Sec. 54-220. Victim advocates. Responsibilities and duties. Access to police reports.

(a) Victim advocates shall have the following responsibilities and duties: (1) To provide initial screening of each personal injury case; (2) to assist victims in the preparation of victim impact statements; (3) to notify victims of their rights and request that each victim so notified attest to the fact of such notification of rights on a form developed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, which form shall be signed by the victim advocate and the victim and be placed in court files and a copy of which form shall be provided to the victim; (4) to provide information and advice to victims in order to assist such victims in exercising their rights throughout the criminal justice process; (5) to direct victims to public and private agencies for service; (6) to coordinate victim applications to the Office of Victim Services; and (7) to assist victims in the processing of claims for restitution.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, upon request, a victim advocate shall be provided with a copy of any police report in the possession of the state's attorney, the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, any municipal police department or any other law enforcement agency that the victim advocate requires to perform the responsibilities and duties set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Within available appropriations, the Office of Victim Services may contract with any public or private agency for victim advocate services in geographical area courts.

(P.A. 85-609, S. 2; P.A. 87-554, S. 1; P.A. 93-310, S. 17, 32; P.A. 95-175, S. 10; P.A. 03-179, S. 3; P.A. 05-152, S. 11; P.A. 17-99, S. 35; P.A. 18-75, S. 20.)

History: (Revisor's note: In 1991 the term “commission on victim services” was substituted editorially for “criminal injuries compensation board” pursuant to public act 87-554); P.A. 93-310 amended Subdiv. (3) by deleting “prosecutors by gathering victim or witness” and inserting “victims by providing”, amended Subdiv. (4) by deleting requirement of counsel, and amended Subdiv. (6) by changing “commission” to “office of victim services”, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-175 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (7) re assistance of victims in processing claims for restitution and added Subsec. (b) re contracting with public or private agency for victim advocates in geographical area courts; P.A. 03-179 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “prepare” with “assist victims in the preparation of” in Subdiv. (2), replacing provision re providing information needed for processing of cases with provisions re notification of rights and attestation on form in Subdiv. (3), and deleting reference to “individual” and adding provision re assisting victims in exercising their rights throughout the criminal justice process in Subdiv. (4); P.A. 05-152 amended Subsec. (a)(3) by inserting “so notified”; P.A. 17-99 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by deleting provision re impact statements to be placed in court files, added new Subsec. (b) re victim advocate to be provided with copy of police report upon request, and redesignated existing Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 18-75 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “Office of the Chief State's Attorney” with “state's attorney”, effective July 1, 2018.