MORRIS COUNTY — Since 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week has been celebrated every year in April. It is a time of national remembrance and is dedicated to educating the public about victimization, the effect victimization has on individuals, families, friends and the community, and to promote laws, policies, and programs to help victims of crime.
This year, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week begins on Sunday, April 8, and ends on Saturday, April 14, and the theme is “Expand the Circle: Reach All Victims”. The theme addresses how professionals who work with crime victims can better ensure that every victim has access to services and support, as well as how these professionals can partner with the local community and organizations to ensure that all victims are taken care of.
On Wedneday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m, the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders will present a Proclamation to Prosecutor Fredric Knapp on behalf of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in honor and recognition of 2018 Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This presentation will be held at the Borough Hall/Hartley Dodge Memorial Building in Madison, during the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders Public Meeting.
For the first time, the New Jersey Victim Witness Coordinators’ Association, which is a statewide committee comprised of the Victim Witness Coordinator from each of New Jersey’s twenty one counties, has partnered with the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey to sponsor a statewide speaker series on sexual assault for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
They are hosting their Northern New Jersey events, on Thursday, April 12. It will begin that morning at Kean University in the STEM Building from 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., and continue at Montclair State University’s Memorial Auditorium from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Central New Jersey morning session will be on Friday, April 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m at the Monmouth University Pollack Theatre, and the afternoon session will be hosted by the Middlesex County Fire Academy from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Southern New Jersey will hold their presentation on Wednesday, April 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the George P. Luciano Family Center at Cumberland County College. The keynote speaker for these programs, is Jeffrey Bucholtz, the Director of the California based agency, We End Violence. His program is titled “Get Real about Sex, Consent, & Violence”. Bucholtz, who is the outgoing president of the San Diego Domestic Violence Council, has worked for the past sixteen years as an activist, organizer, and public speaker in the fields of domestic violence and violence prevention.
“I am proud that as President of the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey we are providing these important programs recognizing the rights of crime victims. New Jersey has been at the forefront from the inception of recognizing the rights of survivors and their families,” said Prosecutor Knapp.
All are invited to join the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at these Northern New Jersey events commemorating National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. For more information or to RSVP for the Northern New Jersey programs, contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Unit at (973) 285-6210 or e-mail MorrisVW@co.morris.nj.us.
For questions concerning the Southern New Jersey program contact Rita Carr-Volpe at (856) 453-0486 x11157 and for more information on the Central New Jersey programs contact Nancy Frankie at (732) 431-6459.
