Crimes Against Persons: Victims' Rights Brochure

Crimes Against Persons

• The Florida Statutes mandate distributing information to victims in the form of brochures or cards that include local contact information.

Victims' Rights Brochure

• The brochure provides information on:
  • Availability of crime victim compensation
  • Crisis intervention services, bereavement counseling, social service support referrals, and community-based victim treatment programs
  • The role of the victim in the criminal or juvenile justice process
  • The stages of the criminal or juvenile justice process
  • The right of the victim to be informed, present, and heard during criminal or juvenile justice proceedings

Notice of Legal Rights and Remedies Brochure

• The brochure discusses:
  • Definitions of domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, repeat violence, and stalking
  • Florida's domestic violence law and how it can help victims
  • What to do if the abuser violates an injunction
  • Victim information exempt from public inspection
  • Who to contact for more information

No Contact Order

• A no contact order prohibits:
  • Any communication with the victim (or person named in the order)
  • Physical or violent contact with the victim
  • Presence within 500 feet of the victim's residence, vehicle, or workplace

Injunctions

• Victims can file for an injunction and complete an affidavit explaining why they need protection
• An injunction is a civil action, but its violation has criminal consequences
• Law enforcement honors injunctions from other states or countries

Adult Protective Investigator (API)

• API can conduct an emergency forcible entry without a court order if a situation presents a risk of death or serious injury and they cannot obtain consent for access
• API decides whether to remove the victim from the home and when and where to place them in protective custody
• Officer's role is to conduct a criminal investigation to determine if a crime has occurred

Gathering Information

• Take extra time to be sensitive to the person's needs
• Observe carefully, speak clearly, and be patient
• Physically separate the victim from the suspect
• Document the emotional and mental response of the victim

Course of Action

• Work with the API to determine the best course of action to ensure the victim's safety
• Inform the victim of their options, including filing an injunction for protection against exploitation of a vulnerable adult or domestic violence injunction
• Refer victims to the Florida Senior Legal Helpline or Disability Rights Florida for legal assistance

Human Trafficking

• Human trafficking involves holding people in forced service for commercial sex trade or legitimate labor
• Two threshold questions to determine if a person is a victim of human trafficking:
  • Did the suspect recruit, transport, or hold the victim in the service of another for labor or commercial sex acts?
  • Did the suspect get or keep the victim's service through force, threats, psychological manipulation, or confiscation of legal documents?
• Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor.

Learn about the rights and services available to victims, witnesses, and their families, and how to provide local contact information as mandated by the Florida Statutes.