Attorney General Davenport Issues Directive Establishing Council to Help Shape State’s Responses to Survivors and Victims

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TRENTON – Attorney General Jennifer Davenport today announced Attorney General Directive 2026-02 establishing the Attorney General’s Victims’ Rights Council (VRC). The VRC will be overseen by the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance.

The VRC emerged from a series of listening sessions VIVA’s Office of Trial and Criminal Justice Process (OTCJP) held with the County Prosecutors’ Offices of Victim Witness Advocacy, through which a common sentiment echoed the need for consistent, cross-discipline communication about critical victims’ issues.

The goal of the VRC is to facilitate regular dialogue between professionals and specialists who assist victims of crimes, as well as those with lived experiences, to concentrate their expertise and efforts into coordinated action to strengthen victims’ rights, diversify victims’ services, and create long-term strategies to respond to issues impacting victims and survivors in New Jersey.

“Victims and survivors of crime are uniquely positioned to help shape the policies that will affect not only their healing journeys, but their experiences with our criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. “Today we are continuing New Jersey’s legacy of victim advocacy by creating a council where their voices will be heard.”

Since the 1985 passage of the New Jersey Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights, the State has strengthened protections for victims, expanded their statutory rights, and improved responsiveness to their needs from the criminal justice system. It established the right for victims to be advised of case progress, attend all public judicial proceedings, and the opportunity to deliver victim impact statements in court. In 1991, an amendment enshrined victims’ rights into the New Jersey Constitution, affirming that they be treated with fairness, compassion, and respect by the criminal justice system. More recently, VIVA was established in 2022 through an administrative directive and codified into law in 2023 to advance a unified strategy for public safety by bringing together services for victims and overseeing the Department of Law and Public Safety’s investment in violence intervention and prevention programming.

“VIVA was created, in part, to ensure that the needs and perspectives of victims and survivors are a central element of our public safety policy and decision making. The establishment of the VRC gives us a critical tool to receive timely and consistent feedback and recommendations from our stakeholders,” said Patricia Teffenhart, Executive Director of VIVA. “The directive announced today affirms New Jersey’s commitment to giving victims, and those who serve them, a real role in shaping a survivor-centered, trauma-informed criminal justice system.”

“The creation of the VRC is a dream come true,” said Kara Webster, Director of OTCJP. “At OTCJP, we believe that taking a ground-up approach when developing new policies, procedures, or programs ensures that they better reflect the true needs of survivors and the people who help them.”

The VRC will be comprised of more than 30 stakeholders from within and outside the criminal justice system – including key stakeholders representing victim witness advocacy, forensic nursing, prosecution, law enforcement, nonprofit service providers, corrections, and the courts. Through regular meetings, discussions, and collaboration, the VRC will identify issues affecting victims, guide the development of new programs to better meet victims’ needs, and create policies and procedures that are trauma informed.

Most importantly, the VRC intends to gain the viewpoint of victims and survivors. As one of its first orders of business, the VRC will identify and implement survivor-centered, trauma-informed processes by which to garner input from victims and survivors in its work, as their experiences and perspectives are essential for effective change-making. Hearing directly from victims and survivors will enable the VRC to develop policy and responses truly responsive to their needs.

The VRC’s objectives will include:

• identifying challenges facing victims, both within and outside of the criminal justice system;
• improving the experiences of victims moving through the criminal justice process;
• expanding or creating new pathways for justice for victims;
• enforcing existing victims’ rights;
• broadening or advocating for the creation of new victims’ rights;
• preventing systemic issues from taking root through preemptive actions or policy changes;
• effectuating substantive improvements to victims’ rights and services through strategic, long-term planning, which may include legislative, policy, and/or training initiatives; and
• responding to systemic, statewide issues as they arise.

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The Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance (VIVA) serves as the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General’s lead entity for victim assistance and violence intervention and prevention services within the Department of Law and Public Safety. Among its range of responsibilities is creating a statewide infrastructure for victim assistance and violence intervention and prevention services and supporting the development of new initiatives and strategies in those areas. VIVA provides resources and support to community-based organizations that offer these services and helps develop a statewide strategy for the growth and standardization of services.

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