New York § 641 - 641Objectives of fair treatment standards

§ 641. 641Objectives of fair treatment standards

§ 641. Objectives of fair treatment standards. The object of such fair treatment standards shall be to: 1. Ensure that crime victims routinely receive emergency social and medical services as soon as possible and are given information pursuant to section six hundred twenty-five-a of this chapter on the following: (a) availability of crime victim compensation; (b) availability of appropriate public or private programs that provide counseling, treatment or support for crime victims, including but not limited to the following: rape crisis centers, victim/witness assistance programs, elderly victim services, victim assistance hotlines and domestic violence shelters; (c) the role of the victims in the criminal justice process, including what they can expect from the system as well as what the system expects from them; and (d) stages in the criminal justice process of significance to a crime victim, and the manner in which information about such stages can be obtained. 2. Ensure routine notification of a victim or witness as to steps that law enforcement officers or district attorneys can take to protect victims and witnesses from intimidation. 3. Ensure notification of victims, witnesses, relatives of those victims and witnesses who are minors, and relatives of homicide victims, if such persons provide the appropriate official with a current address and telephone number, either by phone or by mail, if possible, of judicial proceedings relating to their case, including: (a) the arrest of an accused; (b) the initial appearance of an accused before a judicial officer; (c) the release of an accused pending judicial proceedings; and (d) proceedings in the prosecution of the accused including entry of a plea of guilty, trial, sentencing, but prior to sentencing specific information shall be provided regarding the right to seek restitution and reparation, and where a term of imprisonment is imposed, specific information shall be provided regarding maximum and minimum terms of such imprisonment.