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Plano PD launches victim's advocate program
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
Victims of violent crimes suffer enough trauma and mental anguish without having to deal with the headaches of filling out paperwork and receiving case updates from detectives and prosecutors.
The process of dealing with the after-effects of violent crime has become more streamlined in Plano since the police department launched its own victim's advocate program in mid-June. The services were previously provided by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County, but the loss of grant money forced the city to bring the program, which is required by state law, in-house.
"We want to make sure we have a better quality of life for all of our citizens if they are victims of violent crime," said Plano PD Chief Greg Rushin. "We are very excited about this opportunity. We always received good service before from our outsourced services, but today is a new day and it is time to bring this inside the police department."
"I was a counselor for a domestic violence agency and I hated how victims fell through the cracks in the criminal justice system," she said, adding that about 50 percent of the cases she deals with involve domestic violence. "That made me want to reach out and work with the police department in order to stop that from happening."
Hoffpauir and Jessica Serrano are responsible for reaching out to the victims of violent crime and their family members. Among the responsibilities performed by the pair are notifying victims of their rights and keeping them updated with the status of their case by staying in contact with detectives and prosecutors. They also help fill out victim compensation forms and emergency protective orders.
The job will likely expand to having an on-scene response for major crimes where the advocates will assist with the immediate traumatization of victims, Hoffpauir said.
Serrano came to Plano after two years as the sexual assault coordinator for Denton County Friends of the Family, a role that required her to meet with victims at hospitals. Once there, she helped officers calm the victim down so they could take a statement. She also helped set the victims up with counseling services and worked as a legal advocate for the organization.
The advocates work closely with a number of nonprofits that help provide counseling services and emergency shelter throughout the city and county. These organizations also provide translation services when Serrano, who is bilingual, and Hoffpauir, who is fluent in four languages, come across a victim they cannot communicate with.
"Some people in these groups speak Farsi, others speak Chinese," Serrano said. "We could always use a language line, but it is usually preferable that the victim talk to someone face-to-face."
Curtis Howard, the police department's legal advisor and a former prosecutor for the Collin County District Attorney, oversees the newly created department. He said Hoffpauir and Serrano will help improve the department's relationship with crime victims.
"In my background with the DA's office I always knew how important it was to have good, strong victim support services," he said. "If we have good victim advocates this will help our police officers out on the street since they can rely on these ladies to get the information out there and help ride shotgun for them.
"This also helps out on the back end when we are trying to prosecute these cases," he added. "If you have a solid relationship with the victims, it will be much easier to prosecute the cases and see that justice is done."
The new department was created by the city council in May. The council approved $56,000 in funding for the remaining four months of the current fiscal year, as well as $176,600 for next year. The money not only includes salaries, but also the construction of two new offices at Plano Police Headquarters.
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