§ 642 — Criteria for fair treatment standards

§ 642. Criteria for fair treatment standards. Such fair treatment\nstandards shall provide that:\n 1. The victim of a violent felony offense, a felony involving physical\ninjury to the victim, a felony involving property loss or damage in\nexcess of two hundred fifty dollars, a felony involving attempted or\nthreatened physical injury or property loss or damage in excess of two\nhundred fifty dollars or a felony involving larceny against the person\nshall, unless he or she refuses or is unable to cooperate or his or her\nwhereabouts are unknown, be consulted by the district attorney in order\nto obtain the views of the victim regarding disposition of the criminal\ncase by dismissal, plea of guilty or trial. In such a case in which the\nvictim is a minor child, or in the case of a homicide, the district\nattorney shall, unless the family refuses or is unable to cooperate or\nhis, her or their whereabouts are unknown, consult for such purpose with\nthe family of the victim. In addition, the district attorney shall,\nunless he or she (or, in the case in which the victim is a minor child\nor a victim of homicide, his or her family) refuses or is unable to\ncooperate or his, her or their whereabouts are unknown, consult and\nobtain the views of the victim or family of the victim, as appropriate,\nconcerning the release of the defendant in the victim's case pending\njudicial proceedings upon an indictment, and concerning the availability\nof sentencing alternatives such as community supervision and restitution\nfrom the defendant. The failure of the district attorney to so obtain\nthe views of the victim or family of the victim shall not be cause for\ndelaying the proceedings against the defendant nor shall it affect the\nvalidity of a conviction, judgment or order.\n 2. The victims and other prosecution witnesses shall, where possible,\nbe provided, when awaiting court appearances, a secure waiting area that\nis separate from all other witnesses.\n 2-a. (a) All police departments, as that term is defined in\nsubdivision a of section eight hundred thirty-seven-c of this chapter,\ndistrict attorneys' offices and presentment agencies, as that term is\ndefined in subdivision twelve of section 301.2 of the family court act,\nshall provide a private setting for interviewing victims of a crime\ndefined in article one hundred thirty or section 255.25, 255.26 or\n255.27 of the penal law. For purposes of this subdivision, "private\nsetting" shall mean an enclosed room from which the occupants are not\nvisible or otherwise identifiable, and whose conversations cannot be\nheard, from outside such room. Only (i) those persons directly and\nimmediately related to the interviewing of a particular victim, (ii) the\nvictim, (iii) a social worker, rape crisis counselor, psychologist or\nother professional providing emotional support to the victim, unless the\nvictim objects to the presence of such person and requests the exclusion\nof such person from the interview, and (iv) where appropriate, the\nparent or parents of the victim, if requested by the victim, shall be\npresent during the interview of the victim.\n (b) All police departments, as that term is defined in subdivision a\nof section eight hundred thirty-seven-c of this chapter, shall provide\nvictims of a crime defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal\nlaw with the name, address, and telephone of the nearest rape crisis\ncenter in writing.\n 3. Law enforcement agencies and district attorneys shall promptly\nreturn property held for evidentiary purposes unless there is a\ncompelling reason for retaining it relating to proof at trial.\n 4. The victim or witness who so requests shall be assisted by law\nenforcement agencies and district attorneys in informing employers that\nthe need for victim and witness cooperation in the prosecution of the\ncase may necessitate absence of that victim or witness from work. In\naddition, a victim or witness who, as a direct result of a crime or of\ncooperation with law enforcement agencies or the district attorney in\nthe investigation or prosecution of a crime is unable to meet\nobligations to a creditor, creditors or others should be assisted by\nsuch agencies or the district attorney in providing to such creditor,\ncreditors or others accurate information about the circumstances of the\ncrime, including the nature of any loss or injury suffered by the\nvictim, or about the victim's or witness' cooperation, where\nappropriate.\n 5. Victim assistance education and training, with special\nconsideration to be given to victims of domestic violence, sex offense\nvictims, elderly victims, child victims, and the families of homicide\nvictims, shall be given to persons taking courses at state law\nenforcement training facilities and by district attorneys so that\nvictims may be promptly, properly and completely assisted.\n * 6. A victim of an assault may choose to make their statement at\ntheir workplace provided such workplace was the scene of the assault and\nis a hospital, emergency medical facility, nursing home, or residential\nhealth care facility as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of\nthe public health law, or is a facility or hospital as defined in\nsection 1.03 of the mental hygiene law. Law enforcement officers shall\ninform the victim of their right to have their statement be taken at\nsuch workplace when officers have reason to believe the victim was\nassaulted pursuant to section 120.05 of the penal law.\n * NB Effective February 13, 2026\n