National Crime Victims' Rights Week Recognized in Morris County

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office will hold a Recognition and Remembrance Ceremony Monday in honor of National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in the Freeholder's Public Meeting Room on the fifth floor in the County Administration and Records Building on Court Street in Morristown.

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce will be the event's keynote speaker. DeCroce's late husband, Alex, a former assemblyman, fought for victims' rights and sponsored legislation that was enacted into law in his name last year.

The them for the 2014 National Crime Victims' Week, which runs April 6 to 12, is "30 Years: Restoring the Balance of Justice." National Crime Victims' Week began in 1981 for communities, victims and their families and friends to come together and reflect on the progress made for victims' rights.

"Thirty years ago, crime victims did not have rights, access to crime victim compensation, or services to help rebuild their lives," Acting Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said in a statement. "They were often excluded from courtrooms, treated as an afterthought by the criminal justice system, and denied an opportunity to speak at sentencing. Today, all states have enacted crime victims’ rights laws and established crime victims’ compensation funds."

For more information or to RSVP, contact  the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Unit at 973-285-6210 or e-mail VW@co.morris.nj.us.