Victims Assistance Unit

• The Constitution of the State of Colorado and the laws of this state guarantee certain rights to victims of the following crimes. If the victim is deceased or incapacitated, these rights are guaranteed to the victim's spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, significant other or other lawful representative.
• Murder - 1st and 2nd degree
• Manslaughter
• Criminally negligent homicide and vehicular homicide
• Assault - 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree, vehicular, on the elderly or handicapped
• Menacing Kidnapping - 1st and 2nd degree
• Sexual Assault - 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree, on a child or on a child by one in position of trust, on a client by a psychotherapist
• Retaliation against a witness or victim
• Robbery - aggravated, aggravated of a controlled substance, of the elderly or handicapped
• Incest - aggravated incest
• Tampering with a witness or victim
• Child abuse
• Sexual exploitation of children
• Crimes against at-risk adults
• Some domestic violence related crimes

The Victim Assistance program is designed to provide a support and information system to crime victims immediately by responding to the scene of the crisis, the hospital, or the Sheriff's Office. The Victim Assistant Program utilizes trained volunteers providing the following:

CRISIS INTERVENTION:
24 hour x 7 day a week crisis response to Fremont County residents. The advocates are dispatched upon the deputies or the victim's request. Victim Rights information is provided by the volunteer advocates to all violent crime victims. To all other victims, resource information can be provided.

VICTIM COMPENSATION INFORMATION:
Volunteer advocates provide victim compensation forms and can assist victims in filling them out. The victim compensation forms are to be returned to the DA's Office.

AGENCY REFERRALS:
Appropriate agency referrals with resources in the community are available to the victims, i.e.; mental health counseling, grief organization/support, domestic violence shelter support/information and financial resources.

TRANSPORTATION:
Advocates can transport victims or family members that need to respond in emergency situations. On some occasions, may transport to hospital, domestic violence shelter, funeral home, District Attorney's office, etc.

TRANSITION TO THE COURT SYSTEM:
Victim advocates explain the criminal justice process to victims of crime and try to make the transition to the advocate at the District Attorney's Office as easy as possible. The Victim Assistance Program works closely with the victim advocates in the District Attorneys Office and the Probation Office.

VICTIM NOTIFICATION:
Assures the victim notification information, if available, is in place of victims of violent crimes when the offender is bonding or being released from jail.

PUBLIC AWARENESS:
Provides informational programs on a wide variety of topics related to victimization to community service groups, law enforcement officers, Department of corrections, Impact of crime on victims classes and community agencies.

It is a victims right to request and utilize the services of the Victim Assistance Program. If you have any questions concerning your case or the way you were treated, call Lisa Holgerson, Director of the Fremont County Victim Assistant Unit, at 276-5555 or 276-5518. The purpose of the Victim Assistance Program is to serve crime victims; but because there are many victims that are not crime victims but are in crisis, they will also be served by the Fremont County Victim Assistance Unit.