Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy

The Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy is a mandated unit within the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office under Title 52:4B-44. The mission of this unit is to provide fair and equitable treatment to all victims and witnesses of crime from a system’s perspective - the Criminal Justice System - and to make the system responsible for, and responsive to, the needs of victims and witnesses of crime.

The unit has three objectives:
1) To ensure that victims are notified of case proceedings.
2) To offer assistance with the financial, physical and emotional strain of crime victimization.
3) Provide support and information throughout the criminal justice process.

Some of the assistance offered by this unit to victims of crime includes transportation to attend court proceedings or counseling, referrals to social service agencies to help with specific needs, assistance in seeking restitution from the offender, assistance in applying for victim compensation, help in preparing or reading a victim impact statement and assistance with the return of property seized as evidence.

The unit is supervised under the direction of Coordinator Rita Carr-Volpe. There are seven victim advocates, three of which are bi-lingual, and two administrative assistants on staff.

For more information or assistance, please contact 856-451-3177.

For more information on the duties of the Victim Witness advocates click here.