Coping with COVID: Services for Victims and Witnesses
With social distancing measures in place, Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office (CCPO) hosted its National Crime Victim Rights Week Conference online. This year's theme was "seek justice, ensure victim's rights and inspire hope". Richard Norcross, CSI's Executive Vice President, was invited to be a guest speaker.
Richard is a victim survivor. On April 20, 1995, during an attempt to execute a warrant on a child molester, the suspect opened fire, killing Patrolman John Norcross and Camden County Detective Jack McLaughlin, and seriously wounding Detective Richard Norcross. On that day, he lost his brother and his partner. Describing his experiences from the victim's perspective, he recounts, "One of the things I saw from going from a police officer's side to the victim's side when I was wounded was that the system was confusing. And the system was bureaucratic." Richard continued his law enforcement career, serving as the Commander of the Intelligence Services Team for Camden County Prosecutor's Office, and later joined CSI Technology. "When I went to CSI, one of the things I wanted to do was to make sure that we built tools for [advocates] to make their lives easier...and also make tools that allowed victims to communicate more effectively with the prosecutor's office".
CSI Infoshare's Victim Witness Portal is designed specifically for advocates to expedite services, save resources, and increase communication with their clients. CCPO Victim Witness Coordinator, Lorena Diaz, explains, "[The Portal] is essentially a secure website where victims log on to find information about their case". Talking about the benefits, she describes, "By registering, you will be able to instantly receive important emails or text messages about your court case sent directly to your phone."
Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae adds, "We take it for granted because it has been that way for a number of years here. But it's not that way everywhere." To Richard, she says, "We're very lucky in Cumberland County because we've forged such a good relationship in our state to have heroes like you...You've taken such tragedy and turned it into triumph."
Watch the video for Richard's deeply personal, powerful testimony and for an insightful discussion on how the partnership between Cumberland County and CSI Technology has helped victims and witnesses navigate the criminal justice system.
Richard is a victim survivor. On April 20, 1995, during an attempt to execute a warrant on a child molester, the suspect opened fire, killing Patrolman John Norcross and Camden County Detective Jack McLaughlin, and seriously wounding Detective Richard Norcross. On that day, he lost his brother and his partner. Describing his experiences from the victim's perspective, he recounts, "One of the things I saw from going from a police officer's side to the victim's side when I was wounded was that the system was confusing. And the system was bureaucratic." Richard continued his law enforcement career, serving as the Commander of the Intelligence Services Team for Camden County Prosecutor's Office, and later joined CSI Technology. "When I went to CSI, one of the things I wanted to do was to make sure that we built tools for [advocates] to make their lives easier...and also make tools that allowed victims to communicate more effectively with the prosecutor's office".
CSI Infoshare's Victim Witness Portal is designed specifically for advocates to expedite services, save resources, and increase communication with their clients. CCPO Victim Witness Coordinator, Lorena Diaz, explains, "[The Portal] is essentially a secure website where victims log on to find information about their case". Talking about the benefits, she describes, "By registering, you will be able to instantly receive important emails or text messages about your court case sent directly to your phone."
Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae adds, "We take it for granted because it has been that way for a number of years here. But it's not that way everywhere." To Richard, she says, "We're very lucky in Cumberland County because we've forged such a good relationship in our state to have heroes like you...You've taken such tragedy and turned it into triumph."
Watch the video for Richard's deeply personal, powerful testimony and for an insightful discussion on how the partnership between Cumberland County and CSI Technology has helped victims and witnesses navigate the criminal justice system.
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