About the Program

The establishment of the California Victim Witness Assistance Program resulted from the recognition, on the part of practitioners and legislators, that victims and witnesses experience a variety of needs in the wake of a crime. Studies have revealed that victims and witnesses often experience trauma as a result of the crime and their subsequent involvement with the criminal justice system. Often, there are feelings of being forgotten and isolated, without practical advice or support. Victim Witness Assistance Programs have been created to help alleviate this problem.

The California Victim Witness Assistance Program is a statewide effort to provide support services to all types of victims and witnesses of crime. Merced County's Victim Witness Assistance Program is one of the more than 50 Programs in California which are funded largely through the Office of Criminal Justice Planning with penalty assessments collected from convicted offenders.

Our Goals

The Merced County's Victim/Witness Assistance Program is designed to fulfill the following long-term goals:

1. To alleviate the trauma of criminal assault and victimization by providing crisis intervention services to victims.
2. To provide appropriate and necessary services to victims of all types of crimes on an emergency basis.
3. To maintain a cooperative relationship with community organizations, law enforcement and state agencies, taking into account the multi-cultural and multi-lingual nature of Merced County.
4. To educate the community, the justice system and law enforcement agencies about the needs of victims and the services provided by the Victim/Witness Assistance Center.
5. To advocate the protection of witnesses and victims and keep them properly informed about significant case developments as they occur.