Perdue, Bev. Proclamation, 2011-03-16, Crime Victims' Rights Week

              BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
GOVERNOR
CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK
2011
BY THE GOVERNQR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, in 2009, there were 482 homicides, with 70 of those being domestic violence homicides and 2,230 rapes
in North Carolina, according to the Annual Summary Report of2009 Uniform Crime Reporting Data- North Carolina
Department of Justice- State Bureau oflnvestigation and the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and
WHEREAS, there were a total of36,881 violent crimes committed in North Carolina in 2009, according to the Annual
Summary Report of2007 Uniform Crime Reporting Data - North Carolina Department of Justice- State Bureau of
Investigation; and
WHEREAS, many suffer. emotional, physical, psychological, and fmancial harm as a result of crime; and
WHEREAS, National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April10-16, 2011, provides an opportunity for our country to
recognize the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) as a major bedrock of support for victim services and to reaffirm our state's and
nation's commitment to addressing the needs of victims of crime; and •
WHEREAS, victims and survivors of crime can gain strength from the wide range of supportive services offered by
community- and justice system-based programs in North Carolina, including 85 rape crisis centers and 102 domestic violence
service programs, according to the North Carolina Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina recognizes that the Victims of Crime Act, passed by Congress in 1984, affirmed a
national commitment to helping victims rebuild their lives by establishing the Crime Victims Fund, a major source of funding
for services and compensation to victims of crime throughout the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Fund comprises fmes and penalties levied on offenders and affirms the principle that those who
commit crimes should be held accountable for their actions; and
WHEREAS, the Crime Victims Fund provides support to states for victim assistance and victim compensation
programs, and VOCA funds support victim assistance programs in non-profit, law enforcement, and local and state government
. agencies throughout North Carolina through the Governor' s Crime Commission; and
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network is joining forces with victim service programs, criminal
justice officials and concerned citizens throughout North Carolina and the United States to observe the 27th anniversary of
VOCA_during National Crime Victims' Rights Week;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BEVERLY EA YES PERDUE, Governor of the State of North Carolina do hereby proclaim
April10-16, 2011, to be "CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK" in North Carolina, and I urge all citizens to help victims of
crime rebuild their lives through supportive services.
BEVERLYEAVESPERDUE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State ofNorth Carolina at
the Capitol in Raleigh this sixteenth day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and eleven, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.