the state legislature for new laws and policies to better serve crime victims and to improve Connecticut’s victim services delivery system.

 

Public Service

     The Victim Advocate and staff constantly strive to appropriately address the concerns brought to the attention of the OVA by crime victims and those on behalf of crime victims.  The Victim Advocate and staff have frequent, regular meetings to discuss the handling of particular matters requiring action by the OVA.  Feedback from crime victims and others regarding the effectiveness of the OVA to work on behalf of Connecticut crime victims constantly informs and guides the manner in which the OVA continues to carry out its statutory mandates, always with an eye toward improving the quality of service provided to crime victims.

 

Improvements/Achievements 2005-06

     During its seventh year of operation, the Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA) continued to operate as a fully functional state agency committed to effectively and efficiently carrying out its statutory mandates.  The following specific achievements in this regard are noted:

 

  • The Victim Advocate initiated formal investigations into various aspects of several recent domestic violence related homicide cases; several identity theft cases; and the continued relentless harassment by a convicted rapist of his victim through abuse of our court system.
  • The Victim Advocate initiated formal investigations of issues pertaining to victims’ compensation; the early release of inmates on re-entry furloughs and transitional supervision; the maintenance of the Sex Offender Registry and the enforcement of registration requirements of those required to register under law as a sex offender; and compliance with a state law requiring Superior Court judges to advise crime victims of their state constitutional rights at arraignment each day in open court.
  • The OVA regularly receives complaints from crime victims throughout the state alleging one or more violations of their legal rights as crime victims and/or some problem in the provision of services and the OVA continues to take appropriate action to effectively resolve the complaint or problem. 
  • The Victim Advocate has intervened in numerous criminal and civil court proceedings to effectively advocate for the enforcement of crime victim rights.
  • The Victim Advocate proposed several pieces of legislation during the 2006 legislative session to further enhance victim rights.  Additionally, the Victim Advocate advocated in support of several other legislative initiatives, including Public Act No. 06-11, An Act Concerning Sexual Assault which expands the activities that constitute third and forth degree sexual assault; Public Act No. 06-112, An Act Concerning Underage Drinking which makes it illegal for someone who controls private property to knowingly permit a minor to illegally possess alcohol; Public Act No. 06-115 An Act Concerning Bullying Policies in Schools which expands the definition of bullying and enhances schools’ obligations to tell students how to report incidents of bullying; Public Act No. 06-60, An Act Concerning the Unlawful Use or Possession of Scanning Devices and Reencoders which prohibit the use of a scanner to read the information on a computer chip to fraudulently use the payment card of another; Public Act No. 06-100, An Act Concerning Crime Victims which will now require a pro se litigant to a civil proceeding, convicted of a domestic violence related crime, to obtain the court’s permission before issuing a subpoena for a crime victim to appear and testify in the proceeding, including a deposition and will require the Chief State’s Attorney, in consultation with the Chief Court Administrator, to develop a plan for the establishment and implementation of a state-wide automated victim information and notification system; and Sections 28-42 of Public Act No. 06-187, An Act Concerning General Budget and Revenue Implementation Provisions which clarify certain provisions of Connecticut’s Sex Offender Registry and allows the court to order a defendant to be electronically monitored by a global positioning system as a condition of probation or conditional discharge.
  • The Victim Advocate was appointed a member to the Interagency Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (Public Act No. 06-43, An Act Concerning Trafficking in Persons).  The task force is required to implement public awareness strategies, to identify criteria for providing victim services and address access to rights, benefits and services for trafficking victims.
  • Section 30 of Public Act No. 06-187, An Act Concerning General Budget and Revenue Implementation Provisions establishes a Risk Assessment Board to develop a risk assessment scale that assigns weights to various risk factors and specifies the risk level to which offenders with various risk assessment scores shall be assigned.  The Victim Advocate is a designated member of the board.
  • Successfully advocated at the legislature for two additional staff positions in the OVA.  The OVA currently has four full-time positions.  In addition to the State Victim Advocate and a Complaint Officer, the two new positions in the OVA are Investigator and Staff Attorney.
  • The Victim Advocate co-sponsored the 10th Annual Melanie Rieger Conference Against Violence.  The Victim Advocate served as the moderator for the criminal justice panel and on behalf of the OVA and non-for-profit victims organizations in Connecticut, presented a special award to Sam and Wanda Rieger for their years of effort and accomplishments in the areas of victims’ rights and victim services.  Dr. & Mrs. Rieger are the parents of Melanie Rieger, victim of a brutal domestic violence homicide on May 24, 1994.
  • The Victim Advocate developed and published: “Identity Theft – A Guide for Connecticut Citizens” to help educate the public with respect to identity theft – what is ID theft, how to avoid becoming a victim, and what to do if you are victimized. 
  • The Victim Advocate was appointed to serve on the Governor’s Identity Theft Advisory Board and the Victim Advocate has been invited to present on the topic of identity theft to various groups and organizations throughout the state.
  • The Victim Advocate was invited by the Federal Office for Victims of Crime and The National Institute for Justice to serve on a working group to create a national publication, “Assisting Victims of Identity Theft:  A Resource Guide for Victim Services.”
  • The Victim Advocate made numerous public appearances throughout the state to publicize the existence and function of the OVA and to inform citizens about victim rights in Connecticut.
  • The Victim Advocate participates on a number of committees and commissions for the improvement of services to crime victims.

 

Information Reported as Required by State Statute

    The OVA has complied with all of the requirements of all federal and state requirements regarding affirmative action and equal opportunity.