The U.S. Justice Department issued its long-awaited Vision 21 report, hailed as “a bold and creative plan to meet the needs of crime victims in the 21st century,” in the words of newly installed Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason. Several years in the making, the plan calls for “sweeping changes to advance crime victims' rights and services.”
As described by federal officials, Vision 21 “documents the need to better understand who is affected by crime, how they are affected, how they seek help, who reports victimization and the reasons why some victims do not.” The document calls for better strategic planning on victim assistance and improvements in “evidence-based knowledge founded on data collection and analysis of victimization and emerging victimization trends, services, behaviors and enforcement efforts.” The full report can be seen here.