National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2002

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7543 of April 18, 2002

National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2002

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Thirty years ago, advocates from some of the most
crime-ridden neighborhoods of St. Louis, San Francisco,
and Washington, D.C., founded the Nation's first
assistance programs for crime victims. These centers
were established in communities where violence was
common, and they were clear about their mission: to
bring help, hope, and healing to those who had suffered
the effects of crime. The creation of these victim-
assistance programs launched a movement that brought
domestic violence shelters, homicide victim support
groups, and rape crisis centers to help victims in
cities and towns throughout the United States.

The crime victims' rights movement also brought changes
in the way the criminal justice system treats and
interacts with crime victims. In many cases, crime
victims began to be treated with greater respect and to
play an important role in criminal justice proceedings.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan assembled a task force
of nine national leaders to travel the country and
listen to service providers, criminal justice
professionals, and victims. The Task Force's Final
Report listed 68 recommendations for meeting victims'
needs, including the need for a Federal constitutional
amendment. The momentum generated by this report helped
spur passage of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, which
now supports thousands of assistance programs
throughout the Nation. The Victim and Witness
Protection Act of 1982 and other laws have given
victims of Federal crimes many important rights.

All 50 States have now passed victims' rights laws, and
more than half the States have amended their
constitutions to guarantee rights for crime victims.
However, more remains to be done to secure victims'
rights. I support a Federal Constitutional Amendment to
protect the rights of victims of violent crime.

Our Nation has come to realize the tragic toll that
crime takes, and we have developed the resources to
ease crime's physical, emotional, and financial impact.
This support network, which was already in place on
September 11, made us better prepared to deal with the
unspeakable pain and tragedy inflicted by the terrorist
attacks. Along with the many firefighters, law
enforcement officers, paramedics, and rescue workers
who responded in New York, Washington, D.C., and
Pennsylvania, hundreds of counselors, chaplains, social
workers, volunteers, and victim service providers came
together for the common purpose of helping the victims,
the families, and our Nation.

My Administration has made the fight against crime a
top priority. But when a crime does occur, I am
dedicated to providing assistance and comfort to
victims and to ensuring that the rights of victims are
protected. At the time of their great trauma, crime
victims deserve nothing less than our complete support.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 21 through April

27, 2002, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I
encourage every community to embrace the cause of
victims' rights and services and to advance them in all
sectors of our society.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand two, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-sixth.

(Presidential Sig.)B