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Crime victim rights and services
Summary of the topic
Chapter 56A of the Code of Criminal Procedure sets out the rights of crime victims and says who must provide each one. Article 56A.001(7) defines a victim as a person who is the victim of sexual assault, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, trafficking of persons, or injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual, or who has suffered personal injury or death as a result of another person's criminal conduct. The rights extend to a victim's guardian and to a close relative of a deceased victim.
Article 56A.051(a) lists the general rights. The ones that fall on law enforcement include protection from harm and threats of harm arising from cooperation with prosecution, information from a peace officer on request about the defendant's right to bail and about criminal investigation procedures, information about crime victims' compensation, forensic examination payment and social service referrals, and the prompt return of property held as evidence. Other rights, such as notice of court proceedings and a victim impact statement, fall on the prosecutor, the court or the parole board. Article 56A.053 states that a failure to provide a right does not create liability for the officer or agency and is not a ground for appeal by a defendant.
Article 56A.401 requires the agency investigating a reported offense to give the victim a written notice at the initial contact, or at the earliest possible time after it. The notice covers emergency and medical services, the victim's rights, compensation under Chapter 56B, payment for a sexual assault forensic examination, a referral to social service agencies, and the contact details of the agency's crime victim liaison and the prosecutor's victim assistance coordinator. Under article 56A.203, each local law enforcement agency designates one person as its crime victim liaison.
Victims of sexual assault and stalking have additional rights under article 56A.052, including information about evidence collected and the status of any analysis. Article 56A.403 requires an officer who investigates a sexual assault to give the victim a written notice of those rights, a referral to the nearest sexual assault program and information about the statewide evidence tracking system. The notice states that the victim may obtain a forensic medical examination within 120 hours of the assault even without reporting to law enforcement. Under article 56A.304(f), the victim may not be required to pay for the forensic portion of the examination or the evidence collection kit. Compensation is handled separately under Chapter 56B, where the victim applies to the attorney general in writing, generally not later than the third anniversary of the criminally injurious conduct.
Provisions this topic covers
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 56A
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 56A.0525
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