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Open Letter From the OVC Director, John W. Gillis, on President Reagan's Vision and Leadership June 18, 2004 Dear Colleagues: Over the past week, President Ronald Reagan has been honored for his vision and leadership, yet among the most significant achievement was his role in, for the first time, publicly acknowledging crime victims' rights and needs through the establishment of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982. The Report and Recommendations resulting from the Task Force formed the very foundation of crime victims' rights and services today. When President Reagan commissioned the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime during his first term, he led the efforts to change the status of crime victims across the United States. The Task Force's Report included recommendations that led to the passage of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984, as amended [42 U.S.C. 10601], which authorized the creation of the Crime Victims Fund, an account in the U.S. Treasury to support compensation and services to victims and training and technical assistance for victim advocates and allied professionals through fines, penalties, and bond forfeitures assessed on offenders convicted of federal crimes. Since 1985, more than $5.5 billion has been collected and made available for programs that support victims. Another Task Force recommendation resulted in the creation of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) within the U.S. Department of Justice—the only federal agency solely dedicated to enhancing the Nation's capacity to assist victims, and to providing leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for crime victims. " The enactment of VOCA and the establishment of the Office for Victims of Crime in the U.S. Department of Justice balanced our criminal justice system with justice for all," according to Lois Haight, who chaired the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982. The Reagan Administration, via the Task Force, was also the first to advance the idea of pursuing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect victims' rights in criminal proceedings; this amendment has received bipartisan support in Congress. Ronald Reagan had a profound role in leading and directing changes in laws and policies to protect the rights of and to fund basic services for crime victims. As a victim of an attempted assassination, President Reagan showed extraordinary compassion for and commitment to others who have endured the physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual impact of crime. I encourage you to visit OVC's Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc to obtain more information about President Ronald Reagan's contributions to the advancement of victims' rights. Sincerely, John W. Gillis |
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