AREA HELPS GIVE COMFORT TO THE VICTIMS OF CRIMES

In the American jurisprudence system, great pains are taken to assure that the accused in any criminal proceeding is given fair treatment under the law. That's admirable, of course, but the system is obliged to go farther. In recent years, there has been a growing advocacy to protect the rights of victims, a movement that guards against further exploiting the innocent prey of criminals. We applaud this development, believing the system should work to the benefit of those who abide by laws, not those who defy them.

More difficult economic times have given rise to a harsher criminal reality in Missouri. According to the Missouri attorney general's office, a person in this state becomes the victim of a violent crime every 14 minutes. That's an increase of 12 percent over 1989. Every 19 hours, someone in Missouri is murdered. Every five hours, someone is raped. Every 22 minutes, a Missouri citizen is assaulted.

Though the rate of violent crimes here, thankfully, does not keep pace with Missouri's urban areas, Cape Girardeau claims no immunity from such offenses. To their credit, then, this community and its law enforcement agencies have taken a proper view of helping remedy the suffering of crime victims. At the Cape Girardeau Police Department, there is a victims' advocate on staff. At the circuit court level, there is the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southeast Missouri, a group that gives abused and neglected children a stronger voice in juvenile proceedings. At a private level, there are groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which offers support services to persons victimized in accidents involving intoxicated motorists.

In addition, state law provides for a Crime Victims' Compensation Fund. The fund grows by fees assessed in the court system against defendants who are found guilty. Victims of crimes can file claims with the fund and gain some financial assistance; in effect, criminals pay victims. In Cape Girardeau County from 1984 to mid-1990, the compensation fund paid 37 claims totalling almost $135,000.

This is National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a time to rededicate the belief that criminal activity does not pay ... and should not pose any additional burdens on those who suffer it. Criminal justice should be a process that moves two ways, both in dealing with offenders and, to the best extent possible, in caring for victims. The system in Missouri, and especially in this area, appears geared to ensure that sufferers of crime aren't victimized a second time by bureaucratic indifference.